Detection of Microplastic Emissions from Road Markings

 

CBI Consortium Project

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Contact

Photo of Dr.-Ing. Christian Schulze © Copyright: ISAC

Name

Christian Schulze

Chief Engineer

Phone

work
+49 241 80 25231

Email

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  Road with red markings Copyright: © ISAC

The Institute of Environmental Engineering (ISA) and the Institute of Highway Engineering (ISAC) at RWTH Aachen University are pleased to announce the launch of the CBI consortium project "Detection of microplastic emissions from road markings". In cooperation with our consortium partners Dow, Röhm and Swarco, the project will develop a test method for the detection of microplastic emissions from road markings, which is subsequently to be tested and applied by the project participants.

Tyre-road wear is one of the most significant sources of microplastics in our environment. Tyre-road wear consists of tyre wear, dust and road wear. Currently, there are differences in the quantities of microparticle emissions between the quantities calculated on the basis of theoretical methods and the quantities actually released in field tests. The polymers contained in the paint layer of road markings can be released during abrasion and can be crushed and dispersed by vehicles, wind and rain. Up to now, there is little reliable data available from practice for emission quantities of plastics from road markings.

In this project, a mechanical test procedure and an analytical test method will be developed to determine microplastic emissions from road markings.