Tyre Wear Particles

A pilot study at one of Europe’s largest wastewater treatment plants is testing whether conventional treatment systems can remove tyre and road wear particles (TRWP) before they enter the environment.

The Paris Pilot Study

The Tire Industry Project (TIP), working with the Greater Paris Sanitation Authority (SIAAP) and sustainability consultancy ERM, has launched the trial at SIAAP’s Valenton wastewater treatment plant near Paris. Valenton is the second-largest wastewater treatment plant in Europe and is widely regarded as representative of modern municipal treatment systems. By running the study at a real operating facility, the partners aim to measure how effectively existing treatment stages capture tyre and road wear particles and keep them out of receiving waters.

Why Tyre Wear Particles Matter

Tyre wear particles are among the most common microplastics released into the environment. Every time a vehicle moves, friction between the tyre and the road surface sheds tiny fragments of rubber mixed with mineral road material. Each fragment carries a blend of synthetic polymers, fillers such as carbon black and silica, and trace additives, which is why the particles attract close regulatory and scientific attention. Rainfall then washes these particles from roadways into drains and, ultimately, into rivers and the sea. Because they are so fine and so widely dispersed, tyre and road wear particles are difficult to intercept once they reach open water — which is why understanding how municipal wastewater treatment can capture them at source has become a growing priority for regulators and the tyre industry alike.

The Link to Tyre Recycling

The Paris trial sits within a broader push to understand and reduce the environmental footprint of tyres across their entire lifecycle. A tyre’s environmental impact does not end when it leaves the road: particles shed during use and material discarded at end-of-life are two sides of the same resource challenge. Alongside efforts to limit particle shedding at the road, the sector is scaling up end-of-life recovery so that scrap tyres become resources rather than waste. Technologies such as tire pyrolysis convert worn tyres into recovered carbon black, pyrolysis oil and syngas, diverting material from landfill and incineration while recovering high-value outputs. Companies pursuing waste-to-value processing are watching these environmental studies closely, since clearer data on particle emissions can shape everything from tyre design to the feedstocks a recycling plant must handle.

Learn More:

• What is Tire Pyrolysis?
• What is Recovered Carbon Black?
• Tire Pyrolysis Project Development
• Solid Waste and Resource Recovery
• Feasibility Studies for Waste-to-Value Plants
• Pyrolysis and rCB Plant Cost

Turn Tyre Waste Into Value

As environmental scrutiny of tyres widens from the road to the waterway, end-of-life recovery is becoming central to a responsible tyre value chain. Klean Industries helps operators turn scrap tyres into recovered carbon black, oil and energy through proven pyrolysis and waste-to-value technology.

Ready to evaluate an end-of-life tyre project?

Contact Klean Industries about tyre recycling and environmental compliance » GO.