Factors affecting non-tailpipe aerosol particle emissions from paved roads: On-road measurements in Stockholm, Sweden

A large fraction of urban PM10 concentrations is due to non-exhaust traffic emissions. In this paper, a mobile measurement system has been used to quantify the relative importance of road particle emission and suspension of accumulated dust versus direct pavement wear, tire type (studded, friction, and summer), pavement type, and vehicle speed. Measurements were performed during May–September on selected roads with different pavements and traffic conditions in the Stockholm region. The highest particle mass concentrations were always observed behind the studded tire and the lowest were behind the summer tire; studded-to-summer ratios were 4.4–17.3 and studded-to-friction ratios were 2.0–6.4. This indicates that studded tires lead to higher emissions than friction and summer tires regardless to the asphalt type. By comparing with measurements in a road simulator, it could be estimated that the pavement wear due to the friction tires was 0.018–0.068 of the suspension of accumulated road dust. Likewise for studded tires road-wear was estimated to be 1.2–4.8 the suspension of accumulated dust. This indicates that wear due to friction tires is very small compared to the suspension of accumulated dust and that suspension due to studded tires may sometimes be as large as the wear of the road. But this will vary depending on, e.g. the amount of dust accumulated on the roads. An important dependence on vehicle speed was also observed. During May, the particle mass concentrations behind the studded tire at vehicle speed 100 km h−1 were about 10 times higher than that at 20 km h−1. The speed dependence was not so pronounced in September, which could be due to less accumulated dust on the roads. The particle number size distribution of the emissions due to road wear by studded tire was characterized by a clear increase in number concentrations of the coarse fraction of aerosol particles, with a geometric mean diameter between 3 and 5 μm. The size distribution of the emissions due to the summer tire was very similar with smaller concentrations. An important limitation with the measurements presented is that they were made by using a van, which is bigger than regular cars and has bigger tires. Thus, road wear and dust suspension due to cars are expected to be different.