Wet Dust Sampler
(WDS II och III)
VTI develops and builds custom sampling and measuring equipment when needed. The Wet Dust Sampler (WDS II and III) is available for investigations and research for interested authorities, municipalities, researchers, or companies.
Dust and chemicals accumulate on road surfaces from traffic-related and environmental sources. This road dust contributes to the particle content of the air through resuspension and also to the pollution of stormwater. To measure the amount of road dust and analyze its properties, effective and repeatable measurement methods are needed. VTI has developed the WDS (Wet Dust Sampler), which combines a high-pressure washer with a sampling unit. WDS III is the latest version of the WDS system for water-based sampling and analysis of dust on impervious surfaces. It combines time-controlled, repeatable high-pressure washing of a sampling surface with extraction of the sample into a sampling bottle using compressed air. The collected sample can be analyzed for:
- Dust quantity
- Particle size distribution
- Chemical analysis of solid materials (inorganic, organic, microplastics, elements, etc.)
- Chemical analysis of dissolved substances (e.g., road salts, dust-binding agents)
Applications of WDS
WDS can be used for:
- Evaluation of mitigation strategies
- Measurement of residual salts (or other chemicals) on the road surface
- Source identification and emission data for air and water pollution in road environments—for example, microplastics from road traffic
WDS has been used since 2006 in a number of research and investigation projects, where the importance of road dust to air quality has been in focus. Since 2018 it is also used for studies of microplastics in the road environment. The dynamics of the dust load during the year in relation to natural factors as well as traffic and operational measures has been studied and contributed to unique knowledge of the properties of the dust and dynamics and which factors are important in order to reduce the dust's impact on air quality. Clients are both authorities, municipalities and companies.
The Swedish Transport Administration, The Swedish Innovation Agency (Vinnova) and the Norwegian Public Roads Administration have contributed to the development of the sampler, which from 2017 is also used by the Norwegian Public Roads Administration in Norway and by SYKE (Finnish Environment Institute). It thus becomes the first sampling method for road dust, which is available in several copies and is used in several research environments, which will contribute to increased data volumes and to development opportunities for both sampling and analysis methods.
Provtagning av vägdamm på E18 med WDS II. Photo: Michael Norman, SLB-analys.
HeavyWeaRS
In collaboration with IVL, and financed by the Swedish Transport Administration, a new method is being developed for measuring the emissions of wear particles from passing vehicles. WDS is used to define the amount of road dust on the test surfaces used in the development.
NEEVE
Acronym for “Innovative technologies to monitor and reduce Non-Exhaust Emissions, particles and microplastics of VEhicles and pavements to improve air quality and human health”. This is a Life project led by the University of Seville and runs from 2023–2028. More information: https://www.neeve.eu
Analysis of Toxicity and Microplastics in Airborne Particles
In this project, funded by the Swedish Transport Administration, the seasonal variation in quantity, composition (with a focus on microplastics), and toxicity of airborne particles is studied at two measurement sites: one in central Stockholm and one along a rural highway. The project is conducted in collaboration with Lund University of Technology, SLB-analys, and Particle Vision.
WeaRS
(completed)
In collaboration with IVL, a new method is being developed to measure emissions of wear particles from passing vehicles. WDS is used to define the amount of road dust on the test surfaces used in development. Financed by The Swedish Transport Adminstration.
Street Cleaning as a Source of and Measure Against Microplastics
(completed)
Street cleaning removes material from the road surface, but how effectively does it remove microplastics from road traffic, and to what extent do plastic bristles from the cleaning machines contribute to plastic pollution? VTI is investigating this, among other things, using WDS.
NorDust II
(completed)
A continuation of NorDust (see below). The project was funded by NordFoU and was a collaboration with MetNorway (Norway), NILU (Norway), Metropolia (Finland), SYKE (Finland), SLB-analys (Sweden), and the University of Iceland.
Doctoral Project
(completed)
A PhD project funded by the Swedish Transport Administration and VTI resulted in two completed doctoral degrees in 2020. The research focused on emissions from the interaction between tires and road surfaces—one focused on particle emissions and the other on noise and rolling resistance. Among other things, an evaluation of a porous pavement was carried out on Industrigatan in Linköping.
NorDust
(completed)
A Nordic collaboration project aiming to improve understanding of how road dust emissions can be reduced and better modeled. Field studies provided the basis for improved parameterization and further development of the Nordic emission model NORTRIP. The project was funded by NordFoU and involved MetNorway (Norway), NILU (Norway), Metropolia (Finland), SYKE (Finland), SLB-analys (Sweden), and the University of Iceland.
OptiDrift
(completed)
The project aimed to coordinate and optimize winter and spring road maintenance in urban areas to maintain good accessibility and improve air quality. It was funded by Vinnova and conducted in collaboration with SLB-analys, the Traffic Office of the City of Stockholm, PEAB, and DISAB Tella.
Selection of publication were WDS has been used:
Wet Dust Sampler: a Sampling Method for Road Dust Quantification and Analyses (2019, DiVA portal)
Driftåtgärder mot PM10 i Stockholm: utvärdering av vintersäsongen 2017–2018 (2019, DiVA portal)
Optidrift: Optimerad vinter- och barmarksdrift för bättre luftkvalitet (2019, DiVA portal)