EAGER: A Breakthrough Concept in the Preparation of Highly-Sustainable Asphalt Mixtures

EAGER的研究项目将测试这样一种假设，即二氧化钛（TiO 2）在温拌沥青（WMA）的制备中用作沥青粘合剂的改性剂时，可以起到光催化化合物的作用。这将产生具有上级环境性能的新型沥青混合物，同时提供与常规混合物相当的机械性能。建议的沥青混合料将结合联合收割机的WMA的好处，如减少能源消耗和排放在生产过程中与光催化性能的二氧化钛捕获和降解空气中的有机和无机颗粒。该提案的结果可能导致一种新的WMA类别，其可用于减少城市和大都市地区的空气污染，同时通过降低在生产和放置期间加热沥青混合料所需的燃料量来实现节能，减少排放，以及增加混合料中再生沥青路面（RAP）含量而无需提高混合温度的可能性。预计计划的活动将提高本科生和研究生对可持续建筑材料的理解，特别是在代表性不足的群体中。

This EAGER research project will test the hypothesis that titanium dioxide (TiO2) can function as a photocatalytic compound when used as a modifier to asphalt binder in the preparation of warm-mix asphalt (WMA). This would result in new class of asphalt mixtures with superior environmental performance while providing comparable mechanical performance to conventional mixtures. The proposed asphalt mixture will combine the benefits of WMA such as reduced energy consumption and emission during production with the photocatalytic properties of TiO2 to trap and degrade organic and inorganic particles in the air. The results of this proposal may result in a new class of WMA that may be used to reduce air pollution in urban and metropolitan areas while achieving energy savings by lowering the amount of fuel required to heat asphalt mix during production and placement, reduction of emissions, and possibility of increasing Reclaimed Asphalt Pavements (RAP) contents in the mix without the need to raise mixing temperature. The planned activities are expected to enhance the understanding of sustainable construction materials for undergraduate and graduate students especially among underrepresented groups.