The Influence of Alternative Fillers on the Adhesive Properties of Mastics Fabricated with Red Mud

Mayara S Siverio Lima  ¹ , Liseane P Thives  ² , Viktors Haritonovs  ³ , Florian Gschösser  ¹

The adhesion between bitumen and aggregates strongly influences the lifetime of pavements. To improve adhesiveness, the road construction industry has been using additives to alter the interfacial energy and improve the affinity of materials in the presence of water. However, the water sensitivity varies according to the mixture design, since the interaction may occur differently depending on the materials chosen. As the use of alternative materials is increasing in road constructions, further analysis of its affinity with aggregates and bitumen is necessary. In that sense, this study evaluates the adhesion performance of mastics mixed with traditional fillers, such as limestone and dolomite, and residues, such as fly ash and red mud. To assess possible interactions with the red mud, the fillers are mixed in distinct percentages and tested for adhesiveness, wettability, penetration, and softening point. The results show the importance of hydrophilicity, asphalt viscosity, and physical–chemical properties to define adhesive interactions.

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Environmental Potentials of Asphalt Materials Applied to Urban Roads: Case Study of the City of Münster

Mayara S. Siverio Lima ^1,*, Mohsen Hajibabaei ², Sina Hesarkazzazi ², Robert Sitzenfrei ², Alexander Buttgereit ³, Cesar Queiroz ⁴, Arnold Tautschnig ¹ and Florian Gschösser ¹

¹ Department of Structural Engineering and Material Sciences, University of Innsbruck, 6020 Innsbruck, Austria ² Department of Infrastructure, University of Innsbruck, 6020 Innsbruck, Austria ³ Department of Mobility and Civil Engineering, 48155 Münster, Germany ⁴ The World Bank, Washington, DC 20433, USA ^* Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.

Abstract

Life cycle assessment (LCA) tools have been used by governments and city administrators to support the decision-making process toward creating a more sustainable society. Since LCA is strongly influenced by local conditions and may vary according to various factors, several institutions have launched cooperation projects to achieve sustainable development goals. In this study, we assessed the potential environmental enhancements within the production of road materials applied to the road network of Münster, Germany. We also compared traditional pavement structures used in Münster and alternative options containing asphalt mixtures with larger amounts of reclaimed asphalt pavement (RAP). Although the case study was conducted in Münster, the data collected and the results obtained in this study can be used for comparison purposes in other investigations. In the analysis, we considered all environmental impacts from raw material extraction to the finished product at the asphalt plant. Two environmental indicators were used: non-renewable cumulative energy demand (nr-CED) and global warming potential (GWP). The results show that using RAP increases the consumption of energy but potentially decreases the environmental impacts in terms of the nr-CED and GWP associated with the production of asphalt materials. View Full-Text

Environmental assessment of construction and renovation of water distribution networks considering uncertainty analysis

Mohsen Hajibabaei , Sina Hesarkazzazi , Mayara Lima , Florian Gschösser & Robert Sitzenfrei 

ABSTRACT

Applying life cycle assessment (LCA) to water distribution networks (WDNs) usually requires considerable reliable data, and neglecting specific parts could significantly affect the reliability of results. In this paper, a comprehensive life cycle inventory dataset was collected to evaluate the environmental burdens associated with the construction and renovation stages of WDNs. The aim is to explore the effects of the availability of primary and secondary data on the LCA results based on analysis of uncertainties. The results indicate the importance of considering road construction processes, especially for small-to-medium-sized plastic pipes. Although recovering energy from the incineration of plastic pipes partially compensates for the impacts at the end of life, these incineration processes significantly affect the global warming potential. Finally, this study demonstrates that without considering all known information (e.g., network data), reliable LCA for WDNs can be performed, providing suggestions on which data to focus on in data collection process.

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