Virtual Booth

High traffic volumes and heavy loads impose significant stress on pavements, causing permanent damage and reducing their durability and service life. While various efforts, such as using additives to improve pavement performance, have been made to address these issues, they often face practical challenges, particularly with the dry mix method. This method struggles to achieve consistent and effective integration of materials, limiting its practicality and widespread adoption, especially for rubber and plastic mixtures. The workability issues of the dry mix method remain a challenge. This invention introduces a combination of plastomer and elastomer derived from waste materials into Hot Mix Asphalt (HMA), utilizing crumb rubber and plastic waste (RubberPlast) to improve mixture performance. Through a grafting method, RubberPlast is physically treated to form a cohesive mass, enhancing the binding process between additives, binder, and aggregate. The treated crumb rubber and plastic exhibit a porous, loose, rough texture resembling a “grape cluster,” which increases workability in the dry process and forms a stable structure due to larger reaction areas, with 0.75% RubberPlast yielding the best design. The solution is fast and easy to integrate into existing drum mix plants, reduces mixing and compaction temperatures, and meets the AC 14 bituminous surface course specifications. Key benefits include reducing carbon emissions, minimizing issues with rubber and plastic mixtures, enhancing dry mix methods, achieving promising performance, and mitigating improper waste management in landfills.