Qabur Ali, Baaj Hassan, El-Hakim Mohab
Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, ON N2L 3G1, Canada.
Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Manhattan College, Bronx, NY 10471, USA.
Polymers (Basel). 2022 Dec 9;14(24):5396. doi: 10.3390/polym14245396.
The amount of residual Multi-layer Plastic Packaging (MPP) in Canada has greatly increased in the last two decades, which has economic and environmental consequences. MPP is primarily made up of two or more layers of Polyethylene (PE), Polyester (PET), Nylon (NY), and Metalized Polyester (METPET). While MPP has not been used as an asphalt modifier, some of the materials commonly found in MPP, such as PE and PET, have also been successfully used as asphalt modifiers. Nevertheless, a few recent studies have demonstrated the potential for reusing MPP as an asphalt modifier to improve asphalt pavement performance. Recycling post-industrial MPP instead of using raw polymers could lead to economic and environmental benefits. However, a comprehensive study to evaluate MPP as a viable asphalt additive is lacking. The main objective of this study is to evaluate the feasibility of using MPP as an asphalt modifier via the wet method, considering the physical, thermal, rheological, and storage properties of the MPP-modified binder at different MPP concentrations (2%, 4%, and 8%) in asphalt cement (PG 58-28). MPP-modified binders were evaluated using the following instruments: Differential Scanning Calorimeter (DSC), Thermogravimetric Analysis (TGA), Superpave Dynamic Shear Rheometer (DSR), Rotational Viscosity (RV), and Environmental Scanning Electron Microscopy (ESEM). Test results indicated that the incorporation of MPP has a strong potential to improve permanent deformation resistance at high temperatures. In addition, MPP shows a moderate impact on fatigue cracking performance at intermediate temperatures. Overall, in low-temperature climates, using less than 4% of MPP additives would offer higher fatigue damage resistance along with adequate permanent deformation. In high-temperature climates, higher concentrations of additives may be preferable to resist permanent deformation. Finally, MPP is a challenge for existing recycling systems, and its incorporation into asphalt applications may develop more sustainable materials that would contribute to circular economy principles.
在过去二十年中，加拿大多层塑料包装（MPP）的残留量大幅增加，这带来了经济和环境方面的影响。MPP主要由两层或更多层的聚乙烯（PE）、聚酯（PET）、尼龙（NY）和镀金属聚酯（METPET）组成。虽然MPP尚未用作沥青改性剂，但MPP中常见的一些材料，如PE和PET，也已成功用作沥青改性剂。尽管如此，最近的一些研究表明，将MPP作为沥青改性剂进行再利用以改善沥青路面性能具有潜力。回收工业后MPP而非使用原始聚合物可带来经济和环境效益。然而，目前缺乏一项全面研究来评估MPP作为一种可行的沥青添加剂的性能。本研究的主要目的是通过湿法评估将MPP用作沥青改性剂的可行性，同时考虑在不同MPP浓度（2%、4%和8%）下，MPP改性结合料在沥青水泥（PG 58 - 28）中的物理、热学、流变学和储存性能。使用以下仪器对MPP改性结合料进行评估：差示扫描量热仪（DSC）、热重分析（TGA）、Superpave动态剪切流变仪（DSR）、旋转粘度计（RV）和环境扫描电子显微镜（ESEM）。测试结果表明，添加MPP具有显著提高高温下抗永久变形能力的潜力。此外，MPP对中温下的疲劳开裂性能有一定影响。总体而言，在低温气候条件下，使用低于4%的MPP添加剂可提供更高的抗疲劳损伤能力以及足够的抗永久变形能力。在高温气候条件下，较高浓度的添加剂可能更有利于抵抗永久变形。最后，MPP对现有的回收系统构成挑战，将其纳入沥青应用中可能会开发出更具可持续性的材料，这将有助于遵循循环经济原则。
