Collaborative Research: CAS: Sunlight- and Oxidant-Induced Transformation of Tire-Derived Contaminants on Roadway-Associated Surfaces

在NSF化学部环境化学科学计划的支持下，纽约布法罗州立大学的Ning Dai、Prathima Nalam和Ravi Ranade以及华盛顿大学的Michael Dodd和Edward Kolodziej将研究暴露于阳光和空气氧化剂（如氧气、臭氧和羟基自由基）的道路表面上轮胎橡胶衍生污染物的转化。在道路运输过程中，轮胎磨损产生的颗粒物对水、土壤和空气污染有很大影响。由这些颗粒及其转化产物产生的橡胶化合物和专利添加剂的复杂混合物可能对生态系统产生严重的不利影响。阳光和臭氧都是已知的水中反应物，但它们在转化轮胎橡胶、混凝土和沥青路面等道路相关表面上的污染物方面的作用在很大程度上是未知的。该项目将开展研究，以解决这些关键的知识差距。此外，该项目还将包括一系列协同教育活动，包括K-12教师和社区学院外展，与公民科学团体的接触，以及为本科生提供基于项目的研究经验。该项目将评估阳光和空气中的氧化剂对轮胎衍生的有机污染物在道路相关表面上的转化的独立和综合影响。转化动力学，机制，和产品组合物从表面反应将被表征和比较对散装气体和水相反应的预期。通过使用一套精心挑选的环境相关污染物及其结构类似物，该项目将对路面上发生的界面光化学和氧化还原过程产生新的见解，这可以对这些和许多其他轮胎衍生污染物的环境行为和潜在生态系统和人类健康风险进行建模。本项目确定的结构-活性关系可用于选择和/或设计对环境更安全的新型轮胎橡胶组件。该项目的研究结果有可能有助于环境更安全和更可持续的道路，同时为可持续轮胎橡胶的开发提供信息，减少生态影响。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

With support from the Environmental Chemical Sciences Program of the NSF Division of Chemistry, Ning Dai, Prathima Nalam, and Ravi Ranade at the University at Buffalo-the State University of New York and Michael Dodd and Edward Kolodziej at the University of Washington will study the transformation of tire rubber-derived contaminants on roadway surfaces that are exposed to sunlight and airborne oxidants such as oxygen, ozone, and hydroxyl radical. Particles generated from the wear of tires during transportation on roads contribute substantially to water, soil, and air pollution. The complicated mixture of rubber compounds and proprietary additives arising from such particles, as well as their transformation products, can have severe adverse impacts on ecosystems. Both sunlight and ozone are known reactants in water, but their roles in transforming contaminants on roadway-associated surfaces such as tire rubber, concrete, and asphalt pavements are largely unknown. This project will conduct research to address these critical knowledge gaps. In addition, this project will include a series of synergistic educational activities comprising K-12 teacher and community college outreach, engagement with citizen science groups, and project-based research experiences for undergraduate students. This project will evaluate the independent and combined effects of sunlight and airborne oxidants on the transformation of tire-derived organic contaminants on roadway-associated surfaces. The transformation kinetics, mechanisms, and product compositions from surface reactions will be characterized and compared against expectations for bulk gas and aqueous phase reactions. By using a suite of carefully selected, environmentally relevant contaminants and their structural analogues, the project will yield new insights on interfacial photochemical and redox processes occurring on roadway surfaces, which can enable modeling of the environmental behaviors and potential ecosystem and human health risks of these and many other tire-derived contaminants. Structure-activity relationships determined from this project can be used to inform the selection and/or design of new tire rubber components that are safer to the environment. The findings from this project have the potential to contribute to environmentally safer and more sustainable roadways while informing the development of sustainable, tire rubbers with reduced ecological impact.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.