How Recycled Asphalt Pavement (RAP) is Influencing Asphalt Additives Uptake?

Extensive and efficient transport infrastructure is critical to ensure well-functioning of economies through urban and rural development. Effectively designed transport networks act as engines for enhanced productivity and improved quality of life for a nation’s citizens. Therefore, governments have been heavily spending on developing robust road networks in recent years.

Sustainable surfaces have comprised an important attribute across the road construction and pavement domain. Transition towards green infrastructure in the construction of asphalt paved roads is providing immense growth opportunities for asphalt additives, prompting manufacturers to invest in developing new plant solutions consistent with existing industry requirements.

Globally, demand for recycled asphalt is inclining. Existing construction practices have evidently established the magnitude of wastage associated with reusable material disposal across landfill sites and their consequent adverse environmental impacts. Presently, there is wide variance as far as uptake of recycled asphalt pavement (RAP) is concerned, ranging anywhere between 15-20% to 100%. Hence, efforts are underway to transition towards the latter figure. This article sheds light on the parameters ushering the shift towards RAP and its impact on the asphalt additives domain.

Climate Impact Mitigation of Global Transport Systems

According to the World Bank, the global transportation sector contributes nearly a quarter of overall greenhouse gas emissions- a figure which is highly likely to climb to reach 30% by the next decade. Hence, ambitious solutions are needed to reduce this carbon footprint. Some of the most significant initiatives include shifting policies and investments in the design of public transportation networks.

Hence, investments in high grade asphalt based roads is bound to increase. Prominent construction giant Ammann offers an innovative RAP-processing machine which helps preserve unprecedented levels of bitumen, thus enabling asphalt producers reduce significant costs. The Ammann RSS 120-M with Primary Shredder, Screen and Secondary Shredder handles recycled material more gently than a traditional crusher, yielding just 5% of residue.

Recently, in March 2021, the company completed the rehabilitation of SC401 in Brazil’s Santa Catarina region through its Prime Asphalt Plant. The ACM 140 Prime Asphalt-Mixing Plant produced 120 tons per hour, rendering the mixing of more than 60,000 tons very easy with minimal wastage.

Attaining Broader Socio-Economic Objectives

Adoption of RAP is also closely tied with the idea of achieving inclusive transport. When it comes to achieving transport sustainability, it is imperative to ensure equitable access, for which establishing adequate road networks is highly important. Expanding sustainable transport options, especially across low-income or vulnerable communities is an effective way to improve human development and social inclusion.

For instance, in rural Morocco, improvement in road infrastructure networks led to an increase in enrolment of girls in primary school- from 17% to 54%. Similarly, in Lima, Peru, it is expected that an additional 100,000 jobs will be available to people living in the poorest districts due to the introduction of a new metro line. Moreover, a transition to sustainable mobility is likely to yield saving of up to nearly US$ 70 trillion by 2050.

Ensuring Road Safety and Reducing Fatalities

Road safety poses a critical challenge to the overall development of the transportation sector. The World Bank estimates that, on an average, road crashes claim over 1.35 million lives annually, with over 90% of them across developing nations. Additionally, 50 million people are heavily injured. Moreover, rising road accident fatalities are contracting GDP growth rate of low and middle income countries by an estimated 1 to 5%.

To offset this, countries worldwide are accelerating investments in high quality asphalt additives based materials. For instance, JRS Solutions, a top German fiber solutions company, offers its VIATOP^® group of bituminized fiber pellets and fiber additive pellets, which have been setting the standards for functionally reliable and high quality functional additives for modern asphalt concepts.

Likewise, Go Green’s Superior Cold Mix Asphalt is used for numerous applications, from concrete or bituminous pavements to pothole repairs, utility cuts, road edges, water main brakes, permanent asphalt patch and man hole adjustments respectively. Go Green is usable across all weather solutions, from below 25 degrees to 50 degrees. About 60 kg of Go Green^® superior cold mix asphalt can cover up a hole measuring 1 m by 25 mm in depth. It possesses a density of 2.4 tons per cubic meter.

About the Author

Abizer Shaikhmahmud is a content writer, who works closely with the healthcare, automotive, industrial automation, chemicals and materials and equipment industry team among other domains. With sound research skills and his own style of writing thought leadership articles, Abizer extensively covers key happenings in the aforementioned domains.