A device that captures polluting rubber particles caused by tyre wear has won the national James Dyson award.
Designed by four masters students from Imperial College London and the Royal College of Art, the system is fitted to the wheel and uses electrostatics and air flows to collect harmful tyre particles as they are emitted.
Having identified the positive charge of rubber particles coming off tyres, the team, known as The Tyre Collective, tested a prototype device, which features a single array of electrostatic plates, on a rig to successfully capture 60% of airborne particles.
The patent-pending technology, which the team claims is a world-first, is a closed loop system. Once captured, the particles are stored in a cartridge until the vehicle is serviced. The particles can then be refined for use in manufacturing new tyres, 3D printing and dye production.
According to the team, the idea for the device came from discovering that 500,000 tonnes of tyre wear is produced across Europe annually, accounting for 50% of PM2.5 and PM10 particulate matter emissions from road transport.
Hugo Richardson, member of The Tyre Collective, told the Guardian: “It’s common knowledge that tyres wear down, but nobody seems to think about where it goes, and we were really shocked to discover that tyre particles are the second-largest microplastic pollutant in our oceans.
“At the Tyre Collective, we incorporate sustainable and circular values into product design to capture tyre wear at the source.”
The Tyre Collective said it hopes to work with service fleet vehicle operators and manufacturers, offering unit sales alongside maintenance and tyre wear data.
The team is also currently targeting a pilot programme with Transport for London (TfL), aligning with TfL’s aim of having a zero-emission fleet by 2030.
