by Every few years, the tires carry thinly on their car and have to be replaced. But where does the lost tire material go?
Unfortunately, the answer is often waterways on which the tiny microplastic particles from the synthetic rubber of the tires wear several chemicals that can transmit into fish, crabs and maybe even the people they eat.
We are analytical and environmental chemists who examine ways to remove this microplastics – and the toxic chemicals that they wear before they reach waterways and the aquatic organisms living there.
Microplasty, macro problem
Every year in millions of metric tons of plastic waste, the world’s oceans. It has recently been found that tire wear particles make up about 45% of all microplastics in both terrestrial and aquatic systems.
Tires shed tiny microplastics as they move over the streets. Rain washes these tire particles in trenches, where they flow into streams, lakes, rivers and oceans.
On the way, fish, crabs, oysters and other water life often find these tire particles in their food. With every bite, the fish also consume extremely toxic chemicals that can eat both the fish itself and all creatures.
Some types of fish such as rainbow trout, Brook trout and Coho salmon die from toxic chemicals associated with tire wear particles.
In 2020, the researchers found that more than half of the Coho salmon that returned to the state of Washington in the state of Washington died before the spawn died, especially because of 6 PPD-Q, a chemical that is from 6 PPD that is added to tires to prevent them from deteriorating.
But the effects of tire wear particles are not only on aquatic organisms. People and animals can be exposed to the air in the air, especially people and animals who live near the main streets.
In a study in China, the same chemical 6ppd-Q was found in the urine of children and adults. While the effects of this chemical are still being examined on the human body, the recent examinations show that the exposure to this chemical could damage several human organs, including liver, lungs and kidneys.
In Oxford, Mississippi, after two rainstorms we identified more than 30,000 tire wear particles in 24 liters of rainwater outflow from streets and parking spaces. In strong traffic areas, we believe that the concentrations could be much higher.
The Interstate Technology and Regulatory Council, a coalition led by the states, recommended 2023 to identify and use alternatives to 6 PPD in tires to reduce 6PD-Q in the environment. But tire manufacturers say that there is still no suitable replacement.
What can communities do to reduce the damage?
At the University of Mississippi, we experiment with sustainable opportunities to remove tire connection particles made of waterways with accessible and inexpensive natural materials from agricultural waste.
The idea is simple: capture the tire wear particles before reaching the streams, rivers and oceans.
In a recently carried out study, we tested pine wood chips and biochar – a form or charcoal made from heating shells in a limited oxygen chamber, a process that is known as pyrolysis, and found that they were able to remove about 90% of the tire complaints from water outflow at our test stations in Oxford.
Biochar is an established material for removing water from water due to its large surface and pores, plenty of chemical binding groups, high stability, strong adsorption capacity and low costs. It was also shown that wood chips remove contamination due to their extensive composition of natural organic compounds. Other scientists have also used sand to filter out microplastics, but their distance rate was low compared to the biochar.
We developed an biofiltration system with biochar and wood chips in a filter sock and placed at the mouth of a drainage outlet. Then we collected rainwater drain samples and measured the tire wear particles and after the biofilter were over two months during two storms. The concentration of the tire wear particles became significantly lower after the bio filter has been inserted.
The unique, elongated and jagged features of tire refusal particles make it easy for you to be caught or involved in the pores of these materials during a storm event. Even the smallest tire wear particles were caught in the complicated network of these materials.
Use biomass filters in the future
We believe that this approach has strong potential for scalability in order to alleviate the pollution of the tire fittings and other contaminants in rainstorms.
Since biochar and wood chips can be generated from agricultural waste, they are relatively cheap and easily available for local communities.
Long -term monitoring studies are required, especially in strong traffic environments, to completely determine the effectiveness and scalability of the approach. The source of the filter material is also important. There were some concerns whether raw farm waste that was not subjected to pyrolysis could release organic pollutants.
Like most filters, the biofilter would have to be replaced over time – with used filters – because the contaminants build up and the filters worsen.
Plastic waste damages the environment, the food that people eat and possibly human health. We believe that biofilter from plant waste could be an effective and relatively inexpensive, environmentally friendly solution.
Boluwatife S. Olubusoye is a doctoral student for chemistry at the University of Mississippi.
James V. Cizdziel is a professor of chemistry at the University of Mississippi.
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