Jeff Solberg with Dr. Jae K. Park, Johnnie Chin and Pitch Asavanich

UW-Madison Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering

Shredded tire mulch has been used for many years in place of traditional wood mulch due to its many advantages, such as being safer for children to play on, having a longer lifetime, and recycling discarded tires.  Unfortunately, shredded tire mulch does not have the same sensory qualities as wood, including an objectionable odor.  One possible solution is to use d-limonene, a natural citrus byproduct with a pleasant orange scent.  This study attempted to investigate the feasibility of using d-limonene as well as other possible products.  Much success was achieved in absorption of d-limonene and the amount of time for the d-limonene to exit the mulch was within the experimental period of 28 days.