Environmental impact of passenger car tire supply chain in Thailand using the life cycle assessment method

Abstract

Although the tire industry contributes to Thailand's economy, every phase throughout its supply chain has the potential to harm the environment. A comprehensive understanding of all potential environmental impacts and a comparison study are effective approaches to the mitigation of such harm. This research applied a life cycle assessment (LCA) to analyze the detrimental effects of the Thai automotive tire supply chain, starting from rubber plantations, tire production and utilization stage until end-of-life tire handling. Two types of waste tire management technologies, namely, pyrolysis and reclaimed rubber, were compared to identify the optimal disposal option. The results found that both management technologies have negative values for almost every category as a result of the avoided impact from valuable products. The only exception is water consumption in pyrolysis. Global warming, terrestrial ecotoxicity, and fossil resource scarcity are significant benefits if end-of-life tires are recycled. When considered throughout the supply chain, reclaimed rubber yielded a superior negative value for the total score of terrestrial ecotoxicity and water usage. This demonstrates the advantage of reclaiming worn-out tires to replace traditional synthetic rubber, as opposed to pyrolysis, where the cumulative value remains positive. The uncompensated impact came from the higher impact of tire manufacturing and the use of tires. The use of gasoline and greenhouse emissions produced the most effects during the usage phase, while electricity consumption was the major contributor to tire manufacturing and waste tire disposal. As a result, waste tire management technology to recover valuable materials and power system efficiency improvement were suggested, along with research and development of a new tire model for diminishing gasoline consumption and air pollution. These strategies could mitigate the environmental impact and eventually enhance the sustainability of the tire supply chain.