Tyre granulate used as infill for artificial turf is hailed by some as a good example of reuse, while others see it as a baleful means to dispose of discarded tyres. Because the particles are applied ...loosely to the surface, they will inevitably disperse into the environment. The possible environmental and health impacts of the particles are a source of societal concern. In response to this, policies to limit particle losses are being developed at the European level. To make informed decisions, data on the quantity of tyre granulate released into the environment are required. So far, however, there are no systematic reviews on or estimates of these losses. The aim of the present study was to identify the various pathways through which infill leaves a football turf and, subsequently, to estimate the quantity of infill leaving the turf by each of these pathways. Data on the pathways including the associated volumes were collected in a systematic literature review following the PRISMA method. The quality of the evidence reported in the retrieved literature was assessed using the GRADE method. The resulting pathways and corresponding quantities were captured in a mass balance. This study estimates that, without mitigation measures, approximately 950 kg/year (min. 570 kg/year, max. 2280 kg/year) of infill leaves the surface of an average artificial football turf via known pathways. Clearing snow can result in an additional loss of 830 kg/year (min. 200 kg/year, max. 2760 kg/year) of infill material. To mitigate the dispersion of infill, one could focus on snow removal, brushing and granulate picked up by players. Mitigation measures for these pathways are well-established and relatively easy to implement and maintain. Although the amount of granulate picked up from the turf by players is relatively small, the measure will promote environmental awareness among the players.
Today, due to the increasing use of vehicles, toxic particle emissions released from vehicle tires significantly affect the health and environment of living things. This study was designed to explain ...the physical and chemical properties of submicron tire wear particles (TWPs) sources from vehicle use. For this purpose, elemental composition and morphological structure analyses of TWPs were performed using scanning electron microscopy, energy-dispersive spectrometry, Fourier transform infrared, and X-ray diffraction spectroscopy (XRD). The mass weights of the metal and heavy metal elements in the particle structure were also determined. The analyses indicated that 17 elements were present in the elemental structure of the tire particles. Among these elements, toxic heavy metals were detected. The XRD analyses showed that different morphological formations of microplastics and carbon black were found extensively in the TWP chemical structure. In addition, a great amount of ZnO was concentrated in the tire structure, and other oxidized and mineralogical forms were detected. According to the World Health Organization reports, these toxic substances can be caused by acid rain, greenhouse effect, ozone layer depletion, eutrophication, biodegradation, etc., causes many negative environmental effects. In connection with these undesirable effects, it causes many health problems such as the loss of health of the living respiratory, digestive and cardiovascular systems. Because heterogeneous TWPs are an important source of microplastics and toxic compounds in the environment, more research is needed to assess the risks to soil, air, water, and to plant, animal, and human health.
Particles from the tread of vehicle tyres are a global pollutant, which are emitted into the environment at an approximate rate of 1.4 kg.year−1 for an average passenger-car. In this study, popular ...tyre brands were used to generate a tyre tread microparticle mixture. The chronic toxicity of both particles and chemical leachates were compared on a planktonic test species (Daphnia magna). Over 21 days of exposure, pristine tyre tread microparticles were more toxic (LC50 60 mg.L−1) than chemical lechates alone (LC50 542 mg.L−1). Microparticles and leachates showed distinct effects on reproduction and morphological development at environmentally relevant concentrations, with dose-dependent uptake of particles visible in the digestive tract. Chemical characterization of leachates revealed a metal predominance of zinc, titanium, and strontium. Of the numerous organic chemicals present, at least 54 were shared across all 5 tyre brands, with many classified to be very toxic. Our results provide a critically needed information on the toxicity of tyre tread particles and the associated chemicals that leach from them to inform future mitigation measures. We conclude that tyre particles are hazardous pollutants of particular concern that are close to or possibly above chronic environmental safety limits in some locations.
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•Tyre-tread microparticles are a class of plastic pollutants of high concern.•Tyre-tread particle mixtures were prepared from widely used brands of tyres.•Several organic chemicals were identified by LC-QToF and quantified by LC-MS-MS.•Both tyre microparticles and their leachates induced toxicity responses on life-history traits.•Tyre particles were more toxic than leachates (LC50 21d of 60 vs 542 mg.L−1).
There is an increasing concern over the quality of incoming recycled material for the manufacturing of tyre tread compounds. Often, the recycled material is a blend of different tyre segments. The ...parts and segments of tyre generally contain varying composition of rubber constituents. Because of the similar physical appearance, the source and composition of this material are somewhat complicated to be differentiated, hence compromising the quality of the tyre treads produced. In the manufacturing of tyre treads especially for heavy vehicles such as buses and trucks, the recycled material of sufficient quality should be used. They were investigated with regard to the mechanical properties and morphological studies. Tensile modulus and hardness appreciably increased with WTR loading. Tear strength increased with increasing GTP. The dispersion of hybrid composites in the matrix was confirmed by Scanning Electron Microscopy. However use GTP in partial NR-SBR compounds, suitable for low potential application which leads to significant solution of environmental contamination.
A comparison of the effects produced by size-fractionated tire particles (TP10 and TP2.5) and similar-sized urban particulate matter (PM10 and PM2.5), collected in Milan in 2007, on the lungs of mice ...has been performed. The focus is on early acute lung responses following intratracheal instillation of aerosolized particles at a 3-h recovery period. Together with bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) conventional endpoints like total and differential cell counts, total protein, alkaline phosphatase, lactate dehydrogenase and pro-inflammatory cytokines (TNF-α, MIP-2), the expression of different stress protein markers (caspase8, Hsp70, H0-1, NF-kB) was evaluated 3
h after particle instillation into Balb/c mice. The TP2.5 fraction reached the alveolar spaces and produced an acute inflammatory response as evidenced by increased LDH and AP activities, total protein and Hsp70 content. TNF-α and MIP-2 production was significantly increased and polymorphonuclear neutrophils (PMN) recruitment was apparent. The TP10 fraction distributed mainly in the bronchial district and the only modified BAL parameter was the expression of MIP-2. PM2.5 induced an inflammatory response lesser in magnitude than that produced by PM10 fraction. The TNF-α increase was not significant, and HO-1, though significantly increased with respect to the control, was unable to reduce NF-kB activation, suggesting a role of the endotoxin component of PM in stimulating a pro-inflammatory limited response. This response was maximized by the PM10 that induced a significant increase in MIP-2, TNF-α, and HO-1. Lung immunohistochemistry showed fine particles, TPs in particular, being able to deeply penetrate and rapidly induce inflammatory events in the parenchyma, even involving endothelial cells, while PM10 produced a strong pro-inflammatory response mediated by the bronchiolar cells and residential macrophages of the proximal alveolar sacs, likely as a consequence of its larger dimension and endotoxin content. These results provide evidence of variable inflammatory mechanisms in mouse lungs in response to both urban PM and tire particles.
As a result of rising environmental awareness, vehicle-related emissions such as particulate matter are subject to increasing criticism. The air pollution in urban areas is especially linked to ...health risks. The connection between vehicle-related particle emissions and ambient air quality is highly complex. Therefore, a methodology is presented to evaluate the influence of different vehicle-related sources such as exhaust particles, brake wear and tire and road wear particles (TRWP) on ambient particulate matter (PM). In a first step, particle measurements were conducted based on field trials with an instrumented vehicle to determine the main influence parameters for each emission source. Afterwards, a simplified approach for a qualitative prediction of vehicle-related particle emissions is derived. In a next step, a virtual inner-city scenario is set up. This includes a vehicle simulation environment for predicting the local emission hot spots as well as a computational fluid dynamics model (CFD) to account for particle dispersion in the environment. This methodology allows for the investigation of emissions pathways from the point of generation up to the point of their emission potential.
We conducted GDS dynamic triaxial tests to study the change rules of the hysteresis curve morphology, axial strain, dynamic elastic modulus, and damping ratio of waste tire rubber-mixed sand-based ...subgrade model samples with different rubber particle sizes, rubber mixing amounts, and loading times. The research revealed the developmental rule of the hysteresis curves of waste tire rubber-mixed-sand samples under cyclic loading. From the analyses and comparison of the dynamic stress–strain change rules of rubber-particle-mixed-sand samples under different test conditions, it was concluded that the dynamic elastic modulus and shear stiffness of rubber-mixed-sand samples were smaller than those of pure sand samples under cyclic loading while their damping ratios were greater than that of pure sand samples, promoting vibration resistance and reduction to a larger extent. Therefore, this conclusion is of guiding significance for engineering practice.
Transport is one of the most important sources of environmental pollution. More and more information has shown that one of the greatest sources of emissions from transport are emissions related to ...the release of microplastics from tyres. This is one of the most underestimated sources of emissions into the environment. In this study, environmental samples are analysed for the presence of these particles. For this purpose, optical methods and spectroscopic methods are used. Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy is used to identify synthetic rubber, most likely derived from car tyres. A complementary confocal microscopy method is used to confirm the FTIR results. The soil samples and road dust from the areas with heavy traffic are tested. An average of 372 ± 50 fragments per kilogram dry weight are detected in the soil samples. In the case of samples from the road, this number is 515 ± 20 fragments per kilogram of dry matter. In the samples, most of the microplastics come from tyres, which confirms the scientists’ assumptions about the amount of emissions in the environment. More than 90% of the black fragments later identified as tyre-derived synthetic rubber are found in the samples. A greater number of microplastics are found in road dust samples than in the soil. This may be due to the direct influence of braking, which causes greater accumulation of samples at the emission source than at a short distance into the soil. There is also a noticeable difference in the size of the fraction. In the case of soils, a fraction below 50 µm accounts for the majority of cases. When one analyses road dust samples, one may observe that most of the fractions are between 50 and 200 µm. This may be due to the possibility of smaller emission particles over longer distances and the greater degradation process that occurs in soils. The microplastics from the road dust are less degraded than the microplastics from the soil.
Agricultural lignocellulosic fiber (rice straw)-waste tire particle composite boards were manufactured for use as insulation boards in construction, using the same method as that used in the ...wood-based panel industry. The manufacturing parameters were: a specific gravity of 0.8 and a rice straw content (10/90, 20/80 and 30/70 by wt.% of rice straw/waste tire particle). A commercial polyurethane adhesive for rubber was used as the composite binder. The water proof, water absorption and thickness swelling properties of the composite boards were better than those of wood particleboard. Furthermore, the flexibility and flexural properties of the composite boards were superior to those of other wood-based panel products. The composite boards also demonstrated good acoustical insulation, electrical insulation, anti-caustic and anti-rot properties. These boards can be used to prevent impact damage, are easily modifiable and are inexpensive. They are able to be used as a substitute for insulation boards and other flexural materials in construction.
