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EAPA TF on the Use of Reclaimed Asphalt

1. Situation in EuropeThe European Green DealOn 12 December 2019, the EU Commission presented the European Green Deal, an integral part of the strategy to implement the United Nation’s 2030 Agenda and the sustainable development goals, and the other priorities announced in President von der Leyen’s political guidelines.

In this, it is presented a circular economy action plan, which will include a ‘sustainable products’ policy to support the circular design of all products based on a common methodology and principles. It will prioritise reducing and reusing materials before recycling them. It will foster new business models and set minimum requirements to prevent environmentally harmful products from being placed on the EU market. Extended producer responsibility will also be strengthened.

While the circular economy action plan will guide the transition of all sectors, action will focus in particular on resource-intensive sectors such as textiles, construction, electronics and plastics. It will also include measures to encourage businesses to offer, and to allow consumers to choose, reusable, durable and repairable products.

European figures of asphalt re-use and recyclingTable 1 shows the reclaimed asphalt available in 2018 in the following countries: Austria, Belgium, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Great Britain, Hungary, Norway, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain and Turkey. The total amount available in these countries was 38,8 Mt. The leading countries are Germany (33% of total), France (20%) and Great Britain (16%). The rest of the countries together represent only 31% of the total (Figure 1).

In general, most of this material is used in the manufacture of asphalt materials (especially HMA and WMA). Nevertheless, some exceptions were found, such as Norway and Turkey, where most of the material was used in

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unbound road layers, or Slovenia, where 61% was put to landfill or used in other applications not proper of Civil Engineering.

Table 1. Reuse and Recycling of Reclaimed Asphalt in 2018

Country

All available Reclaimed Asphalt in

2018 in tonnes

% of available reclaimed asphalt used in Applied area in m2 of hot

reuse of existing asphalt

pavement material in-situ / on the

road (Remixing, Repaving, Reshaping, Road Train

etc.)

The amount of

"only" reheated (reused) asphalt

material in-situ / on the

road (Remixing, Repaving,

Reshaping, Road Train

etc.) in metric tonnes

Hot and Warm Mix

Asphalt Production

Half Warm Mix Asphalt Production

Cold Recycling**

Unbound Road

Layers

Other Civil Engineering Applications

Put to Landfill /Other

Applications/ Unknown

Austria 1.900.000 70 30 no data no dataBelgium 1.687 100 0 0 0 0 0 no data no dataCroatia 200.000 no data no data no data no data no data no data no data no dataCzech Republic 2.700.000 12 0 25 25 10 28 >400000 >420000Denmark 1.185.000 68 0 0 7 0 25 no data no dataFinland 1.300.000 100 0 0 0 0 0 8200000 no dataFrance 7.817.000 73 10 0 0 0 0 1589300 197478Germany 13.000.000 82 0 0 18 0 0 no data no data

Great Britain 6.100.000 30 70 no data no data

Hungary 200.000 70 0 0 10 1 19 no data no dataNorway 1.004.000 34 0 0 66 0 0 no data no dataSlovakia 150.966 85 0 2 12 1 0 135627 16624Slovenia 106.200 24 0 5 0 0 61 no data no dataSpain 1.165.000 76 0 9 15 0 1 no data no dataTurkey 1.965.000 1 0 0 99 0 0 no data no data USA 91.700.000 90,5 0 0,3 7,0 2,2 0 no data no data

Taking into account only data of countries, which provided data also in 2017 (i.e. Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Great Britain, Hungary, Norway, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain and Turkey), it can be said that the amount of available RA increased 4,8 Mt in 2018. This is an increase of 14,1%. The only country of the list reporting reductions was Turkey, with 23,6% less available RA.

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Figure 1. Percentage of reclaimed asphalt available in different European countries in 2018 (left) and average use (right)

2. Situation in USAAsphalt mixture producers remain the country’s most diligent recyclers, with more than 97% of asphalt mixture reclaimed from old asphalt pavements being put back to use in new pavements and the remaining 3% being used in other civil engineering applications, such as unbound aggregate bases.

The total estimated tons of RAP used in asphalt mixtures was 82.2 million tons in 2018. This is a nearly 7.9% increase from the 2017 construction season, and represents a nearly 46.8% increase from the total estimated tons of RAP used in 2009. Since 2009, total asphalt mixture tonnage has increased only 8.6%.

The percentage of producers reporting use of RAP was at 97.4 percent of respondents, down 0.6% from 2017. Three producers reported landfilling a minor amount (12,120 tons, or 0.012 percent) of RAP during 2018.

RAP usage during the 2018 construction season is estimated to have reduced the need for 4.1 million tons (23 million barrels) of asphalt binder and more than 78 million tons of aggregate with a total estimated value of more than $2.8 billion.

The total estimated amount of RAP stockpiled nationwide at the end of the 2018 construction season was about 110.3 million tons.

Fractionated RAP represents about 24 percent of RAP use nationwide, and the tons of RAP mixtures produced using softer binders are estimated at 20

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Other11,7Mt (31%)

Great Britain6,1Mt (16%)

Germany13,0Mt (33%)

France7,8Mt (20%)

Other applications/Put to landfill/Unknown

(12%)Re-used as asphalt

(66%)

Recycled as unbound granular material

(21%)

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percent while tons produced using recycling agents is estimated at 4 percent.

Reclaiming 101.1 million tons of RAP for future use saved about 61.4 million cubic yards of landfill space, and more than $4.5 billion in gate fees for disposal in landfills.

The use of softer binders and recycling agents with mixtures incorporating RAP and RAS was reported nationwide. There was little correlation between the level of RAP and RAS used and the use of softer binders and/or recycling agents.

According to the data published by NAPA, the use of RAP reduces the need for virgin materials, conserving valuable asphalt and aggregates. Beyond the environmental benefits of resource preservation, the use of RAP can help lower initial material costs for road construction, allowing road owners to achieve more roadway maintenance and construction activities within limited budgets. Table 3 summarizes the individual and cumulative savings from the use of RAP in asphalt mixtures realized during the 2018 construction season. In total, the use of RAP saved more than $2.8 billion during the 2018 construction season compared to the use of all virgin materials. This is $579 million more than in 2017 due primarily to increases in asphalt binder and aggregate prices (Table 4).

Table 2. Summary of RAP, RAS, WMA Data in USA

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Figure 2. Comparison of Tons of RAP Accepted and Tons of RAP Used or Landfilled (Million Tons) in USA between 2009 and 2018

Table 3. Material Savings, 2017–2018

Table 4. Material Cost Factors, 2015–2018

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3. EAPA Position PapersEAPA has published over the last decade the following position papers related to the re-use/recycling of asphalt:

Arguments to stimulate the government to promote asphalt reuse and recycling (2008)

This paper already presented in 2008 the idea of “Asphalt is 100% re-usable / recyclable and should be re-used / recycled”. In addition, it listed arguments to increase and promote recycling, as follows:

- it saves virgin materials

- it saves limited natural resources, minimizing environmental impact

- it contributes to sustainability

- the quality of asphalt containing RAP is (at least) as adequate as asphalt containing virgin materials only

- it is (or can be) financial attractive

- it avoids landfill and a burden for future generations

- it is good for the image of the industry

- European standards give the possibility to use RAP in the asphalt mixtures

- there is a European standard for RAP

- some countries have already more than 30 years of experience

- asphalt is 100% recyclable / re-usable

Asphalt the 100% recyclable construction product (2014)

This report is intended to improve understanding of the recycling potential of asphalt and to encourage a more holistic approach to the maintenance of our road asset making use of the asphalt already in place in a planned,

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progressive structural maintenance system to keep the network sustainable for future generations.

It explains all the techniques available to re-use and recycle asphalt, defining as “re-use” when the operations are carried out in-situ (e.g. Repave, Remix or Retread processes) and recycling when the works are undertaken ex-situ (e.g. hot ex-situ processes, cold RA addition to batch mixer, hot-drum mixer or hot-twin drum dryer). The paper also covers other aspects, such as standardisation, techniques to make pavements more durable, carbon savings from recycling and long-term strategy for preserving the asset.

Use of secondary materials, by-products and waste in asphalt mixtures (2017)

It states that the European Asphalt Pavement Association recommends that the first priority be given to the re-use of reclaimed asphalt into hot and warm mix asphalt as this represents a very significant potential to save on the overall consumption of bitumen and energy in Europe. It also recommends that waste, or waste derived materials offered to the asphalt industry can only be incorporated into asphalt if it can be shown through a Risk Assessment process that:

• There are no disadvantages with respect to health and safety of workers and the general public, during processing, use and application, now or in the future.

• There are no environmental impacts and/or liability problems during processing, use and application, now or in the future.

• The future reuse and recyclability of asphalt is not endangered.

• The value for money analysis remains positive for our clients.

• There is no negative impact on the technical product performance of asphalt now or in the future.

• The introduction of waste should not affect the competitiveness of Asphalt solutions versus alternative pavements.

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• That the health an environment classification of bitumen or asphalt is not affected by the addition of the waste.

Recommendations for the use of rejuvenators in hot and warm asphalt production (2018)

Comprehensive guidance for the use of rejuvenators, including aspects, such as:

Characterisation of rejuvenators

Characterisation of the bitumen of the reclaimed asphalt

Characterisation of the bitumen extracted from the reclaimed asphalt blended with rejuvenator

- Efficiency of rejuvenators

- Amount of rejuvenator needed based on penetration value and/or softening point temperature

- Amount of rejuvenator needed based on comprehensive approach

- The selection of an appropriate rejuvenator

- Recommendation for test methods to determine binder characteristics

Characterisation of compacted asphalt specimen containing reclaimed asphalt + rejuvenator

Blending the reclaimed asphalt with the rejuvenator

4. EAPA Workshop on the use of rejuvenators in asphalt mixturesDue to the great feedback received from the industrial community and with the aim of maximising the dissemination and outreach of EAPA’s work, the

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Association organised in Padova (Italy) on 10-11 September 2019, the 1st EAPA Workshop on the use of rejuvenators in asphalt mixtures.

With around 70 participants from Industry, Academia and Road Authorities, the event was very successful, receiving great feedback. In addition, important outcomes were collected:

Knowledge gaps:

• No requirements in specifications for rejuvenators

• No design tools for the dosage of rejuvenators

• Working principle of the rejuvenator itself. Are they really rejuvenators or only softeners? Test method to distinguish real rejuvenators and softeners

• Interaction between rejuvenators and other additives (e.g. SBS, waxes, etc.)

• Inconsistent level of knowledge. While in the Netherlands they require 50% of RA, companies from other countries cannot compete because they do not have the knowledge

Barriers for implementation:

• RAP availability and good quality

• Plants network does not reach certain parts of certain countries to really do it

• Durability tests are missing

• Specifications can be a barrier for innovation and use of RAP

• Lack of positive incentives on job-sites. A positive measure could be a bonus when RAP is used

• Doubts about Carbon Footprint when using rejuvenators

Roadmap of actions:

• Exchange all the knowledge there from Japan, the Netherlands, Switzerland, etc. with Road Authorities

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• Supporting experiments for low traffic roads. Not limit only to highways

• More green procurement with LCA

• Research should be continued building up on what it is done

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