IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v16y2024i2p522-d1314708.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Contribution of Road Vehicle Tyre Wear to Microplastics and Ambient Air Pollution

Author

Listed:
  • Barouch Giechaskiel

    (Joint Research Centre (JRC), European Commission, 21027 Ispra, Italy)

  • Theodoros Grigoratos

    (Joint Research Centre (JRC), European Commission, 21027 Ispra, Italy)

  • Marcel Mathissen

    (Ford-Werke GmbH, 52072 Aachen, Germany)

  • Joris Quik

    (Centre for Sustainability, Environment and Health (DMG), RIVM, 3720 BA Bilthoven, The Netherlands)

  • Peter Tromp

    (Netherlands Organisation for Applied Scientific Research (TNO), 3584 CB Utrecht, The Netherlands)

  • Mats Gustafsson

    (Swedish National Road and Transport Research Institute (VTI), 581 95 Linköping, Sweden)

  • Vicente Franco

    (Directorate-General for Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs (DG-GROW), European Commission, 1040 Brussels, Belgium)

  • Panagiota Dilara

    (Directorate-General for Environment (DG-ENV), European Commission, 1040 Brussels, Belgium)

Abstract

Tyre particles are generated by shear forces between the tread and the road or by volatilisation. Tyre abrasion (wear) contributes from one-third to half of microplastics unintentionally released into the environment. The major part ends up in the soil, a considerable amount is released into the aquatic environment, and a small percentage becomes airborne. Nevertheless, tyre abrasion contributes to 5–30% of road transport particulate matter (PM) emissions. This corresponds to approximately 5% of total ambient PM emissions. The particle mass size distribution peak at around 20 to 100 μm, with a second peak in the 2–10 μm range. A nucleation mode has been reported in some studies. The absolute abrasion levels depend on the tyre, vehicle, and road characteristics, but also on environmental conditions and driving style. Most tyre particle emission factors in the literature are based on data prior to the year 2000. We aggregated recent studies and found a mean abrasion of 110 mg/km per vehicle or 68 mg/km/t for passenger cars (based on approximately 300 measurements). Based on a limited number of studies, the PM 10 emissions were 1.4–2.2 mg/km per tyre. On the other hand, the particle number emissions were in the order of 10 10 #/km per tyre. The ratio of PM 10 to total abrasion was found to be 2.5% on average. Finally, the ratio of PM 2.5 to PM 10 was calculated to be around 40%. Various mitigation measures for tyre particle pollution could be envisaged; the most direct is the limitation of the tyre abrasion rate, as proposed by the European Commission for the Euro 7 regulation. Other regulatory initiatives are also discussed.

Suggested Citation

  • Barouch Giechaskiel & Theodoros Grigoratos & Marcel Mathissen & Joris Quik & Peter Tromp & Mats Gustafsson & Vicente Franco & Panagiota Dilara, 2024. "Contribution of Road Vehicle Tyre Wear to Microplastics and Ambient Air Pollution," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(2), pages 1-31, January.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:16:y:2024:i:2:p:522-:d:1314708
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/16/2/522/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/16/2/522/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Daniel Venghaus & Johannes Wolfgang Neupert & Matthias Barjenbruch, 2023. "Tire Wear Monitoring Approach for Hotspot Identification in Road Deposited Sediments from a Metropolitan City in Germany," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(15), pages 1-14, August.
    2. Pieter Jan Kole & Ansje J. Löhr & Frank G. A. J. Van Belleghem & Ad M. J. Ragas, 2017. "Wear and Tear of Tyres: A Stealthy Source of Microplastics in the Environment," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 14(10), pages 1-31, October.
    3. Yoonah Jeong & Seokhwan Lee & Sang-Hee Woo, 2022. "Chemical Leaching from Tire Wear Particles with Various Treadwear Ratings," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(10), pages 1-11, May.
    4. Irfan Ullah & Muhammad Safdar & Jianfeng Zheng & Alessandro Severino & Arshad Jamal, 2023. "Employing Bibliometric Analysis to Identify the Current State of the Art and Future Prospects of Electric Vehicles," Energies, MDPI, vol. 16(5), pages 1-24, February.
    5. Masato Honda & Nobuo Suzuki, 2020. "Toxicities of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons for Aquatic Animals," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(4), pages 1-23, February.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Jon Tivey & Huw C. Davies & James G. Levine & Josias Zietsman & Suzanne Bartington & Sergio Ibarra-Espinosa & Karl Ropkins, 2023. "Meta-Analysis as Early Evidence on the Particulate Emissions Impact of EURO VI on Battery Electric Bus Fleet Transitions," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(2), pages 1-30, January.
    2. Wei Wu & Jun Ma & Dong Liu & Qiao Xu & Gang Li, 2022. "Scientific Knowledge Mapping and Thematic Evolution for Tire Wear Particles," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(1), pages 1-15, December.
    3. Xin Li & Guanlai Zhu, 2023. "Green Supply Chain Coordination Considering Carbon Emissions and Product Green Level Dependent Demand," Mathematics, MDPI, vol. 11(10), pages 1-23, May.
    4. Mingkai Wang & Saulo O. D. Luiz & Shuguang Zhang & Antonio M. N. Lima, 2023. "Electric Flight in Extreme and Uncertain Urban Environments," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(16), pages 1-22, August.
    5. Tess Sigwarth & Johannes Büchner & Michael P. Wistuba, 2022. "Bio-Degradable Wax to Modify Asphalt Binder for Warm Mix Asphalt," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(16), pages 1-16, August.
    6. Masato Honda & Koki Mukai & Edward Nagato & Seiichi Uno & Yuji Oshima, 2021. "Correlation between Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons in Wharf Roach ( Ligia spp.) and Environmental Components of the Intertidal and Supralittoral Zone along the Japanese Coast," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(2), pages 1-16, January.
    7. Rodrigo Mundo & Tetsuya Matsunaka & Hisanori Iwai & Shinya Ochiai & Seiya Nagao, 2021. "Geochemical Control of PAHs by Inflowing River Water to West Nanao Bay, Japan, and Its Influences on Ecological Risk: Small-Scale Changes Observed under Near-Background Conditions at an Enclosed Bay," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(19), pages 1-15, September.
    8. Moien A. Omar, 2023. "The Significance of Considering Battery Service-Lifetime for Correctly Sizing Hybrid PV–Diesel Energy Systems," Energies, MDPI, vol. 17(1), pages 1-22, December.
    9. Julia Vianna de Pinho & Paloma de Almeida Rodrigues & Ivelise Dimbarre Lao Guimarães & Francielli Casanova Monteiro & Rafaela Gomes Ferrari & Rachel Ann Hauser-Davis & Carlos Adam Conte-Junior, 2022. "The Role of the Ecotoxicology Applied to Seafood as a Tool for Human Health Risk Assessments Concerning Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(3), pages 1-25, January.
    10. Vivien Lorenčič, 2023. "The Effect of Tire Age and Anti-Lock Braking System on the Coefficient of Friction and Braking Distance," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(8), pages 1-16, April.
    11. Yamei Cai & Chen Li & Yaqian Zhao, 2021. "A Review of the Migration and Transformation of Microplastics in Inland Water Systems," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(1), pages 1-15, December.
    12. Anna Kwasiborska & Anna Stelmach & Izabela Jabłońska, 2023. "Quantitative and Comparative Analysis of Energy Consumption in Urban Logistics Using Unmanned Aerial Vehicles and Selected Means of Transport," Energies, MDPI, vol. 16(18), pages 1-27, September.
    13. Bartolomé Marco-Lajara & Javier Martínez-Falcó & Eduardo Sánchez-García & Luis A. Millan-Tudela, 2023. "Analyzing the Role of Renewable Energy in Meeting the Sustainable Development Goals: A Bibliometric Analysis," Energies, MDPI, vol. 16(7), pages 1-22, March.
    14. Maryna Strokal & Paul Vriend & Mirjam P. Bak & Carolien Kroeze & Jikke Wijnen & Tim Emmerik, 2023. "River export of macro- and microplastics to seas by sources worldwide," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 14(1), pages 1-13, December.
    15. Hafize Nurgul Durmus Senyapar & Murat Akil & Emrah Dokur, 2023. "Adoption of Electric Vehicles: Purchase Intentions and Consumer Behaviors Research in Turkey," SAGE Open, , vol. 13(2), pages 21582440231, June.
    16. Shampa Ghosh & Jitendra Kumar Sinha & Soumya Ghosh & Kshitij Vashisth & Sungsoo Han & Rakesh Bhaskar, 2023. "Microplastics as an Emerging Threat to the Global Environment and Human Health," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(14), pages 1-17, July.
    17. Edith Dube & Grace Emily Okuthe, 2023. "Plastics and Micro/Nano-Plastics (MNPs) in the Environment: Occurrence, Impact, and Toxicity," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(17), pages 1-23, August.
    18. Demmelash Mengistu & Vegard Nilsen & Arve Heistad & Knut Kvaal, 2019. "Detection and Quantification of Tire Particles in Sediments Using a Combination of Simultaneous Thermal Analysis, Fourier Transform Infra-Red, and Parallel Factor Analysis," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 16(18), pages 1-22, September.
    19. Maksymilian Mądziel, 2023. "Vehicle Emission Models and Traffic Simulators: A Review," Energies, MDPI, vol. 16(9), pages 1-31, May.
    20. Arlinda Cakaj & Marta Lisiak-Zielińska & Kinga Drzewiecka & Anna Budka & Klaudia Borowiak & Maria Drapikowska & Arbnore Cakaj & Erjon Qorri & Piotr Szkudlarz, 2023. "Potential Impact of Urban Land Use on Microplastic Atmospheric Deposition: A Case Study in Pristina City, Kosovo," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(23), pages 1-14, November.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:16:y:2024:i:2:p:522-:d:1314708. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.