Potential Additives in Natural Rubber-Modified Bitumen: A Review

Abstract

Conventional bitumen pavement is no longer suitable for handling increasing loads and weather variations, which cause road deterioration, Thus, the modification of bitumen has been suggested to counter this issue. This study provides a detailed assessment of various additives for modifying natural rubber-modified bitumen used in road construction. This work will focus on the use of additives with cup lump natural rubber (CLNR), which has recently started to gain attention among researchers, especially in rubber-producing countries such as Malaysia, Thailand and Indonesia. Furthermore, this paper aims to briefly review how the addition of additives or modifiers helps elevate the performance of bitumen by highlighting the significant properties of modified bitumen after the addition of modifiers. Moreover, the amount and method of application of each additive are discussed further to obtain the optimum value for future implementation. On the basis of past studies, this paper will review the utilisation of several types of additives, including polyphosphoric acid, Evotherm, mangosteen powder, trimethyl-quinoline and sulphur, and the application of xylene and toluene to ensure the homogeneity of the rubberised bitumen. Numerous studies were conducted to verify the performance of various types and compositions of additives, particularly in terms of physical and rheological properties. In general, additives enhance the properties of conventional bitumen. Future research should investigate CLNR because studies on its utilisation are limited.