Transferable and reliable methods for tire and road wear particles (TRWP) environmental mass quantification are needed for environmental risk assessment.
The comparative performance of three pyrolysis-gas chromatography-mass spectroscopy (Py-GC-MS) technologies with internal standard was assessed for pure polymers and three cryomilled tire tread (CMTT) samples.
- Tire tread and TRWP quantification in the environment is challenging
- Reliable quantitative methods are critical for environmental risk assessment
- Curie point and microfurnace are suitable for quantitative Py-GC-MS of tire tread
A magnitude of variability was observed that indicates that further method development may be necessary to optimize thermal transfer.
Overall, Curie point and microfurnace were found to be excellent candidate pyrolysis technologies for ongoing quantitative Py-GC-MS of TRWP in environmental method development, capable of a low likelihood of underestimating polymer mass with reasonable replicate precision.
