Use of recycled plastic to modify the engineering properties of asphalt binders for road paving

Winpak是食品、饮料和保健行业塑料包装和包装机械的领先生产商和分销商。Winpak认识到需要更可持续的应用来转移垃圾填埋场的废塑料。使塑料垃圾远离垃圾填埋场和水体是加拿大和世界面临的重大挑战。包括Winpak及其合作伙伴在内的主要塑料制造商已承诺提高其产品的可持续性。这就产生了在新的和创新的应用中重新利用塑料废物的强烈需求。通过将再生塑料纳入道路结构，有可能从垃圾填埋场转移大量废物，并开发更便宜、更有弹性的基础设施。根据其来源、使用年限和成分的不同，再生塑料可能具有一系列的工程特性。当这些材料以规定的剂量应用时，可以增加沥青粘合剂的拉伸和剪切强度，从而增加由这些粘合剂建造的道路路面的耐久性。改性沥青粘合剂以延长其性能已经成功地应用了许多塑料和橡胶添加剂，然而，由于其不同的性能，使用再生塑料作为改性剂还没有得到充分的研究。沥青粘合剂的性能分级包括一组测试，以评估沥青粘合剂对地理区域的气候和交通水平的相容性。为了评估再生塑料对粘合剂性能的影响，将制定和测试各种沥青和再生塑料的试验混合物。这些共混物将在实验室中进行调节，以模拟典型的施工和现场老化过程对其预测的现场性能的影响。通过这项工作，我们打算确定可以通过添加塑料废物来增强的潜在理想性能。这些应用可以商业化，可以帮助创造新的商业机会，并减少我们的碳足迹。

Winpak is a leading producer and distributor of plastic packaging and packaging machines for the food, beverage and health care industries. Winpak recognizes that more sustainable applications are needed to divert waste plastic from the landfill. Keeping plastic waste out of landfills and bodies of water is a major challenge to Canada and the world. Major plastic manufacturers, including Winpak and their parteners, have committed to improving the sustainability of their products. This has created a strong demand for repurposing plastic waste in new and innovative applications. By incorporating recycled plastics in road structures, there is a potential for diverting significant amounts of waste from the landfill and for developing cheaper and more resilient infrastructure. Recycled plastics may have a range of engineering properties depending on their source, age and composition. These materials when applied in prescribed dosages can increase the tensile and shear strength of asphalt binders and in turn increase the durability of road pavements constructed from these binders. Modifying asphalt binders to extend their properties has been successfully applied using a number of plastic and rubber additives, however the use of recycled plastics as a modifier has not been fully examined due to their varying properties. Performance grading of asphalt binders consists of a set of tests to assess the compatability of an asphalt binder to the climate and traffic levels in a geographic region. To evaluate the impact of recycled plastics on binder properties, various trial blends of asphalt and recycled plastics will be formulated and tested. These blends will be conditioned in the laboratory to simulate the effect of typical construction and field aging processes on their predicted field performance. Through this work we intend to identify potential desirable properties that can be enhanced by the addition of plastic waste.These applications can be commercialized and could help create new business opportunities, and reduce our carbon footprint.