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.

Tire wear particles (TWPs) are a major component of non-exhaust traffic emissions and an important source of microplastics capable of retaining and transporting organic contaminants. This study investigated the sorption behaviour and adsorption kinetics of antibiotics (AAs), the endocrine-active compound E3, hydroxylated PAHs (OH-PAHs) and the biomarker cotinine using batch experiments (15–24 h) combined with LC-MS/MS analysis. Sorption was rapid and compound-specific. Cotinine showed the highest adsorption capacity (q_e = 90.91 µg g^–1), 5-hPZA was the most strongly retained among AAs (38.18 µg g^–1), and 4-OH-PHEN exhibited the highest uptake among OH-PAHs (24.63 µg g^–1). Most analytes followed the pseudo-second-order kinetic model (typically R² > 0.98), while several OH-PAHs displayed deviations, indicating diverse adsorption behaviour. Raman and ATR-FTIR analyses confirmed the heterogeneous composition of TWPs, including carbonaceous and inorganic fillers. Overall, the results demonstrate that TWPs act as effective sorbents for multiple classes of micropollutants and may influence their environmental mobility and persistence. Further research under environmentally realistic conditions - including quantitative assessment of TWP abundance and competitive sorption between co-occurring contaminants - is needed to better predict their role in air, soil and water systems.

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