Physical properties of asphalt emulsion modified with natural rubber latex

Abstract

Asphalt is an important material that has been used widely in road paving industry as a binder for aggregate. There are a lot of studies that have been conducted to modify asphalt for the preparation of hot mix asphalt (HMA). From the study, it is proven that polymer modified asphalt can improve asphalt performance. However, there are very few studies that focus on modification of asphalt emulsion that were used for cold mix asphalt (CMA). In this study, natural rubber latex was selected as a modifier to modify asphalt emulsion. Post blending method was used to prepare polymer modified asphalt emulsion. The addition of natural rubber latex (NRL) into the asphalt emulsion was made in a cylindrical flask that is equipped with a propeller with three variables: the amount of polymer, mixing time and blending velocity. From the result, it can be concluded that natural rubber latex can be used to improve the rheological properties of modified asphalt emulsion residue. The maximum useful amount of polymer that could be added to the prepared asphalt emulsion is discovered by the study to be at 7 percent whereas the blending time of 20 minutes was selected as the useful blending time to blend NRL in prepared asphalt emulsion.