Tyre and road wear particles (TRWP) are a major but understudied source of microplastic pollution in urban environments. Despite their prevalence, key knowledge gaps remain concerning the mechanisms of their transport via atmospheric deposition and the robustness of analytical methods for their detection. This research addresses three objectives: (1) characterising TRWP deposition patterns in relation to traffic and meteorological variables; (2) evaluating the relationship between synthetic rubber quantification via pyrolysis-GC/MS versus imaging segmentation analyses in environmental samples; and (3) developing an innovative microwave-assisted sample preparation method using raw tyre tread to improve future quantification of natural rubber (NR) and synthetic rubbers including styrene-butadiene rubber (SBR) and butadiene rubber (BR), collectively referred to as SBR +BR.
Tyre and road wear particles (TRWP) are a major but understudied source of microplastic pollution in urban environments. Despite their prevalence, key knowledge gaps remain concerning the mechanisms of their transport via atmospheric deposition and the robustness of analytical methods for their detection. This research addresses three objectives: (1) characterising TRWP deposition patterns in relation to traffic and meteorological variables; (2) evaluating the relationship between synthetic rubber quantification via pyrolysis-GC/MS versus imaging segmentation analyses in environmental samples; and (3) developing an innovative microwave-assisted sample preparation method using raw tyre tread to improve future quantification of natural rubber (NR) and synthetic rubbers including styrene-butadiene rubber (SBR) and butadiene rubber (BR), collectively referred to as SBR +BR.