Papers

61,005 results
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Article Tier 2

The transport of tyre wear particles in rivers, with a focus on settling and resuspension

Researchers investigated the transport, settling, and resuspension behavior of tyre and road wear particles (TRWPs) in river systems compared to conventional microplastics, presenting initial characterization data on TRWP density and zeta potential and conducting mesocosm flume experiments to test hypotheses about their differential environmental fate.

2024 Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research)
Article Tier 2

Classification and Characterization of Tire-Road Wear Particles in Road Dust by Density

Tire-road wear particles were classified and characterized by density using road dust from an asphalt pavement, allowing separation of tire tread-derived particles from road surface and mineral components. The density-based classification approach improves the accuracy of tire wear particle quantification in environmental monitoring studies.

2022 Polymers 50 citations
Article Tier 2

Settling Velocities of Tire and Road Wear Particles: Analyzing Finely Graded Density Fractions of Samples from a Road Simulator and a Highway Tunnel.

Researchers measured the terminal settling velocities of tyre and road wear particles (TRWP) from a road simulator and highway tunnel across different density and size fractions, providing the first empirical settling velocity data for these particles to support modeling of their transport in aquatic environments.

2025 Environmental science & technology
Article Tier 2

Tyre and road wear particles from source to sea

Researchers traced tyre and road wear particles (TRWP) — tiny rubber fragments shed when vehicles brake and turn — from urban roads into marine sediments, finding that softer tyres with more natural rubber shed more particles and that TRWP concentrations drop sharply with distance from cities. Unlike lighter microplastics that drift widely, TRWP sink quickly and accumulate near urban coastlines, threatening nearshore sediment ecosystems.

2023 Microplastics and Nanoplastics 54 citations
Article Tier 2

The transport of tyre wear particles in rivers, with a focus on settling and resuspension

Researchers investigated the transport dynamics of tyre and road wear particles (TRWPs) in river systems, with particular focus on settling and resuspension processes in aquatic environments, and explored pathways toward groundwater, addressing a gap in understanding TRWP fate in the environment.

2024 Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research)
Article Tier 2

Mitigation of Suspendable Road Dust in a Subpolar, Oceanic Climate

Tire and road wear particles (TRWP), a major source of microplastics in waterways, are especially abundant in cold climates where studded tires are common. This study assessed road dust generation and found that traffic volume and road surface conditions are key drivers of TRWP pollution.

2021 Sustainability 13 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastic and tyre wear particles at a highway: a case study from Norway

Researchers monitored microplastics and tire wear particles (tiny rubber fragments shed by vehicles) in air, road runoff, and road dust along a busy Norwegian highway, finding the highest concentrations in road dust and the lowest in air. The study demonstrates that traffic is a major source of microplastic pollution across multiple environmental pathways.

2025 Microplastics and Nanoplastics
Article Tier 2

Types and concentrations of tire wear particles (TWPs) in road dust generated in slow lanes.

Road dust samples collected near traffic lights contained tire wear particles (TWPs), with the concentration and size distribution varying by location and traffic direction. Tire wear is one of the largest sources of microplastic pollution in urban environments, and these particles are carried into waterways by stormwater runoff.

2024 Environmental pollution (Barking, Essex : 1987)
Article Tier 2

Identification, classification and quantification of microplastics in road dust and stormwater

Researchers identified and quantified microplastics in road dust and stormwater, finding significantly higher concentrations in industrial areas compared to residential zones, with tire wear particles and polyethylene fragments being the most common types.

2022 Chemosphere 80 citations
Article Tier 2

Characterization of tire and road wear particles in urban river samples

Tire and road wear particles in urban river sediments from the Seine River were characterized using density separation and chemical mapping methods, finding average particle sizes of 133-250 microns with TRWP concentrations of up to 930 mg/kg dry sediment downstream of the Rouen urban area.

2023 Environmental Advances 18 citations
Article Tier 2

An Experimental Study on the Component Analysis and Variation in Concentration of Tire and Road Wear Particles Collected from the Roadside

Researchers analyzed the concentration and composition of tire and road wear particles (TRWPs) collected from roadsides during summer and winter in Korea. The study found seasonal variations in TRWP concentrations related to temperature differences, highlighting the need for strategies to reduce these particles as vehicle registrations continue to increase.

2023 Sustainability 10 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastics in road dust – characteristics, pathways and measures

Researchers reviewed the sources, characteristics, and transport pathways of road dust-associated microplastic particles (RAMP), identifying tyre wear rubber, polymer-modified bitumen, and thermoplastic road marking paints as the main contributors. The study found significant data gaps regarding the fate of RAMP in stormwater runoff and wastewater treatment systems.

2019 BIBSYS Brage (BIBSYS (Norway)) 117 citations
Article Tier 2

Characteristics of Vehicle Tire and Road Wear Particles’ Size Distribution and Influencing Factors Examined via Laboratory Test

Researchers conducted laboratory tests to characterize the size distribution of tire and road wear particles under various conditions. The study found that factors such as driving speed, tire composition, and road surface characteristics significantly influence the size and quantity of wear particles released, which are a growing source of microplastic pollution.

2024 Atmosphere 12 citations
Article Tier 2

Occurrence of tire and bitumen wear microplastics on urban streets and in sweepsand and washwater

Tire tread wear and bitumen particles were the dominant anthropogenic microplastics found on urban roads and in sweeping waste and stormwater in a Norwegian study, with concentrations up to 2,561 particles per liter in road dust samples. Street sweeping removed significant quantities of these particles, and sodium iodide density separation proved effective for their analytical isolation.

2020 The Science of The Total Environment 266 citations
Article Tier 2

Characterization of Particles in Road Surface Sediments for Analyzing Runoff Behavior of Microplastics

Researchers characterized physical properties — density, shape, and material composition — of particles in road surface sediments and stormwater catchpit deposits in Japan using density-gradient separation, image analysis, and ATR-FTIR, finding that synthetic polymers comprised 40-50% of all particles and were concentrated in high-density fractions with Feret diameters of 500-800 micrometers.

2025 Journal of Japan Society on Water Environment
Article Tier 2

Tyre wear particles: an abundant yet widely unreported microplastic?

Researchers collected tire wear particles from roadside drains and natural environments near a major UK road, finding that these particles are abundant and widespread yet frequently undetected in environmental monitoring, suggesting tyre wear is a major but under-reported microplastic source.

2020 Environmental Science and Pollution Research 317 citations
Article Tier 2

Tyre and road wear particles - A calculation of generation, transport and release to water and soil with special regard to German roads

This study calculated that German roads generate 75,000 to 98,000 tons of tire and road wear particles annually, with a significant portion reaching surface waters and roadside soils. The findings highlight tire wear as a major but often overlooked source of microplastic pollution requiring better data and management strategies.

2020 The Science of The Total Environment 244 citations
Article Tier 2

Concentration of Microplastics in Road Dust as a Function of the Drying Period—A Case Study in G City, Korea

Microplastic concentrations in road dust were measured as a function of dry weather duration in a Korean city, finding that plastic levels increased with longer drying periods and were dominated by tire wear and road marking particles. The results suggest that dry periods followed by rainfall events create pulses of microplastic runoff from road surfaces.

2022 Sustainability 44 citations
Article Tier 2

Concentrations of tire wear microplastics and other traffic-derived non-exhaust particles in the road environment

Researchers measured actual environmental concentrations of tire wear microplastics and other traffic-derived non-exhaust particles in a rural highway setting, providing field-based data to complement the theoretical estimates that dominate current literature.

2022 Environment International 153 citations
Article Tier 2

Analysis of TRWP Particle Distribution in Urban and Suburban Landscapes, Connecting Real Road Measurements with Particle Distribution Simulation

Researchers combined road-based tyre and road wear particle emission sampling with particle distribution simulations at a high-traffic urban intersection, finding that TRWP concentrations correlated with vehicle dynamics such as braking and acceleration, and that air humidity and dust resuspension significantly influenced particle measurements in the field.

2022 Atmosphere 9 citations
Article Tier 2

Characterization of Airborne Microplastics Particles on Urban Roads: Types, Sizes, and Total Particles

Researchers collected airborne microplastic samples from urban road environments and characterized particle types, sizes, color distributions, and polymer compositions, finding tire-wear rubber and paint fragments alongside fiber and film fragments from packaging and textiles.

2025 JURNAL KESEHATAN LINGKUNGAN
Article Tier 2

Assessment of fine and coarse tyre wear particles along a highway stormwater system and in receiving waters: Occurrence and transport

Researchers tracked tire wear particles through a highway stormwater drainage system in Sweden and found contamination at nearly every sampling point, with concentrations reaching up to 17 milligrams per liter in water. A significant portion of the particles were very small, in the 1.6 to 20 micrometer range, which are harder to filter out and more likely to travel long distances. The study highlights that tire wear is a major and often overlooked source of microplastic pollution reaching waterways.

2024 Journal of Environmental Management 22 citations
Article Tier 2

Traffic Intensity as a Factor Influencing Microplastic and Tire Wear Particle Pollution in Snow Accumulated on Urban Roads

A study in a medium-sized Polish city found microplastics and tire wear particles at all 53 road sites examined, with concentrations in road snow scaling strongly with traffic volume — from roughly 62 particles per liter on quiet streets to nearly 793 on heavy-traffic roads. Snow acts as a temporary reservoir, concentrating these particles through winter before releasing them in large pulses into rivers and streams during spring melt. The findings suggest that reducing traffic speeds, sweeping roads regularly, and installing stormwater filters are practical measures to limit urban microplastic runoff.

2024 Preprints.org 3 citations
Article Tier 2

Deposition of Roadside Atmospheric Non-Tire Wear Microplastics: Characteristics and Influencing Factors

A year-long roadside study measured the atmospheric deposition of microplastics in two size fractions, finding deposition rates of 3–9 million particles per hectare per month for larger particles and identifying polymers including PP, PE, PS, PVC, PET, and nylon. Traffic was the dominant source of larger particles near the road, while wind patterns dispersed smaller particles more broadly from industrial sources. Roads are a major but underappreciated source of airborne microplastic deposition into surrounding soils and waterways, and this study quantifies that contribution with new precision.

2026 Microplastics