As vehicles become more electric, traditional exhaust pollution is decreasing. But there’s another source of air pollution getting more attention — tiny particles that come from tires as they wear down on the road. While electric vehicles (EVs) produce no exhaust, they can actually create more tire wear particles (TWPs) than gas-powered cars. That’s because EVs are typically heavier, which puts more pressure on tires and leads to faster wear. These tiny particles, which can include microplastics, become airborne and contribute to overall traffic-related air pollution.
With support from the CenTiRe (Center for Tire Research), we investigate the emission of airborne microplastics in tire wear particles across scales from a single tire/vehicle to an entire city. Find more information about this project and the CenTiRe here :
Multiscale dynamic assessment of airborne microplastic emissions in tire wear particles
We use a variety of tools to better understand this emerging issue — from lab experiments and real-world field measurements to traffic modeling at multiple scales. These approaches help us track how tire wear particles are released and how they spread in the air. You can see examples of our work here and here, and read a press release about our findings here.