Chemical Leaching from Tire Wear Particles with Various Treadwear Ratings

Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2022 May 15;19(10):6006. doi: 10.3390/ijerph19106006.

Abstract

Physical friction between a tire and the road surface generates tire wear particles (TWPs), which are a source of microplastics and particulate matter. This study investigated the trends of chemical leaching from TWPs depending on the treadwear rating of the tire. A road simulator was used to produce TWPs from tires with various treadwear ratings. Liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry was used to analyze the chemical leaching from TWPs, with a particular focus on benzothiazole and its derivative 2-hydroxy benzothiazole. However, chemical mapping via high-resolution tandem mass spectrometry detected another derivative: 2-mercaptobenzothiazole. The benzothiazole groups were observed to have different leaching tendencies, implying that using benzothiazole as a marker compound may lead to incorrect TWP quantitation. The results of this research also suggest that the ecotoxicological influence of TWPs can vary with the treadwear rating of a tire.

Keywords: benzothiazole; chemical leaching; tire wear particle; treadwear rating.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Benzothiazoles
  • Chromatography, Liquid
  • Ecotoxicology
  • Particulate Matter* / analysis
  • Plastics* / analysis

Substances

  • Benzothiazoles
  • Particulate Matter
  • Plastics

Grants and funding

This study was supported by the Korea Institute of Civil Engineering and Building Technology (KICT) (Project Number: 20190290-001). This research was also supported by the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF) grant funded by the Korean government (MSIT) (Project Number: 2022R1C1C1008210).