Papers

61,005 results
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Article Tier 2

Tracks of travel: unveiling tire particle concentrations in Swiss cantonal road soils

Researchers quantified tire wear particle concentrations in roadside soils along fifteen Swiss cantonal roads with relatively low traffic volumes. They found average concentrations of 111,000 particles per kilogram of dry soil, with particle counts and sizes decreasing with increasing distance from the road. The study also found positive relationships between tire wear particle numbers and associated pollutants like polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and trace metals.

2025 Microplastics and Nanoplastics 5 citations
Article Tier 2

Impregnation levels and gradient of tire wear particle content of surface soils adjacent to a major road

Researchers assessed the impregnation levels and spatial gradient of tire and road wear particle (TRWP) contamination in surface soils adjacent to a major road, investigating how proximity to the road surface affects the degree of microplastic loading in roadside soil profiles. The results showed significant TRWP concentrations in soils closest to the road, with contamination gradients extending laterally into adjacent land, confirming roadside soils as durable repositories of tyre-derived microplastics.

2024 Open MIND
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

Tyre wear particles and metals in highway roadside ditches: Occurrence and potential transport pathways.

Researchers characterized the occurrence and distribution of tyre wear particles (TWP) and associated metals in roadside soils and drainage ditches along a highway, investigating transport pathways and estimating the potential for TWP and metal contamination to reach surface water.

2025 Environmental pollution (Barking, Essex : 1987)
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

Microplastics and tyre wear particles infiltration in the soil of a roadside biofiltration swale

Researchers investigated the infiltration of microplastics and tyre wear particles into soil along a roadside biofiltration swale, assessing the extent to which these particles migrate from the road surface into subsurface soils under real-world conditions.

2024 SPIRE - Sciences Po Institutional REpository
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

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

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

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

Pollution from Transport: Detection of Tyre Particles in Environmental Samples

This study reviews tyre wear particles as a major but underestimated source of microplastic pollution from road transport, describing methods for detecting these particles in environmental samples including road dust, waterways, and soils. The authors call for greater regulatory attention to tyre-derived emissions alongside other transport-related pollutants.

2022 Energies 41 citations
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

All black: a microplastic extraction combined with colour-based analysis allows identification and characterisation of tire wear particles (TWP) in soils

This study developed a color-based extraction and analysis method to identify and characterize tire wear particles (TWP) -- estimated to make up over 90% of European microplastic emissions -- in soil samples. The method addresses the significant gap in reliable TWP concentration data needed to assess environmental health effects.

2024
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
Article Tier 2

Tire wear particles: An emerging threat to soil health

This review synthesizes knowledge about tire wear particles — a major but often overlooked source of microplastic-like pollutants — in soil ecosystems. Tire wear particles contain toxic metals and organic compounds that harm soil microbes, invertebrates, and plants, but most research to date has focused on aquatic systems rather than soils.

2022 Figshare
Article Tier 2

Measures to reduce the spread of microplastic particles from tyre wear : On vehicles, on the road and in the roadside environment

Researchers reviewed measures to reduce the spread of microplastic particles from tyre wear at the vehicle, road, and roadside environment levels, examining the transport pathways via air, water, and snow and the risks these persistent, potentially toxic particles pose to ecosystems and human health.

2025 KTH Publication Database DiVA (KTH Royal Institute of Technology)
Article Tier 2

Investigation of physical and chemical properties of particulate matter caused by vehicle tire wear

Researchers characterized the physical and chemical properties of submicron tire wear particles generated from vehicle use on roadways. Using advanced analytical techniques, they identified the elemental composition and morphological structure of these particles, finding notable concentrations of metals and heavy metals. The study highlights that tire wear particles are a significant source of microplastic and chemical pollution with potential implications for human health and the environment.

2023 International Journal of Environmental Science and Technology 12 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

Tyre Wear Particles: Emissions and Distribution in Soil and Stormwater Systems in Near Road Environments

Researchers conducted a multi-scale investigation of tyre wear particle emissions in Sweden, characterizing their distribution in roadside ditches and stormwater systems and developing a national emissions estimation methodology using vehicle-specific factors. Passenger cars were identified as the largest contributor at 55% of total tyre wear particle emissions, and the study evaluated the effectiveness of selected mitigation strategies.

2025
Article Tier 2

Elucidation of the Actual State of Existence of Tire-derived Microplastics at Intersections

Researchers sampled road dust at straight road sections and intersections in two areas of Japan and used FTIR to identify tire-derived microplastics, finding higher MP counts in high-traffic areas and at intersection points where multi-directional vehicle movement and turning occur.

2023 Japanese Journal of JSCE 4 citations
Article Tier 2

Adapting Methods for Isolation and Enumeration of Microplastics to Quantify Tire Road Wear Particles with Confirmation by Pyrolysis GC–MS

Researchers adapted microplastic analysis methods for isolating and counting tire road wear particles from environmental samples, a challenging task due to the varied composition and density of these particles. They found that alkaline digestions are compatible with tire rubber but hydrogen peroxide can damage the particles, and developed visual criteria to distinguish tire particles from bitumen. The adapted methods were validated with road dust samples and confirmed by electron microscopy and pyrolysis mass spectrometry.

2025 Environmental Science & Technology 5 citations
Article Tier 2

Effect of shredded vehicle tyres as microplastics on stabilization of a sandy soil

Researchers investigated the effects of shredded vehicle tyre rubber as a source of microplastic contamination on the engineering properties of sandy soil, performing standard Proctor compaction tests to examine how tyre-derived microplastics influence soil stability beneath road subbase layers.

2025 Environmental Science and Pollution Research
Article Tier 2

Qualitative and Quantitative Analysis of Tire Wear Particles (TWPs) in Road Dust Using a Novel Mode of Operation of TGA-GC/MS

This study developed qualitative and quantitative methods for analyzing tire wear particles (TWPs) in road dust, using a combination of analytical techniques to distinguish rubber particles from other road dust components. Accurate TWP quantification is essential for assessing their contribution to environmental microplastic burdens.

2024 Environmental Science & Technology Letters 7 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