Recycling Asphalt

Recycling Asphalt

What is Recycling asphalt?

Recycled asphalt is the material removed from damaged road surfaces and roofing materials
Recovered asphalt is a feed stock in the manufacture of new asphalt. It typically has a 5 percent concentration in the new asphalt, though this proportion may rise to 30 percent. It is a surface for minor roads such as farm roads or private driveways. Asphalt road surfaces damage periodically due to foundation subsidence, drainage problems or surface adhesion failure. The surface hardens cracks and crumbles over time. The chemical composition of asphalt does not change. The removal of the damaged surface using pneumatic or hydraulic breakers produces a waste product called road planning. The asphalt in these planning is a granular material compared with the continuous texture of new asphalt. Asphalt is 100% recyclable over and over.

In time for Earth Day, NAPA and FHWA have released a new survey of sustainable construction practices in the asphalt pavement industry. The survey, which covers the 2011 construction season, studies the usage of reclaimed asphalt pavement (RAP), recycled asphalt shingles (RAS), and warm-mix asphalt (WMA). The use of recycled materials in asphalt pavements saved taxpayers more than $2.2 billion dollars during the 2011 paving season.

According to the survey, about 21.2 million barrels of liquid asphalt binder were saved through the use of RAP and RAS during 2011. As early as 1993, the Environmental Protection Agency and Federal Highway Administration identified asphalt pavement as America’s recycling # 1 product in the USA. A wide range of waste materials are now incorporated into asphalt pavements, including ground tire rubber, glass, foundry sand, slag, and even pig manure, but the most widely used are reclaimed asphalt pavement (RAP) and recycled asphalt shingles (RAS). The use of recycled materials in asphalt pavements saves hundreds of millions of cubic yards of landfill space each year.

Asphalt producers have been recycling for more than 30 years and recycled asphalt pavement (RAP) has become the number one recycled material in the US with about 67 million tons recycled in 2011. Despite this impressive record in many areas of the country there is more RAP available than can be used. The limiting factors range from specification limits and equipment capabilities to process/quality control.