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Time-concentration profiles of tire particle additives and transformation products under natural and artificial aging
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Tiny rubber particles from tire wear release chemicals into the environment, and this study found that sunlight breaks down most of these chemicals within weeks to months. Notably, 6PPD-quinone, a tire chemical linked to killing fish, builds up quickly and then also breaks down fairly fast when exposed to sunlight, but it lingers much longer in dark conditions like soil or water sediment. This matters because it suggests that where tire particles end up (sunny surfaces vs. shaded waterways) affects how long these potentially harmful chemicals stick around in our environment.
Tire and road wear particles (TRWP) are polymer-based microparticles that are emitted into the environment during tire usage. Growing efforts are currently being made to quantify these emissions, characterize the leachates and assess their environmental impact. This study aimed to investigate the effect of aging on TRWP composition. Cryomilled tire tread particles (CMTTP) and TRWP were exposed for different durations to three aging conditions: accelerated thermal and photochemical aging and natural outdoor aging. Particles were then extracted with cyclohexane/ethanol. The time-concentration profiles of 23 additives and transformation products present in these extracts were determined by UHPLC-HRMS. Several chemicals, such as N-(1,3-dimethylbutyl)-N'-phenyl-p-phenylenediamine (6-PPD) or 1,3-diphenylguanidine (DPG), decayed exponentially under all aging conditions, with half-lives of a few days under artificial photoaging versus dozens of days under pure thermal aging at 60 °C. The natural aging profiles lie between those 2 laboratory aging conditions. Other chemicals, such as 6PPD-quinone, presented bell-shaped concentration profiles within CMTTP when particles were exposed to UV light. 6PPD-quinone reached a maximal concentration within a month under natural aging. For TRWP, the initial load of 6PPD-quinone had already reached a maximum prior to the aging experiments and decreased exponentially under natural aging with a half-life below one month. Pure thermal aging induced a significantly slower decay of 6PPD-quinone within TRWP (half-life of half a year), emphasizing a greater stability and persistence in environmental compartments without light. This study highlighted that the more readily accessible CMTTP could be considered a reasonable proxy of TRWP to investigate the fate of chemicals within rubber particles, at least from a qualitative standpoint. Overall, the concentrations of 20 of the evaluated chemicals decreased by >50 % within 50 days under natural aging.
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Behavior of compounds leached from tire tread particles under simulated sunlight exposure
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This study examined what happens to chemicals that leach from tire tread particles when exposed to sunlight. While sunlight broke down about a third of the leached compounds, it also created new transformation products, some of which may be more harmful than the originals. Since tire particles are a major source of microplastics in waterways, understanding how their chemicals change in sunlight is important for assessing real-world health risks.
Environmental aging of tire and road wear particles and tire additives: a long-term field study
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Researchers conducted a long-term field study exposing tire and road wear particles (TRWP) to sunlight for 20 months and to microorganisms in a sedimentation pond for 17 months, finding that 62–92% of extractable polar chemicals leach within 8–10 months but residual concentrations of 100–200 µg/g persist even after 20 months, confirming that TRWP are a sustained long-term source of tire-related chemical pollutants.
Increased Aquatic Toxicity of Tire Wear Particles Following Oxidative Aging: Mechanism Insights into Matrix Loosening and Transformation Products
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Tiny bits of tire rubber wash into rivers and lakes, and this study found that sunlight and ozone exposure make them even more toxic over time, not less. As the particles break down, they release new chemical byproducts that made up nearly half of the harmful effects seen in zebrafish embryos, even at very low, real-world exposure levels. This matters because it suggests weathered tire particles in waterways could pose bigger risks to aquatic life (and potentially the food chain) than current safety testing accounts for, since most assessments don't look for these newly formed breakdown chemicals.
Leaching, photodegradation, and field occurrence of tire-derived chemicals and their transformation products: LC-HRMS-based target and suspect screening from laboratory to urban road runoff.
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Lab tests and road runoff samples were used to study chemicals released from tire wear particles, including how acidity and light affect their breakdown. Some chemicals leached more under acidic conditions, changed over time with light exposure, and several breakdown products were also found in road runoff alongside the original chemicals.
Simulated atmospheric transformation of the tire additives in the aqueous phase: 6-PPD, 6-PPD quinone, diphenylguanidine, and dicyclohexylamine.
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This study simulated how four tire-derived chemicals—including 6-PPD and its toxic transformation product 6-PPD quinone—degrade when they enter atmospheric water droplets. Under simulated sunlight conditions, the compounds underwent photolytic breakdown, producing secondary products whose environmental hazards require further evaluation.
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