Effects of Tire Pyrolysis Oil (TPO) on the Rheological Properties of Bitumen

Abstract

Millions of tires are produced worldwide every year and after a short time become waste. This is considering a massive waste need to be incorporated in various sustainable applications such as in a bitumen modification. In this study, tire pyrolysis oil-modified bitumen was prepared at 0%, 5%, 10%, and 15% by total weight of the blend. The influence of tire pyrolysis oil (TPO) on the conventional and high-temperature rheological properties of bitumen was evaluated by conducting penetration grade, ring and ball, dynamic viscosity, complex modulus, phase angle, and rutting resistance evaluations. Results show that the addition of TPO into base bitumen reduces the penetration values and slight reduction in softening points of modified bitumen which indicating the consistency and applicability of the TPO as a bitumen modifier. Based on the dynamic viscosity and temperature sweep test performed by a dynamic shear rheometer, it was observed that overall, TPO improved the viscosity, complex modulus, phase angle, and permanent deformation of bitumen at the temperature range of 40 to 76 °C, particularly at lower TPO content. Furthermore, TPO-modified bitumen exhibits rutting resistance better than base bitumen which could be attributed to the improvement in the elastic behaviour of bitumen with the addition of TPO. 15%TPO-modified bitumen show adequate rheological properties to be used as an alternative for base bitumen in hot regions pavement applications.