Effect of vegetable oil additives on binder and mix properties: laboratory and field investigation

Abstract

The effects of vegetable fluxes on the rheological properties of binders and foamed warm mix asphalt (WMA) have been studied. The fluxes consist of two organic additives: a methyl ester of fatty acid from sunflower and a resin fluxed with monoalkyl esters. Commercially, they are named Oleoflux and Green Seal, respectively. Three additives' contents (0, 0.5 and 5 %) have been investigated. The surface tension, infrared spectra, viscosity, penetration and softening temperature of the binders have first been first measured. The linear viscoelastic properties of the mixes and binders have been studied through the complex modulus and modeled by the improved Huet-Sayegh model. The viscosity and complex modulus of the fluxed binders show that the increase of the additive content rejuvenates the base bitumen. The model parameters show that the relaxation times vary inversely with the additives' contents. Moreover, after 8 months of aging at room conditions, it was found that the fluxed binders are more sensitive to aging than nonfluxed binders. In conjunction with the binders' property characterization, the complex modulus and stripping resistance of the mixes have been studied. The mixes' complex modulus results are consistent with those of the binder. Thanks to an ingenious road built with WMA and HMA, the field performances at the early age when the road was built and 5 years later have been compared, although 5 years is not enough to draw definitive conclusions. No significant difference is found between WMA and HMA skid resistances and complex moduli. A slight decrease is found in the stripping resistance of WMA compared to those of HMA. A decrease in the skid resistance is observed 5 years later because of the polishing of the aggregates on the road surface due to traffic.

Renewable binders from waste biomass for road construction: A review on thermochemical conversion technologies and current developments

“…Fatty acids from vegetabe oils like soybean and sunflower oils have also been shown to soften aged bitumen [113,114]. Field investigations have found the biomodified mixtures to have adequate performance after 5 years of service, despite the biomodified binders being more sensitive to ageing than traditional binders.…”

Effects of Laboratory Ageing on the FTIR Measurements of Water-Foamed Bio-Fluxed Asphalt Binders

“…In the recent years, the use of a number of different bio-based additives has been investigated to modify the properties of asphalt binders and asphalt mixtures, in some cases to facilitate their paving in lowered temperatures. Oleoflux, an additive based on fatty acid methyl esters from sunflower oil, was shown to lower the bituminous binder’s viscosity, promote the binder’s adhesion to the aggregate, and improve the moisture resistance of WMA asphalt mixtures [ 32 ]. Green Seal is an another plant-derived fluxing additive, consisting of a liquefied vegetable resin with monoalkyl esters from vegetable oils and animal fats and primarily used in low concentrations to improve binder adhesion [ 32 ].…”

“…Oleoflux, an additive based on fatty acid methyl esters from sunflower oil, was shown to lower the bituminous binder’s viscosity, promote the binder’s adhesion to the aggregate, and improve the moisture resistance of WMA asphalt mixtures [ 32 ]. Green Seal is an another plant-derived fluxing additive, consisting of a liquefied vegetable resin with monoalkyl esters from vegetable oils and animal fats and primarily used in low concentrations to improve binder adhesion [ 32 ]. At higher concentrations however, it softens the asphalt binder significantly, making it adequate in high RAP applications [ 32 ].…”

“…Green Seal is an another plant-derived fluxing additive, consisting of a liquefied vegetable resin with monoalkyl esters from vegetable oils and animal fats and primarily used in low concentrations to improve binder adhesion [ 32 ]. At higher concentrations however, it softens the asphalt binder significantly, making it adequate in high RAP applications [ 32 ]. Used cooking (post-frying) oils, referred often as waste cooking oils (WCO), can also be used as liquefying additives and as rejuvenators [ 33 ].…”

Investigation of Molecular Structure and Thermal Properties of Thermo-Oxidative Aged SBS in Blends and Their Relations

“…Until now, some literature has already reported that waste SBS-modified bitumen can be rejuvenated by adding traditional rejuvenators and/or fresh SBS-modified bitumen. While the properties of rejuvenated SBS-modified bitumen can be partially restored in this way, the recovery is only the result of an adjustment in the composition of the bitumen and/or the effect of fresh SBS-modified bitumen [ 26 , 27 , 28 ]. Therefore, the rejuvenation of aged SBS-modified bitumen should be focused not only on aged bitumen, but more on aged SBS.…”