Influence of Petroleum-Based and Bio-Derived Recycling Agents on High-RAP Asphalt Mixtures Performance

Reclaimed asphalt pavement (RAP) has been utilized as a potential partial substitute for virgin asphalt binder in asphalt mixtures. However, a primary concern with increasing RAP content in asphalt mixtures is the cracking potential, attributed to the aged RAP asphalt binder (RAP-binder). To address this, the use of petroleum-based and bio-derived recycling agents (RAs) in enhancing the cracking resistance of high-RAP asphalt mixtures has been explored. The objective of this study is to ascertain the effectiveness of six RAs in mitigating cracking in high-RAP asphalt mixtures. The RAs considered include petroleum-crude-oil-derived aromatic oil, soy oil, and four types of tall-oil-derived phytosterol (industrial by-product, intermediate, purified, and fatty acid-based). The RAs’ dosages were optimized, based on RAP-binder and unmodified asphalt binder properties, to produce target PG 70-22 asphalt binder when incorporated in asphalt mixtures containing 30% RAP. To assess the engineering performance of these 30%-RAP asphalt mixtures for each RA, a conventional asphalt mixture incorporating styrene-butadiene-styrene (SBS)-modified PG 70-22 asphalt binder without RAP or RAs was benchmarked for comparison. Mechanical tests performed included Hamburg wheel-track testing (HWTT), intermediate-temperature fracture tests (semi-circular bend, Illinois flexibility index, and IDEAL cracking tolerance), and thermal stress-restrained specimen tensile strength test to evaluate permanent deformation, intermediate-temperature cracking resistance, and low-temperature cracking resistance, respectively. Results showed that petroleum-crude-oil-derived aromatic oil and tall-oil-derived fatty-acid-based oil RAs were able to rejuvenate RAP-binder as measured by the cracking tests performed. Further, the use of these RAs did not adversely impact the asphalt mixtures’ permanent deformation performance.

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