Investigation of Waste Electrical Power Plant Oil as a Rejuvenating Agent for Reclaimed Asphalt Binders and Mixtures

Abstract

One of the main difficulties with employing recycled asphalt pavement (RAP) in hot mix asphalt (HMA) is bitumen aging; hence, the percentage of RAP in the HMA is limited. This research evaluates the rheological properties of the RAP binder and the performance of HMA containing high RAP content using waste engine oil (WEO) from an Electrical Power Plant as a rejuvenator. The rheological and microstructural properties of the RAP binder and rejuvenated RAP binder were determined in the laboratory. Both the recycled and rejuvenated recycled mixes were tested for Marshall stability, indirect tensile strength, dynamic modulus (E*), and flow number tests. The RAP binder was recovered using two different processes: rotavapor distillation followed by centrifugation (RCRD) and column distillation without centrifugation (RNCCD). The optimal WEO percentages for the RCRD and RNCCD recovery procedures were 0.5% and 3%, respectively. The Marshall test results revealed that adding WEO to the recycled mix enhanced its stability and flow compared to the control mix. The rejuvenated mix containing recovered binder from the RCRD recovery process was found to be better than the rejuvenated mix containing recovered binder from the RNCCD recovery process. The rejuvenated recycled mixes outperformed the recycled mix in terms of moisture resistance, which was evidenced by tensile strength ratio values of 0.88, 0.90, and 0.91 for the control and 0.5% and 3% WEO modified mixes, respectively. Finally, the results of dynamic modulus and flow number testing revealed that the rejuvenated mixes had a modest drop in both the dynamic modulus and flow number compared to the non-rejuvenated mix.

Effect of Warm Mix Asphalt (WMA) Antistripping Agent on Performance of Waste Engine Oil-Rejuvenated Asphalt Binders and Mixtures

“…Nevertheless, th juvenated mixture had a relatively higher FN value than the reference HMA. Several ies made a similar observation [1]. Li, et al [62] also disclosed that aged binders' ph features may be improved by applying a suitable amount of WEO, which would also their light constituents (saturates and aromatics).…”

“…Currently, the construction and maintenance of pavements adhere to the philosophy of sustainable development, which helps reduce resource reliance and energy usage [1]. From the sustainable perspective, the environmental impacts, economic benefits and performance of the pavement must be critically considered.…”