Waste Pellet Additives for Hot Mix Asphalt Circularity
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Solution Overview
Problem
The challenge is to effectively recycle and reuse urban and industrial waste that is typically destined for incineration or landfill, as it cannot be part of a circular economy, while maintaining or improving the mechanical and durability characteristics of Hot Mix Asphalt (HMA) used for road paving.
Innovation Solution
A process is developed to convert urban and industrial waste into pellets through a mechanical treatment, which are then added to HMA without altering its mechanical properties, involving classification, magnetic separation, crushing, and pelletization to produce waste pellets that are incorporated into the HMA manufacturing process.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of substance
If conventional waste disposal methods (incineration or landfill) are used, then waste removal is achieved, but environmental damage and loss of circular economy opportunities occur
Solution Approach 1:
The patent converts harmful waste materials into beneficial pellets that are incorporated into asphalt mixtures. The waste, which would normally be disposed of through incineration or landfill, is transformed into a useful additive that improves asphalt performance while reducing waste. This applies the blessing in disguise principle by taking harmful waste and converting it into a beneficial construction material.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent involves changing the physical and chemical parameters of waste materials through mechanical treatment, classification, and pelletization processes. The waste is processed through controlled crushing, sorting, and agglomeration to transform it into standardized pellets with specific physical properties suitable for asphalt incorporation, thereby changing its state from harmful waste to useful material.
2Productivity
If waste pellets are added to HMA, then waste recycling is improved, but the complexity of the manufacturing process increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary action by pre-processing the waste materials before they are incorporated into the asphalt mixture. The waste undergoes classification, mechanical treatment, and pelletization in advance, so that when it is added to the HMA production line, it is already in the desired form. This reduces the complexity of integrating waste recycling into the existing asphalt manufacturing process.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses waste pellets as an intermediary material that bridges the gap between waste management and asphalt production. The pellets serve as a mediator that can be easily incorporated into the existing HMA manufacturing process without requiring fundamental changes to the equipment or process flow, thereby reducing the overall complexity of waste recycling integration.
3Productivity
If waste pellets are incorporated into HMA, then circular economy is enhanced, but the mechanical and durability characteristics of HMA may be compromised
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by ensuring that the waste pellets have specific local properties (size, shape, composition) that are optimized for their function in the asphalt mixture. The mechanical treatment and classification processes ensure that the pellets have uniform characteristics that contribute to maintaining the overall mechanical and durability properties of the HMA while still providing waste recycling benefits.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent creates a composite material system by combining waste pellets with traditional asphalt components (bitumen, aggregates). The waste pellets become part of the composite HMA structure, and their properties are optimized to complement the existing materials, thereby maintaining or improving the mechanical and durability characteristics while enhancing circular economy principles.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This process significantly reduces waste sent to landfills, enhances HMA's mechanical characteristics, and supports sustainable development by recycling up to 3,500 kg of waste per day per plant, reducing energy consumption and maintaining HMA quality.
Implementation Method 1
The waste passes through a first metallic material extraction system (ferrous and non-ferrous) to eliminate the components incompatible with the asphalt mixture additive process
Data Source
AI summary
Procedure for obtaining hot mix asphalt additivated with pellets made of urban and/or industrial waste compounds and/or materials compound from the mechanical treatment of waste that does not contain hazardous substances [defined according to the European Waste List (EWL) and European Waste Codes (EWC) with numbers 200301, 200199, 200399, 191212], that comprise the phases of a first extraction system of metallic materials (ferrous and non-ferrous), a primary crushing, a second extraction system of metallic materials (ferrous and non-ferrous), a pulverizing of bitumen emulsion and chemical additives in proportions between 1% and 10% of the waste weight, a secondary crushing or refining, and a pelletizing process with the presence of the bitumen emulsion and chemicals and a moisture content of less than 18% where the percentages of pellet incorporation into Hot Mix Asphalt can vary from 0.1% to 10% by weight of the Hot Mix Asphalt.