New tyre collects microplastics
Microplastics pose a major threat to human and animal health, but also to plants. A large part of microplastic is produced by the abrasion of car tyres while driving. A new type of tyre can ensure that the abrasion is no longer easily released into the environment.
Microplastics are on everyone's lips. But not only there, but also in the lungs and, in the worst case, in the bloodstream. Because microplastics do not simply disappear, but develop into smaller and smaller particles that can eventually get everywhere. A phenomenon that has long been underestimated is the abrasion of tyres. The rubber gets from the tyre onto the road and from there into the waterways and soil. Depending on its size, a car tyre loses more than four kilograms of microplastics before it is worn down and needs to be changed. In Europe, about 500,000 tonnes of tyre wear are produced each year.
Generally speaking, the heavier a vehicle and the larger the tyres, the more abrasion is produced. And although no pollutants come out of the exhaust in an electric car, the battery in particular adds considerable weight, which increases tyre wear. As a result, tyre wear can be higher on an electric car than on a combustion engine.
But of course it also depends on the quality of the tyres. On average, 120 grams are worn off per 1000 kilometres. The ADAC has investigated which tyres wear out the fastest. The least wear was found in the tyres of the Michelin, Vredestein and Goodyear brands. All were below 110 grams per 1000 kilometres. At the lower end of the scale are the tyres made by Bridgestone, Nokian and Pirelli, all of which produce over 130 grams of wear over the same distance.
Koranic designers have now developed a tyre called Pureback, which reduces the microplastic entering the environment many times over. The principle is very simple: the grooves in the tyres are permeable and collect the abraded microplastic in a cylinder in the middle of the tyre. When the cylinder is full, a warning is given via an LED display in the car. The cylinder in the tyre can then be emptied again in the appropriate workshop and the rubbed-off plastic can be reused.
The tyres are not yet in series production, but when they are, they can ensure that a large part of the plastic on our roads does not end up in the soil and waterways.