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Research and Application of Recycling Asphalt Materials

A special issue of Sustainability (ISSN 2071-1050). This special issue belongs to the section "Sustainable Materials".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 January 2023) | Viewed by 7503

Special Issue Editor


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Guest Editor
Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, The University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN 37996, USA
Interests: asphalt; pavement; highway; construction; road; design; sustainability; recycled; testing; materials; cracking; rutting; performance; resistance; moisture; binder; bitumen; asphalt mixture; aggregate; geopolymer; glass waste; APT; random forest; machine learning
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Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Recycling asphalt materials creates a sustainable cycle of reusing non-renewable materials, which lowers the demand for natural resources, providing economical savings and environmental advantages. Sustainability in asphalt materials might be divided into two groups. The first group comprises recycled asphalt materials. The second group includes all types of recycled materials, added to asphalt mixtures to replace asphalt binder, or aggregate partially. Researchers and practitioners must face certain challenges such as the quality and performance of recycled asphalt binders and asphalt materials with recycled products.

This Special Issue examines the advances, properties, performance, characterization, design, testing, and practical application of recycled materials in asphalt pavements.

Possible topics for contributions include but are not limited to the following:

  • Reclaimed asphalt pavement;
  • Reclaimed asphalt shingles;
  • Rejuvenators;
  • Biobinders;
  • The use of recycled materials such as concrete, rubber, plastic, waste oil, etc. in new asphalt mixtures;
  • Hot-in place recycling (HIR);
  • Cold-in place recycling (CIR);
  • Performance of asphalt binders modified with recycled materials;
  • Performance of asphalt mixtures with the addition of recycled materials;
  • Compatibility between the asphalt binders and recycled materials;
  • Combination of sustainable materials for asphalt pavement;
  • Asphalt mixtures with high recycled material content.

Dr. Pawel Polaczyk
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

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Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Sustainability is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • recycling
  • recycled materials
  • sustainability
  • RAP
  • RAS
  • asphalt mixture
  • rubber
  • plastic
  • waste oil
  • performance
  • asphalt materials
  • modified asphalt
  • bio-binder
  • LCA
  • LCCA
  • waste material in pavement
  • additives
  • rejuvenators
  • recycling of pavement materials

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Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

12 pages, 1772 KiB  
Article
Life Cycle Assessment of Natural Zeolite-Based Warm Mix Asphalt and Reclaimed Asphalt Pavement
by Aner Martinez-Soto, Alejandra Calabi-Floody, Gonzalo Valdes-Vidal, Andrea Hucke and Camila Martinez-Toledo
Sustainability 2023, 15(2), 1003; https://doi.org/10.3390/su15021003 - 5 Jan 2023
Cited by 10 | Viewed by 2571
Abstract
Today, an important part of paved surfaces in the world uses asphalt mixtures. This practice increases the use of aggregates and fossil fuels, the availability of which is limited. Most of the studies referring to asphalt mixtures reported and compared the mechanical performances [...] Read more.
Today, an important part of paved surfaces in the world uses asphalt mixtures. This practice increases the use of aggregates and fossil fuels, the availability of which is limited. Most of the studies referring to asphalt mixtures reported and compared the mechanical performances without detailing the environmental impacts of the different technologies proposed. The objective of this study was to present and compare through a life cycle assessment using a “cradle-to-gate” approach of different types of asphalt mixtures designed for the same performance, hot mix asphalt (HMA) as a control sample, and warm mix asphalt (WMA) using natural zeolite, Evotherm® and reclaimed asphalt material (RAP) in different proportions. The analysis was performed using SimaPro 9 software, using the ReCiPe method version 1.11. For the comparison of the environmental impacts, 1 ton of asphalt mixture was used as a functional unit. The most relevant results show that the use of natural zeolite or Evotherm® helps to reduce environmental impacts. In the global warming impact category, the decrease between the standard HMA and a mix with RAP and natural zeolite was 8%, while in the fossil fuel depletion, the decrease was 13%. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Research and Application of Recycling Asphalt Materials)
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11 pages, 1637 KiB  
Article
Soft Computing Approach for Predicting the Effects of Waste Rubber–Bitumen Interaction Phenomena on the Viscosity of Rubberized Bitumen
by Michele Lanotte
Sustainability 2022, 14(21), 13798; https://doi.org/10.3390/su142113798 - 24 Oct 2022
Cited by 6 | Viewed by 1337
Abstract
The ability to anticipate the effects of the interaction between waste rubber particles from end-of-life tires and bitumen can encourage the use of rubberized bitumen, a material with proven environmental benefits, in civil engineering applications. In this study, a predictive model of rubberized [...] Read more.
The ability to anticipate the effects of the interaction between waste rubber particles from end-of-life tires and bitumen can encourage the use of rubberized bitumen, a material with proven environmental benefits, in civil engineering applications. In this study, a predictive model of rubberized bitumen viscosity is presented for this purpose. A machine learning-based approach (Multi-Gene Genetic Programming—MGGP) and a more traditional multi-variable least square regression (MLSR) method are compared. The statistical analysis indicates that the robustness and the capability of the MGGP algorithm led to a better estimation of the rubberized bitumen’s viscosity. Additionally, the MGGP analysis returned an actual equation that could be easily implemented in any spreadsheet for an initial tuning of the production protocol based on the desired level of interaction between the rubber and bitumen. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Research and Application of Recycling Asphalt Materials)
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20 pages, 79339 KiB  
Article
Enhancing Effect of Waste Engine Oil Bottom Incorporation on the Performance of CR+SBS Modified Bitumen: A Sustainable and Environmentally-Friendly Solution for Wastes
by Changjiang Liu and Qiuping Wang
Sustainability 2021, 13(22), 12772; https://doi.org/10.3390/su132212772 - 18 Nov 2021
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 2526
Abstract
Waste engine oil bottom (WEOB) is a hazardous waste whose effect as an additive to CR+SBS modified asphalt is rarely studied. In this study, the CR+SBS asphalt binder was modified with WEOB in different concentrations (3, 6, and 9 wt%). The GC–MS and [...] Read more.
Waste engine oil bottom (WEOB) is a hazardous waste whose effect as an additive to CR+SBS modified asphalt is rarely studied. In this study, the CR+SBS asphalt binder was modified with WEOB in different concentrations (3, 6, and 9 wt%). The GC–MS and FTIR were performed to evaluate the chemical compositions of WEOB and WEOBCR+SBS asphalt. The results showed that the main constituents of WEOB were similar to the functional groups of asphalt, along with maleic anhydride (MAH). Pavement performance-related rheological tests such as RV, temperature sweep (TS), FS, MSCR, and BBR were carried out. Results show that WEOBCR+SBS-6 exhibited the best high- and low-temperature property, followed by CR+SBS-3 and CR+SBS-9. Fluorescence microscope (FM) test, bar thin layer chromatograph (BTLC) test, FTIR, and AFM tests were carried out to evaluate the micro-morphologies and modification mechanism. The analysis revealed increased trends in resin fraction as opposed to asphaltene fraction with the increase of WEOB content. FTIR analysis revealed that the amide groups in WEOBCR+SBS asphalt bonded to the free radicals of CR. Moreover, a modification mechanism was elaborated. WEOB strengthens the cross-linked structure of CR+SBS polymers, reacting with SBS to graft onto MAH-g-SBS, and the free radical of CR interacts with the amide group in WEOB to form a bond. In addition, the content of lightweight components and surface roughness of SBS specimens were in good correlation, which contributed to the rutting resistance and adhesion and self-healing performance. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Research and Application of Recycling Asphalt Materials)
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