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61,005 resultsShowing papers similar to Tire Abrasion as a Major Source of Microplastics in the Environment
ClearMicroplastics 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.
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.
Wheels of Contamination: Car tire microplastics from source to sea
Researchers traced car tyre microplastics from their generation through environmental transport pathways to eventual deposition in the sea, estimating that more than 55% of tyre-wear particles enter aquatic environments via runoff and atmospheric transport. The study synthesised existing data on tyre microplastic sources, emission rates, and fate to map the full contamination pathway from road surfaces to ocean ecosystems.
An estimation of tire and road wear particles emissions in surface water based on a conceptual framework
Researchers developed a conceptual framework to estimate emissions of tire and road wear particles (TRWPs) into surface water, identifying them as a dominant source of microplastic contamination in freshwater environments globally.
Tire Wear and Pollutants: An Overview of Research
This review provides an overview of tire road and wear particles as a major source of microplastic emissions, examining both experimental and mathematical approaches to measuring tire wear. The study notes that while tire wear particles are found in alarming amounts across various environments, they remain less studied than other microplastics, and calls for more accurate simulation models to predict tire wear emissions.
Wear and Tear of Tyres: A Stealthy Source of Microplastics in the Environment
This paper compiles existing knowledge on tire wear as a major but often overlooked source of microplastics, estimating global per-person emissions at about 0.8 kilograms per year. Tire particles enter waterways, air, and soil, with an estimated 5-10% of ocean plastic pollution originating from tire wear. The study calls for increased awareness and creative solutions to address this stealthy yet substantial contributor to microplastic contamination.
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.
Realistic evaluation of tire wear particle emissions and their driving factors on different road types
This study measured tire wear particle (TWP) emissions under realistic driving conditions on different road types and identified the key driving factors affecting emission rates. Tire wear particles are a major category of microplastic pollution in road runoff, and this data is needed to estimate their contribution to environmental contamination.
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.
Swedish sources and pathways for microplastics to the marine environment
Researchers reviewed Swedish sources and transport pathways of microplastics to the marine environment, identifying road tire wear and abrasion as the dominant emission source at approximately 13,000 tonnes per year, with stormwater, wastewater, and atmospheric deposition as primary pathways to aquatic systems.
Wheels of Contamination: Car tire microplastics from source to sea
Researchers traced the pathway of car tire microplastics from their origin on road surfaces through environmental transport routes to marine deposition, estimating that over 55 million kilograms of tire wear particles enter aquatic environments annually. The study synthesized evidence on emission rates, transport mechanisms, and ecological risks associated with tire-derived microplastics reaching the sea.
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.
Dynamic probabilistic material flow analysis of rubber release from tires into the environment
A dynamic material flow analysis model estimated the annual and cumulative release of rubber from vehicle tires into the environment via road wear, finding that tire rubber represents a substantial fraction of total microplastic pollution in terrestrial and aquatic systems. The study helps quantify this important but often overlooked microplastic source.
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.
Relevance of tyre wear particles to the total content of microplastics transported by runoff in a high-imperviousness and intense vehicle traffic urban area.
Researchers characterized microplastics and tire wear particles (TWPs) transported by urban stormwater runoff in a highly impervious catchment, finding that TWPs made up a substantial fraction of the total microplastic load in sediments of a stormwater detention reservoir. The study underscores the contribution of road traffic to microplastic pollution entering waterways.
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.
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.
Is road pavement wear a source of microplastics in stormwater runoff?
This study investigated whether road pavement wear is a measurable source of microplastics in stormwater runoff, distinct from the better-characterized tire wear contribution. Pavement-derived particles were identified in stormwater samples, confirming that road surface material itself contributes to microplastic loading in urban runoff alongside tire wear and other sources.
Contribution of Road Vehicle Tyre Wear to Microplastics and Ambient Air Pollution
This review finds that tire wear from road vehicles contributes one-third to one-half of all microplastics released unintentionally into the environment, with passenger cars generating about 110 milligrams per kilometer driven. Most tire particles end up in soil, but a portion becomes airborne, contributing 5-30% of road transport particulate matter emissions. Since the smallest tire particles can be inhaled, this is a significant and often overlooked source of daily microplastic exposure for people living near roads.
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.
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.
Removal of tire wear from road runoff
This doctoral thesis developed sampling systems to measure tire-wear particle emissions at urban hotspots and tested decentralized filter solutions to capture these particles before they enter surface waters via road runoff. Tire wear is one of the largest single sources of microplastic pollution, and practical, scalable roadside filtration could meaningfully reduce the amount reaching aquatic ecosystems.
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.
Tire wear particles in different water environments: occurrence, behavior, and biological effects—a review and perspectives
This review examines tire wear particles, a major but often overlooked source of microplastics in water environments. Tire particles release toxic chemicals as they break down in water and can harm aquatic organisms, but most research has focused only on the chemical leachate rather than the particles themselves. Since tire wear contributes a large share of total microplastic pollution, understanding its full impact on water ecosystems and the food chain is important for human health.