PRODUCTION AND PERFORMANCE OF

DESULFURIZED RUBBER ASPHALT

BINDER
 Contents
1. Introduction
2. Why DRA?
3. Production Process
4. Analysis of Materials
1. Microstructure analysis
2. Component analysis
3. Conventional performance tests
5. Performance test on DRA
1. Low Temperature Bending Beam Test
2. Fatigue Test
6. Comparisons
7. Conclusions
8. Reference

Production & Performance Of Desulfurized Rubber Asphalt Binder 2

Introduction
 1.5 billion scrap tyres are generated each year.
 Burry or burn of scrap tires leads to “BLACK
POLLUTION”.
 Use of crumb rubber as a modifier for asphalt provides a
“GREEN WAY”.
 It is difficult for crumb rubber to be dissolved and reacted
with asphalt because of the sulfurization.
 Process of removal of sulfur content is known as
desulfurization.

Production & Performance Of Desulfurized Rubber Asphalt Binder 3

 Fig 1; Junkyard of Scrap Tires
4
Production & Performance Of Desulfurized Rubber Asphalt Binder
Why DRA?
 Conventional rubber has disadvantages like segregation and
high viscosity in asphalt mix.
 Low production temperature.
 More life.
 Overall reliability.

Production & Performance Of Desulfurized Rubber Asphalt Binder 5

 Production Process
 Base Binder + Desulfurized rubber powder (30% by
weight of base binder)
 Ingredients are mixed thoroughly.
 Mixed using high speed shear machine.
 Mixed @ 12000 revolutions per minute.
 Constant temperature is maintained (between 270°F and
325°F)

Production & Performance Of Desulfurized Rubber Asphalt Binder 6

 Items Value (%)

Saturated Fraction 27.9

Aromatic Fraction 31.7

Resin 39.6

Asphaltene 0.6

Table 1; Chemical constituents of desulfurized asphalt

matrix
Production & Performance Of Desulfurized Rubber Asphalt Binder 7
 Test Items Test Value Code
Requirements
Sieve residue 1.17 ≤10
Rubber 49 ≥48
Hydrocarbon
Content
Carbon Black 30 ≥28
Metal Content 0.03 ≤0.03
Fiber Content 0 ≤1
Code used; JTG F40-2004 (Technical specifications for construction of
highway asphalt pavements)

Table2; Main Technical Specification Of DRB

Production & Performance Of Desulfurized Rubber Asphalt Binder 8
 Fig 2; Photo Of Desulfurized Rubber Asphalt Binder
Production & Performance Of Desulfurized Rubber Asphalt Binder 9
 Analysis Of Materials
 Three tests are conducted;
1. Microstructure Analysis
2. Component Analysis
3. Conventional Performance Test

Production & Performance Of Desulfurized Rubber Asphalt Binder 10

 1.Microstructure Analysis
 Conducted using Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM)
 Observe microstructure of material
 Scanning the material with electron
 Analyzing the secondary electron

Production & Performance Of Desulfurized Rubber Asphalt Binder 11

 Fig 3; Working Principle of SEM
12
Production & Performance Of Desulfurized Rubber Asphalt Binder
 Fig 4; SEM setup
Production & Performance Of Desulfurized Rubber Asphalt Binder 13
-Result
 Desulfurized rubber have slightly rougher surface.
 Desulfurized rubber particles are well integrated into the
asphalt mix.

Fig 5; SEM Graph of DRA

14
 2. Component Analysis
 DRA consist of 4 components

Saturates

Aromatics

Colloids

Asphatelen
 Rubber asphalt was dissolved by trichloroethylene
 Filtered by 200 mesh sieve
 Analysis is carried out

Production & Performance Of Desulfurized Rubber Asphalt Binder 15

 -Result
45
40
35
30
Contents (%)

25
20 DRA Binder

15
10
5
0
Saturates Aromatics Colloid Asphatelen

Production & Performance Of Desulfurized Rubber Asphalt Binder 16

 3.Conventional Performance Tests
 Various tests are conducted such as
 Penetration test
 Ductility (5⁰C)
 Softening point
 Viscosity

Production & Performance Of Desulfurized Rubber Asphalt Binder 17

 -(a) Penetration Test
 Used to determine consistency
 Vertical distance penetrated by standard needle.
 Test conditions
 Temperature to be maintained- 25⁰c
 Weight of needle assembly- 100g
 Time of test- 5 sec

Result
Penetration value of DRA= 63

Production & Performance Of Desulfurized Rubber Asphalt Binder 18

 -(b) Ductility (5⁰C)
 Ductility test gives measure of adhesive property.
 Very important property in case of flexible pavement
design.
 It is the distance in cm before breakage when specimen is
tested.

Result
Ductility of DRA = 17cm

Production & Performance Of Desulfurized Rubber Asphalt Binder 19

 -(c) Softening Point
 Temperature at which substance attains particular
degree of softening.
 Determined by Ring and Ball test

Result
Softening Point of DRA = 64⁰C

Production & Performance Of Desulfurized Rubber Asphalt Binder 20

-(d) Viscosity
 Viscosity is the resistance to flow.
 Higher viscosity is not a desirable property.
 Very low viscosity is also not desirable.

Result
Viscosity of DRA = 2.23Pas

Production & Performance Of Desulfurized Rubber Asphalt Binder 21

 Comparison
 Comparison of tests.
 Comparison between; Virgin Asphalt, Crumbed Rubber
Asphalt and Desulfurized Rubber Asphalt

Production & Performance Of Desulfurized Rubber Asphalt Binder 22

1. SEM Analysis
 Surface is very smooth for virgin asphalt.
 Very rough surface for crumb rubber.
 Smooth surface for DRA when compared with crumb
rubber.

Fig 6; SEM Graph of (a)Virgin, (b)DRA, (c)Crumb rubber 23

 2. Component Analysis
50
45
40
35
Contents (%)

30
Virgin Asphalt
25
Crumb Rubber
20
DRA
15
10
5
0
Saturates Aromatics Colloid Asphaltene

Production & Performance Of Desulfurized Rubber Asphalt Binder 24

 3. Conventional Tests
-(a) Penetration Test
100
89
90
80
Penetration(0.1mm)

70 63
60 52
50
40
30
20
10
0
Virgin CR DR
Production & Performance Of Desulfurized Rubber Asphalt Binder 25
 -(b) Ductility (5⁰C)
18
17
16
14 13
Ductility (cm)

12
10
8
6
6
4
2
0
Virgin CR DR

Production & Performance Of Desulfurized Rubber Asphalt Binder 26

 -(c) Softening Point
80
69
70 64
Softening Point(⁰C)

60
45
50

40

30

20

10

0
Virgin CR DR

Production & Performance Of Desulfurized Rubber Asphalt Binder 27

 -(d) Viscosity
12
10.4
10
Viscosity (Pas)

4
2.23
2
.31
0
Virgin CR DR
Production & Performance Of Desulfurized Rubber Asphalt Binder 28
 Performance Test On DRA
 Mainly Two tests are conducted ;
 Low Temperature Bending Beam Test
 Fatigue Test

Production & Performance Of Desulfurized Rubber Asphalt Binder 29

1,Low Temperature Bending Beam
Test
 Tested using UTM
 Load applied at centre of span
 Load and deflection measured using LVDT
 Failure strain calculated using equation
εb =(6*h*d)/L2
 DRA have low production temperature test shows that it
can withstand strain compared with crumb rubber.
 Low production temperature can reduce low
temperature cracking resistance.

Production & Performance Of Desulfurized Rubber Asphalt Binder 30

Comparison of Low Temperature
Bending Test
Chart Title
5000
4500
4000
3500
3000
FS (µε)

2500
CRM
2000
1500 DRM
1000
500
0
180 170 160 150
Mix production temperature

Production & Performance Of Desulfurized Rubber Asphalt Binder 31

2,Fatigue Test
 Four point bending beam test was conducted
 Partial sinusoidal stress was repeatedly applied at
frequency of 10 Hz
 Number of loading cycles was recorded till the stiffness of
test sample reduces to half of initial test sample.
 Test shows that at a mix production temperature of 170⁰C
the fatigue life of DRA is about 15,000 cycles, whereas it
is about 9,400 cycles for virgin asphalt.

Production & Performance Of Desulfurized Rubber Asphalt Binder 32

Comparison of Fatigue Test
20000
18000
16000
Fatigue life (cycles)

14000
12000
10000
CRM
8000
DRM
6000
4000
2000
0
180 170 160 150
Mix production temperature (⁰C)

Production & Performance Of Desulfurized Rubber Asphalt Binder 33

Conclusion
 DRA improve performance of virgin asphalt.
 DRA technology remedies a series of critical drawbacks of
the asphalt rubber technology, including the high viscosity
and production temperature, poor storage stability etc.
 Comparing to regular rubber, the desulfurized rubber
powder is easier to dissolve and disperse in the asphalt
binder.
 The optimum content of desulfurized rubber powder that
can be used with satisfactory mixture performance is 30%
(by weight).
Production & Performance Of Desulfurized Rubber Asphalt Binder 34
 References
 Batayneh, M. K., Marie, I., and Asi, I. (2008). “Promoting the use of crumb
rubber concrete in developing countries.” Waste Management, Vol. 28, No.
11, pp. 2171-2176, DOI:10.1016/ j.wasman.2007.09.035
 Chiu, C. (2008). “Use of ground tire rubber in asphalt pavements: Field trial
and evaluation in taiwan.” Resources, Conservation and Recycling, Vol. 52,
No. 3, pp. 522-532, DOI: 10.1016/j.resconrec.2007.06.006
 Frantzis, P. (2004). “Crumb rubber-bitumen interactions: Diffusion of
bitumen into rubber.” Journal of Materials in Civil Engineering, Vol. 16, No.
4, pp. 387-390, DOI: 10.1061/(ASCE)0899-1561(2004)16:4(387).
 Ghazi, G. A. and Khaled Z. R. (2015). “Investigation of the
effect of rubber on rheological properties of asphalt binders
using Superpave DSR.” KSCE Journal of Civil
Engineering, KSCE, Vol. 19, No. 1, pp. 127-135, DOI:
10.1007/s12205-012-0629-2
 Kim, H. and Lee, S. (2013). “Laboratory investigation of different standards
of phase separation in crumb rubber modified asphalt
binders.” Journal of Materials in Civil Engineering, Vol. 25, No. 12, pp.
1975-1978, DOI: 10.1061/(ASCE)MT.1943-5533.0000751.

Production & Performance Of Desulfurized Rubber Asphalt Binder 35

THANK YOU…!!