Future Of Asphalt Additive Lies With Improved Additives And Warm Mix Asphalt

People, multi-national organizations, and even government agencies are rethinking new ways to reduce the human impact on the environment. Sustainability has become a buzzword in the construction sector and the asphalt additive industry is driven by it.

Asphalt additives are the number of substances that can alter the characteristic of the blender of hot mix asphalt. Rethinking new additives to reduce the impact on the environment while fulfilling the needs of future generations is the prime focus of the existing players in the market.

Asphalt has always been a sustainable material and innovative technologies have made it even more so. The use of warm mix asphalt and advent of new asphalt additive are just a few examples. Such innovations have boosted the growth of the market. According to Allied Market Research, the asphalt additives market is expected to reach $5.3 billion by 2027, growing at a CAGR of 5.1% from 2020 to 2027. That’s because of rising demand for asphalt for road construction and increasing awareness regarding energy conservation & sustainable infrastructure.

Launch of a new asphalt additive:

As the number of vehicles on the road is ever-increasing, it is essential to find better additives to make roads more durable even in extreme weather conditions. As the roads are subjected to higher and frequent loads, the time for replacement reduces. Thus, a major market player, BASF has recently launched bitumen additive to make roads last longer.

The aim behind the launch of new product was to increase the average road life by up to 50% and the new additive is said to be effective than the existing bitumen modifiers. The bitumen additive binds the components and form a strong and elastic polymer grid, which increases the overall road life span.

According to BASF, the use of bitumen additive allows the reduction of bitumen emission during the construction of roads as the asphalt mix production as well as laying can be carried out at 135-145°C. This way, the new additive helps fulfill the new occupational exposure limit during the asphalt laying.

Does the future lie with warm mix asphalt?

Warm mix asphalt is the production and application of asphalt around 20 – 40 °C lower than the conventional hot mix asphalt. The lower temperature offers several advantages including better and less emission involving working conditions and less use of energy.

The use of warm mix asphalt offers manufacturing and paving advantages as it requires less hardening of the bitumen and complete compatibility with the use of RAP. As warm mix asphalt demands lower temperature, it requires less time to cool down to ambient temperature. This means less time for road construction and the site can be opened for traffic earlier.

The most attractive benefit of warm mix asphalt is lower bitumen fume exposure level during paving operations than hot mix asphalt. This improves the working environment of asphalt workers. Another major benefit is energy reduction and lower emission of greenhouse gases. As every industry is riding the wave of sustainability, the use of warm hot mix asphalt is a small step in that direction.

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