CNR ExploRA

Articolo in rivista, 2023, ENG, 10.18321/ectj1520

Physical Chemistry Supports Circular Economy: Toward a Viable Use of Products from the Pyrolysis of a Refuse-Derived Fuel and Granulated Scrap Tire Rubber as Bitumen Additives

P. Caputo1, P. Calandra2*, V. Loise1, M. Porto1, A. Le Pera3, A.A. Abe1, B. Teltayev4,5*, M.L. Luprano6, M. Alfè7, V. Gargiulo7, G. Ruoppolo7, C. Oliviero Rossi1

1University of Calabria, Via P. Bucci, Cubo 14/D, Rende (CS), 87036, Italy & UdR INSTM della Calabria 2CNR-ISMN, National Research Council, Institute of Nanostructured Materials, Via Salaria km 29.300, 00015, Monterotondo, Italy 3Calabra Maceri e Servizi s.p.a. via M. Polo 87036 Rende (CS) 4U. Joldasbekov Institute of Mechanics and Engineering, 29 Kurmangazy str., Almaty, 050005, Kazakhstan 5Road Research and Production Center, 19/39 Duman-2, Almaty, 050064, Kazakhstan 6Regional Agency for the Environmental Protection - ARPA Lazio, Via G. Boncompagni, Rome, Italy 7CNR-STEMS, National Research Council, Institute of Sciences and Technologies for Sustainable Energy and Mobility, P.le V. Tecchio 80, 80125 Napoli, Italy

The production and maintenance of road pavements consume resources and produce wastes that are disposed of in landfills. To make more sustainable this activity, we have envisioned a method based on a circular use of residues (oil and char) from municipal solid waste pyrolysis as useful additives for producing improved asphalts and for recycling old asphalts to generate new ones, reducing at the same time the consumption of resources for the production of new road pavements and the disposal of wastes to landfills. This work aims to show the feasibility of the integration of two processes (thermal treatment of municipal solid waste on one side, and that of road pavement production on the other side) where the products deriving from waste pyrolysis become added-value materials to improve the quality of road pavements. In this contribution, we presented the effect of pyrolysis product addition on asphalt binder (bitumen) preparation and aging. Solid and liquid products, deriving from the pyrolysis of two kinds of wastes (refused derived fuel (RDF) and granulated rubber tyre waste), have been used for the preparation of asphalt binder samples. Rheological tests have been performed to determine the mechanical properties of neat asphalt binder (bitumen) and those enriched with pyrolysis derived products. Measurements to evaluate possible anti-aging effects have been also performed. The collected results indicate that char addition strengthens the overall bitumen intermolecular structure while bio-oil addition exerts a rejuvenating activity.

Eurasian chemico-technological journal 25