Sustainable Utilization of Recycled Waste in High-Viscosity Asphalt Binders: Case for Improvement in Aging Resistance

Abstract

High-viscosity asphalt binder is a key material for porous asphalt pavement, but its susceptibility to aging limits its applications. Three recycled-based high-viscosity binders (RHBs), including RH-1, RH-2, and RH-3, were prepared by recycled rubber powder (RRP), recycled polyethylene (RPE), and waste vegetable oil (WVO), and compared with SINO TAFPACK-SUPER (SINO-TPS) high-viscosity asphalt (THA). The feasibility of recycling waste to prepare high-viscosity asphalt was verified by viscosity test, storage stability test, and thermogravimetric (TG) test. The rheological properties and aging resistance of binders were investigated by dynamic shear rheometer (DSR), bending beam rheometer (BBR), Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectrometer, and gel permeation chromatography (GPC). The results showed that the storage stability of RHBs is close to that of THA, and the viscosity is higher than that of THA but meets the specification requirements of high-viscosity asphalt binder. In addition, RRP/RPE can improve the high-temperature performance of the binder, and the addition of RRP/WVO can reduce the negative effect of low-temperature cracking of RPE. According to the changes of functional group index and binder molecular size in different aging states, ternary recycling waste can significantly improve the aging resistance of binders. The findings in this work contribute to reducing waste pollution and provides a method for high-viscosity asphalt binder production.