Modification of Bitumen With Recycled Plastics From Waste Materials

Abstract

It is proposed to use plastic waste as bitumen modifiers with a special emphasis on recycled plastics. The potential use for improving the characteristics of bitumen and durability of roads is being considered. For the preparation of modified bitumen, it was used the BND 100/130 bitumen produced by LLP "JV CASPI BITUMEN" (Kazakhstan). Polymer household waste based on plastic bottles was used as objects of the research. Polymer waste was obtained by mechanical recycling. The main physical and mechanical characteristics of the modified bitumen were determined after routine tests, penetration and plasticity, softening temperature, Fraas brittleness temperature and microscopic analysis. The morphology of the modified bitumen was studied using scanning electron microscopy. An original formulation of the polymer-bitumen binder with improved performance characteristics compared to petroleum bitumen has been developed. The introduction of used polymer waste as a modifier does not require the installation of an additional homogenizer (colloidal mill), and there is no need to introduce a plasticizer to achieve the desired uniformity of the system and required by the Kazakhstan standard PMB 40 and PMB 90. Thanks to the use of this technological solution, it is possible to level the problem of disposal of household polymer waste with the polymer-bitumen binder production. This polymer modifier is characterized by low cost of its production. The advantage of the used polymer additive is the stage of polymer preparation - the process of joint chemical destruction of secondary polyethylene terephthalate in the presence of a highly elastic styrene-butadiene-styrene polymer to inhibit the delamination of polymer components in bitumen, due to which the problem of manufacturing high-quality homogenization of the product is solved.