Environmental impact of bituminous mixtures produced with reclaimed asphalt pavement and rejuvenator

Abstract

Abstract The paper focuses on the investigation of the potential environmental impact related to the production of several types of bituminous mixtures containing different dosages of Reclaimed Asphalt Pavement (RAP) and Rejuvenator (Rej). All materials used in the presented study are specific and generally used for pavements in Romania. The RAP material was considered as an inert material and it was used in three dosages (25%, 50% and 75%). For the bituminous mixture produced with 50% RAP material, a rejuvenator consisting in a mixture of vegetal oils was used in three dosages of 0.2%, 0.4% and 0.6% by mass of RAP material. A total of seven types of bituminous mixtures were considered including one ‘conventional’ mixture produced with virgin materials and used as reference. The Environmental Impact Assessment was estimated for the production process of the analysed bituminous mixtures, by using Eco-indicator 99 method within SimaPro software. The results prove that the addition of RAP material leads to a net decrease of the energy use and environmental impact. Besides, when rejuvenators are used in this process, they can affect the energy balance and reduce the difference in environmental impact.