Characterization of the ….

effect on the properties aged binder

Experimental study on the use of … agent for improving the properties of aged binder
Investigation of rheological and chemical properties aged binder rejuvenated by …
Evaluation of the effects of …. on the rheological and chemical properties of aged binder

Introduction

Despite the limited resources, about 110 million tons of asphalt binder are used annually in the highway
industry worldwide [1, 2]. So, the awareness of pavement sustainability has increased in recent years.
Full or partial replacement of virgin asphalt binder has been achieved by using various sources of
recycled materials, such as reclaimed asphalt pavement (RAP) and waste engine oil (WEO)[3] as an
economic and environmentally sound alternative for sustainable pavement construction[4, 5]. However,
some road authorities are hesitant in encouraging the use of RAP in pavement construction on a large
scale due to some limitations[6]. The barriers that limit the use of high RAP percentages (more than
15%) are the high variability in milling processes, mixing RAP from different sources, different
properties of aged bitumen than required for virgin bitumen, in addition to one more additional material
to care about during HMA manufacturing[7]. These factors may lead to early pavement distresses when
using high percentages of RAP due to low content of bitumen, inferior quality of bitumen due to aging,
mixture degradation, and oversized RAP[6]. In regard to RAP binder, aged binder tends to lose its
flexibility and turns into a brittle material that is prone to crack easily [1]. This mainly happens as a
result of oxidation, which is the chemical reaction of the hydrocarbon compounds of asphalt with
oxygen. This process already begins during the hot-mix process and continues throughout the lifetime
of the pavement[2]. Asphalt binders are usually simplified in two subdivisions: a solid one called
asphaltenes and a liquid one called maltenes. Maltenes can be further divided into polar aromatics (PAs),
naphthalene aromatics (NAs) and saturates (paraffins)[8]. Liu et al.[9] state that during the oxidative
aging of the asphalt binder, PAs transform to asphaltenes, and NAs convert into PAs, which subsequently
oxidize and become asphaltenes as well. During this process, the asphaltenes content increases, while
PAs and NAs decrease: the solid part increases and the liquid part decreases, resulting in an increase of
the rigidity of the pavement. Therefore, the usage of rejuvenators can recover the original ratio of
asphaltenes to maltenes in aged binder, soften the aged bitumen and replenish the volatiles, and disperse
oils while promoting adhesion[10]. Recently, recycling agents have become an attractive option to
rejuvenate the aged binder and to use of higher RAP percentages[7]. When using rejuvenators, it is
important to determine the optimum dosage for a particular combination, proportion of recycling
materials and substitute binder[11]. Careful selection of the rejuvenator is required also to provide the
pavement the necessary short and long term properties that were mentioned by Martins Zaumanis et al
[12]. An excessive recycling agent dosage will significantly soften the recycled binder, but may
negatively impact the mixture’s resistance to rutting, in addition to the adhesion and stripping problems.
In the study of Arámbula-Mercado et al. [11], they mentioned that some researchers have selected the
recycling agent dosage according to blending charts based on the viscosity and/or penetration of the
blends of the recycled binder with various amounts of recycling agent. Other researchers have used the
performance grade (PG) system to evaluate the changes in the stiffness of the recycled binder due to the
addition of the recycling agent and determined the minimum dosage needed to restore the performance
properties of the recycled binder. Typically, a minimum dosage is determined to ensure sufficient
cracking resistance (intermediate- and low-temperature PG or PGL), while a maximum dosage is
determined to ensure adequate rutting resistance (high-temperature PG or PGH)[11, 13]. Recently,
owing to the high demand on rejuvenators, and due to similarity in molecular structure of WEO with
asphalt, where both of them are derived from petroleum, several attempts have been made to use WEO
in conjunction with asphalt binder [14, 15]. WEO can act as rejuvenator if well blended with RAP due
to its ability to reduce the asphalt viscosity and soften the aged binder[6]. Thus, it could improve the
RAP binder performance [16, 17], in addition to other advantages like saving (in terms of money and
resources), nature preservation, and reducing environmental pollution etc. [17, 18]. However, the
addition of WEO could reduce the rutting resistance as a result of binder softening effect[19].
Additionally, the reduction of cohesive strength was reported especially at high temperature[20]. The
reason is that the oil content of WEO is higher than that of asphalt.
This research focuses on possibility of restoring the properties of aged binder in order to produce up to
50% RAP binder,

The present study aims at utilizing (…..) to overcome increased stiffness caused by use of aged asphalt
binder. The component consists from a mixture of (23% WEO + 77% maltene)
Even such a partial replacement can help in conservation of resources, improved recyclability, and
sustainable construction practices. Furthermore, WEO can be used as an alternative to replace
commercially available additives.

. Based on the analysis of the aging and regeneration mechanism of asphalt, we can see that the oil in
WEO should be absorbed and dissolved by the asphaltenes and resins in the aged asphalt in order to
make the components of aged asphalt reconstructed[21]

On the other hand, WEO is removed from the vehicle during a routine oil change in local auto repair
shops.

The properties of WEO depend on the combustion process, operation temperature, and contaminant
sources such as moisture, soot, diluents, rust, detergents and engine wear metal particles[6].

Reference

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