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. 2019 Jul 29;11(8):1253.
doi: 10.3390/polym11081253.

Laboratory Investigation of Lignocellulosic Biomass as Performance Improver for Bituminous Materials

Duanyi Wang  1 , Zhiwei Cai  1 , Zeyu Zhang  2 , Xinquan Xu  3 , Huayang Yu  4
Affiliations

Laboratory Investigation of Lignocellulosic Biomass as Performance Improver for Bituminous Materials

Duanyi Wang et al. Polymers (Basel). .

Abstract

Lignocellulosic biomass has gained increasing attention as a performance modifier for bituminous material due to the vast amount available, its low cost and its potential to improve the durability of pavement. However, a comprehensive study concerning both the binder and mixture performance of modified bituminous material with lignocellulose is still limited. This research aims to evaluate the feasibility of applying lignocellulose as bitumen modifier by rheological, chemical and mechanical tests. To this end, two lignocellulosic biomass modified bituminous binders and corresponding mixtures were prepared and tested. The chemical characterization revealed the interaction between lignocellulosic biomass and bitumen fractions. Rheological test results have shown that lignocellulosic modifiers improve the overall performance of bituminous binder at high, intermediate and low temperatures. The findings obtained by mixture mechanical tests were identical to the binder test results, proving the positive effect of lignocellulosic biomass on overall paving performance of bituminous materials. Although lignocellulosic modifier slightly deteriorates the bitumen workability, the modified bitumen still meets the viscosity requirements mentioned in Superpave specification. This paper suggests that lignocellulosic biomass is a promising modifier for bituminous materials with both engineering and economic merits. Future study will focus on field validation and life cycle assessment of bituminous pavement with lignocellulosic biomass.

Keywords: bitumen modifier; lignocellulosic biomass; mechanical properties; rheological tests; workability.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Lignocellulosic modifiers: (a) flocculent lignocellulose (FL) and (b) granulated lignocellulose (GL); (c) SEM of FL and (d) SEM of GL.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Bitumen empirical test results: (a) penetration and (b) softening point.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Rotational viscosity test results.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Superpave rutting factor test results: (a) rutting factor (unaged); (b) failure temperature (unaged); (c) rutting factor (short-term aged) and (d) failure temperature (short-term aged).
Figure 5
Figure 5
Superpave fatigue factor test results: (a) fatigue factor (long-term aged) and (b) failure temperatures (long-term aged).
Figure 6
Figure 6
Liner amplitude sweep (LAS) test results: (a) applied strain of 2.5% and (b) applied strain of 5.0%.
Figure 7
Figure 7
Master curves of test binders: (a) scatters of test results and (b) sigmoidal fitting curves.
Figure 8
Figure 8
Gel permeation chromatography (GPC) chromatograms of test binders.
Figure 9
Figure 9
GPC result analysis: (a) weight-average molecular weight and (b) number-average molecular weight.
Figure 10
Figure 10
Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) test results: (a) raw bitumen; (b) GL; (c) FL; (d) GLA and (e) FLA.
Figure 11
Figure 11
Marshall test results: (a) Marshall stability and (b) flow value.
Figure 12
Figure 12
The residual Marshall stability (RS) of test samples.
Figure 13
Figure 13
Indirect tensile strength (ITS) test results before and after freeze–thaw cycle.
Figure 14
Figure 14
Indirect tensile stiffness modulus (ITSM) test results before and after aging: (a) 20 °C and (b) 30 °C.
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