1. Home
  2. TRID
  3. View Record
https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/27432/critical-issues-in-transportation-for-2024-and-beyond

2nd Annual Asphalt Pavement Industry Survey on Reclaimed Asphalt Pavement, Reclaimed Asphalt Shingles, and Warm-Mix Asphalt Usage: 2009–2011

One of the shared goals of the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) and the National Asphalt Pavement Association (NAPA) is to support and promote sustainable practices such as pavement recycling and warm-mix asphalt (WMA). The use of recycled materials, such reclaimed asphalt pavement (RAP) and reclaimed asphalt shingles (RAS), in asphalt pavements reduces the amount of new materials required to produce asphalt mixes and materials going to landfills. This is vital to the mission of environmental stewardship and extending the service life of the nation’s infrastructure while lowering overall costs. WMA technologies have been introduced to reduce the mixing and compacting temperatures for asphalt mixtures as a means of reducing emissions. Additional benefits include improved compaction of asphalt mixtures leading to improved pavement performance. As part of FHWA’s Every Day Counts initiative, WMA was chosen for accelerated deployment in federal-aid highway, state department of transportation (DOT), and local road projects. It is important that the industry track the deployment of these technologies that reduce costs, energy, waste, emissions, and the amount of new materials required for road construction. FHWA has established two survey mechanisms for tracking the use of recycled materials and WMA in asphalt pavements. The first survey tracks state DOT usage and the other tracks industry usage. These have established a baseline of RAP, RAS, and WMA usage and tracked the growth of the use of these sustainable practices in the highway industry. The objective of this survey was to quantify the use of RAP, RAS, and WMA produced by the asphalt pavement industry. Survey results show significant growth in the use of RAP, RAS, and WMA technologies from 2009 through 2011. The asphalt industry remains the country’s number one recycler by recycling asphalt pavements at a rate of over 99 percent and almost all (98 percent) contractors/ branches reported using RAP in 2011. The amount of RAP used in asphalt mixtures has increased by 19 percent, from 56 million tons in 2009 to 66.7 million tons in 2011. Assuming 5 percent liquid asphalt in RAP, this represents over 3.3 million tons (19 million barrels) of asphalt binder conserved. The estimated savings at $600 per ton for asphalt binder is $1.98 billion. Use of RAS (both manufacturers’ scrap and post-consumer shingles) increased 70 percent from 2009 to 1.2 million tons 2011. Assuming a conservative asphalt content of 20 percent for the RAS, this represents 380,000 tons (2.2 million barrels) of asphalt binder conserved. The estimated savings at $600 per ton for asphalt binder is $228 million. In 2011, WMA was about 19 percent of the total asphalt mixture market. WMA use increased by 67 percent from 2010 to 2011, and over 300 percent since 2009. Plant foaming is used most often in producing WMA, with about 95 percent of the market. WMA additives accounted for 5 percent of the market.

Language

  • English

Media Info

  • Media Type: Digital/other
  • Edition: Final Report
  • Features: Figures; Maps; Photos; Tables;
  • Pagination: 24p

Subject/Index Terms

Filing Info

  • Accession Number: 01495823
  • Record Type: Publication
  • Report/Paper Numbers: Information Series 138
  • Files: TRIS, ATRI, USDOT
  • Created Date: Oct 18 2013 4:18PM