Papers

20 results
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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

Analytical Investigation of Tire Induced Particle Emissions

This automotive engineering study measured the size distribution of fine dust particles (under 10 micrometers) generated by tire wear, finding that tire-derived particles represent a significant non-exhaust source of urban particulate matter. As electric vehicle adoption reduces exhaust emissions, tire and brake wear particles will become a proportionally larger component of urban air pollution. These tire wear particles are also a major source of microplastic contamination in road runoff.

2021 1 citations
Article Tier 2

Environmental occurrence, fate, impact, and potential solution of tire microplastics: Similarities and differences with tire wear particles

This review examines tire microplastics, one of the most abundant types of microplastics in the environment, which come from tire wear on roads, recycled tire rubber, and tire repair dust. These particles carry a complex mix of chemicals including heavy metals and organic pollutants that can harm aquatic and soil organisms. Since tire microplastics end up in waterways and soil near roads, they represent a significant but often overlooked source of human microplastic exposure.

2021 The Science of The Total Environment 259 citations
Article Tier 2

Environmental risks of car tire microplastic particles and other road runoff pollutants

Researchers conducted the first comprehensive environmental risk assessment of tire wear microplastic particles and their associated chemical pollutants in European road runoff. They found that tire wear particles and several related chemicals pose measurable risks to organisms in surface water and sediment. The study suggests that tire wear is a significant but often overlooked source of microplastic pollution with real consequences for aquatic ecosystems.

2021 Microplastics and Nanoplastics 133 citations
Article Tier 2

Potential deterioration of chemical water quality due to trace metal adsorption onto tire and road wear particles – Environmentally representative experiments

Researchers studied how tire and road wear particles affect water quality by adsorbing trace metals from the environment. They found that these particles, which constitute a significant fraction of microplastic emissions, can adsorb metals like zinc and copper from water under realistic environmental conditions. The findings indicate that tire wear particles may worsen chemical water quality in surface waters by acting as carriers and concentrators of toxic metals.

2024 Environmental Pollution 11 citations
Article Tier 2

Unveiling the mechanism secret of abrasion emissions of particulate matter and microplastics

Researchers investigated the physical and chemical mechanisms driving particulate matter and microplastic emissions from tire abrasion and other organic material wear, a major but poorly understood source of airborne and marine microplastics. The study identified key abrasion mechanisms and material properties that govern emission rates, providing a foundation for reducing non-exhaust traffic-related microplastic pollution.

2024 Scientific Reports 5 citations
Article Tier 2

Methods for laboratory-generation and physico-chemical characterisation of tyre wear particles

Researchers developed a lab method to generate tire wear particles using a friction machine and then identified a suite of chemical compounds that could serve as reliable markers for detecting these particles in environmental samples. Tire wear is one of the largest single sources of microplastic pollution globally, yet quantifying it in the environment has been hampered by the lack of agreed marker compounds. This work lays groundwork for standardized monitoring of tire particle pollution in soils and waterways.

2024 Detritus 3 citations
Article Tier 2

On airborne tire wear particles along roads with different traffic characteristics using passive sampling and optical microscopy, single particle SEM/EDX, and µ-ATR-FTIR analyses

Researchers used passive sampling and advanced analytical techniques including SEM/EDX and micro-ATR-FTIR to characterize airborne tire wear particles along roads with different traffic volumes and speeds. The study found that tire wear particles, a major category of microplastic pollution, varied in concentration and composition depending on traffic characteristics, highlighting roadways as a significant source of airborne microplastic contamination.

2022 Frontiers in Environmental Science 43 citations
Article Tier 2

Tire crumb in the environment: a review on occurrence, fate and recent advances in detection and analysis

This review provides a comprehensive assessment of tire wear particles as environmental contaminants, covering their physical and chemical properties, occurrence across environmental matrices, and detection methods. Researchers found that tire wear particles are present in air, water, and soil worldwide but remain difficult to quantify due to their variable density, aging behavior, and lack of standardized detection protocols. The study highlights the urgent need for consistent analytical methods to better understand how these particles move through and impact the environment.

2025 Soft Matter 1 citations
Review Tier 2

Microplastics from tyre and road wear A literature review

This literature review examines microplastics generated from tire and road wear, identifying road traffic as a significant but often overlooked source of plastic pollution in urban runoff and waterways. The authors assess what is known about tire particle composition, environmental fate, and potential ecological effects.

2020 KTH Publication Database DiVA (KTH Royal Institute of Technology) 32 citations
Article Tier 2

Characteristics of Real-world Non-exhaust Particulates from Vehicles

Researchers characterized non-exhaust particulate emissions from vehicle tire and road wear, collecting atmospheric PM samples with a high-volume quartz filter sampler and using pyrolysis-GC/MS to analyze tire rubber markers including polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and heavy metals, quantifying the contribution of tire-brake-road wear particles to urban air pollution.

2022 Preprints.org 3 citations
Article Tier 2

A comparative analysis of the chemical composition and biofilm formation on tire wear particles from six different tire types

Researchers analyzed the chemical composition and biofilm communities forming on tire-wear particles compared to other microplastic types, finding that tire wear particles support distinct microbial assemblages. The unique surface chemistry of tire wear particles may promote the attachment of pathogens and toxin-producing microorganisms.

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

A comparative analysis of the chemical composition and biofilm formation on tire wear particles from six different tire types

Researchers compared the chemical composition and biofilm characteristics of tire wear particles collected from different vehicle types and road conditions, examining how these variables affect toxin and pathogen attachment. Tire wear particle composition varied with source, and surface properties influenced the attachment of microorganisms and contaminants, affecting their hazard potential.

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

Characteristics of Real-world Non-exhaust Particulates from Vehicles

Researchers analyzed non-exhaust particulate emissions from vehicles by collecting tire and atmospheric PM samples, using pyrolysis-GC/MS and ICP/MS to identify polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and heavy metals as markers, and found that tire and road wear particles contribute substantially to atmospheric particulate matter with toxicological implications.

2022 Preprints.org 3 citations
Systematic Review Tier 1

Tire wear particles in aquatic environments: A systematic review of sources, detection, distribution, and toxicological impacts

This systematic review examined tire wear particles — a type of microplastic created as tires wear down on roads — as an emerging water pollutant. These particles wash into rivers and oceans through stormwater runoff and contain toxic chemicals that harm aquatic organisms. Since tire wear is one of the largest sources of microplastic pollution, this is relevant to anyone living near roads or consuming seafood.

2025 Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety 3 citations
Article Tier 2

Analytical challenges and possibilities for the quantification of tire-road wear particles

This review examines the analytical challenges involved in measuring tire-road wear particles, one of the largest sources of microplastic emissions. Researchers cataloged the wide range of methods used to detect and quantify these particles, noting that their varied size, shape, density, and chemical makeup make consistent measurement difficult. The study highlights the need for standardized analytical approaches so that results from different studies can be meaningfully compared.

2023 TrAC Trends in Analytical Chemistry 65 citations
Article Tier 2

Tire wear particles in the aquatic environment - A review on generation, analysis, occurrence, fate and effects

Researchers reviewed available science on tire wear particles (TWP) — tiny fragments shed from tires during driving — finding that Europe alone generates over 1.3 million tonnes per year, but critical data on environmental concentrations, transport to waterways, and aquatic toxicity remain too limited for robust ecological risk assessment.

2018 Water Research 944 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

What is known and unknown concerning microplastics from tyre wear?

This review synthesizes current knowledge on tyre wear particles (TWPs) as a major source of road-traffic microplastics, covering how particle generation, transport pathways, and environmental fate depend on tyre composition, road characteristics, and weather. A key finding is that while TWPs can be identified in environmental samples, quantifying them precisely remains difficult and expensive—a gap that must be closed to accurately assess human and ecological exposure.

2023 Road Materials and Pavement Design 8 citations
Article Tier 2

Tyre Wear Particles in the Environment: Sources, Toxicity, and Remediation Approaches

This review examines tire wear particles, which account for a major share of global microplastic pollution with 1.3 million metric tons released annually in Europe alone. These rubber-based particles contain heavy metals and toxic organic chemicals that contaminate air, water, and soil, and human exposure occurs through inhaling dust, eating contaminated food, and drinking water, raising concerns about respiratory, cardiovascular, and cancer risks.

2025 Sustainability 19 citations