Hot mix asphalt (HMA) consists of aggregate particles bonded together by asphalt binder at high heat. Petroleum-based asphalt is widely used in road and other infrastructure construction. However, high oil prices and tight asphalt supply have recently doubled asphalt prices. Industries are therefore seeking an alternative binder for HMA. Alternative binders such as fly ash, silica fume, and ground granulated blast-furnace slag have been used, as have sulfur, coal tar, manure-based bio-oil, or plant-based bio-oil, but each raises concerns about price and/or performance. This project is seeking to develop a 100 percent waste cooking oil-based bioasphalt modified with lignin-derived epoxy (LEP). Both waste cooking oil and lignin (found in plant tissues and burned in pulp mills) are byproducts. The resulting bioasphalt will have comparable or superior material properties to those of traditional petroleum-based binders, resistant to fatigue, rutting, thermal cracking, and moisture susceptibility. And being based on industry byproducts, it will reduce the need to procure virgin materials, reduce energy consumption, and reduce greenhouse gas emissions, as well as cost significantly less than petroleum-based asphalt.
Principal Investigators:
Balasingam Muhunthan, Civil and Environmental Engineering, WSU
Jinwen Zhang, School of Mechanical and Materials Engineering, WSU
Michael Wolcott, Civil and Environmental Engineering, WSU
Junna Xin, Composite Materials and Engineering Center, WSU
Kun Zhang, Civil and Environmental Engineering, WSU
Sponsor: FHWA
FHWA Technical Contact: D. Confer
FHWA Project Manager: J. Youtcheff
Scheduled completion: August 2018