Understanding the Storage Stability of Polyethylene Modified Binders: A Laboratory Case Study Using Waste Plastics
Publication: Journal of Materials in Civil Engineering
Volume 36, Issue 4
Abstract
The aim of the study is to understand and achieve storage stable, compatible plastic-modified asphalt binders. In view of global plastic accumulation, the potentiality of polymeric waste plastics is evaluated as an asphalt binder modifier; providing an alternate recycling option. However, due to phase separation issues between asphalt and plastic, the usage of waste plastic is preferred through dry mixing in asphalt mixture. In this study, the compatibility of polyethylene-modified asphalt binder was assessed along with appropriate parameters that can explain the actual phase separation occurring during storage stability testing. Two types of plastics including low-density polyethylene (LDPE) and high-density polyethylene (HDPE) were blended with a PG 58-28 neat binder after assessing their melting behavior along with polystyrene (PS) and polyethylene terephthalate (PET). The impacts of polyethylene size (2.36–1.18 mm, 0.6–0.3 mm, less than 0.3 mm), blending time (30, 60, 120, 180 min), hot storage duration (0, 24, 48 h), and compatibilizers (styrene-butadiene-styrene, nanosilica, corn oil, polyphosphoric acid) on the storage stability were assessed. was used as an initial measure to assess the separation index (SI) value. The results concluded that polyethylene is observed to be inert to asphalt and phase separation persists irrespective of size and compatibilizer. Nanosilica at a dosage of 0.5% was able to partially compatibilize (SI value improved from 5.4 to 1.87) PE with asphalt. Also, in the need for better parameters to better understand the phase separation, percentage recovery, fluorescence microscopy, and black space analysis were identified as proper tests to detect phase separation.
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Data Availability Statement
All data, models, and code generated or used during the study appear in the published article.
Acknowledgments
This study was conducted for the US Army Corps of Engineers under PE0603119A “Rapid Entry and Sustainment for the Arctic.” The work was performed by the Engineering Resources Branch (ERB) of the Research and Engineering Division, US Army Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC), and Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory (CRREL). At the time of publication, Dr. Melisa Nallar was acting branch chief; and Dr. Caitlin A. Callaghan was division chief. The acting deputy director of ERDC-CRREL was Mr. Bryan E. Baker, and the director was Dr. Joseph L. Corriveau. This work was also performed by the Airfields and Pavements Branch of the Engineering Systems and Materials Division, ERDC-GSL. At the time of publication, Ms. Anna Jordan was the branch chief; Mr. Justin S. Strickler was the division chief; and Mr. R. Nicholas Boone was the technical director for Force Projection and Maneuver Support. Mr. Charles W. Ertle II was the deputy director of ERDC-GSL, and Mr. Bartley P. Durst was the director, Colonel (COL) Christian Patterson was the Commander of ERDC, and Dr. David W. Pittman was the Director. The authors would also like to thank Douglas Congdon from Eagle Plastics, Jeannie Watson from Envision Plastics, and Bob Klutz from Kraton for supplying materials for this study.
Author contributions: The authors confirm their contribution to the paper as follows: study conception and design: Venkatsushanth Revelli, Faisal Kabir; Ayman Ali, Ben Cox, and Yusuf Mehta; data collection, analysis, and interpretation of results: Venkatsushanth Revelli; and draft manuscript preparation: Venkatsushanth Revelli, Faisal Kabir, Ayman Ali, Ben Cox, and Yusuf Mehta. All authors reviewed the results and approved the final version of the manuscript.
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Published In
Journal of Materials in Civil Engineering
Volume 36 • Issue 4 • April 2024
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© 2024 American Society of Civil Engineers.
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Received: Jul 20, 2023
Accepted: Sep 27, 2023
Published online: Jan 27, 2024
Published in print: Apr 1, 2024
Discussion open until: Jun 27, 2024
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