1.

Introduction

Sustainable roadway construction can be defined as the optimal use of natural and man-made resources during the roadway lifecycle causing negligible damage to the environment. Two means of improving the sustainability of roadways are to minimize the amount of energy consumed for their construction and to efficiently use roadway materials to reduce waste. Recycling techniques for existing pavements have been developed with the objective of solving many of the problems facing damaged pavements and simultaneously contributing to the minimization of the environmental impact on roadwork rehabilitation. Research questions arise from the sustainable development perspective as to whether energy and materials are being optimally and efficiently used in roadway rehabilitation. Is a significant amount of energy consumed and waste generated to rehabilitate roadways? What phases of the roadway rehabilitation from material production to placement or transportation use the most energy and create the most waste? In order to answer these questions and provide direction on where to focus sustainability efforts to have the greatest impact, an energy assessment was made on a mixed recycling performed in IC12 and compared to possible alternatives.

2. Pavement Recycling

Recycling is defined as the reuse, usually after some processing, of a material that has already served its first-intended purpose. Producing bituminous mixtures by using reclaimed materials may be carried out using hot or cold production methods. Both alternatives may be undertaken in plant or in situ. In hot recycling processes, in general, the recycling ratio may vary between 10% and 70% depending on the type of procedure and on the type of plant used. These values are generally lower than those observed in cold recycling, which reaches nearly 100% in most cases. The differences among the various in plant recycling processes reside in the type of plant used, fixed or portable, continuous or batch production, and in the production processes which may be diverse. On the other hand, in situ recycling techniques differ from each other essentially on the type of binder used. For instance, the same equipment can be used for cold in situ recycling using bituminous emulsion, foamed bitumen, cement or emulsion with a cement addition as binder. This dissertation focuses mainly on cold in situ pavement recycling for it is the most widely used type of recycling in Europe. The cold in situ process mainly consists of milling the pavement, injecting binder and adding aggregates if necessary for adjustments in gradation followed by leveling of the recycled layer

and compaction. This is generally followed by an asphalt concrete wearing course to ensure the structural integrity of the pavement or to provide for a more ridable roadway.

Figure 1 Constructive process of a cold in situ recycling with bitumen emulsion

3. Case Study

By following the development of these techniques, opportunities are created to test its effectiveness not only on a technical level but at an environmental level as well. This is demonstrated by the case study considered in this dissertation, enabled by the Direco de Estradas de Viseu, through the companies Rosa Construtores and Mota Engil Pavimentaes. The IC12 rehabilitation consisted of a mixed recycling using 4% of bitumen emulsion and 0,7% of cement to try and solve the distresses that affected the pavement (potholes, fatigue cracking and detachment between the wearing course and the binder course). Although submitted to a rigorous quality control program, 6 months after completion the roadway presented several anomalies (rutting and potholes). It is believed that this is due to lack of curing provoked either by excess emulsion or deficient compaction. Of course it would have been preferable to have analyzed a roadway rehabilitation without any of these problems, but these events dont undermine an energy evaluation.

Figure 2 Recycling "Train" used in IC12

3.1 Energy Assessment Methodology

To define the other rehabilitation methods and to assess input parameters for pavement structural design, conditions specific to IC12 were analyzed: evaluation of existing pavement structural condition, climate, traffic forecast (for the new design period) and characteristics of the soil support. In this case, as alternatives to the mixed recycling performed, cold milling and total pavement reconstruction were chosen. Cold milling allows reinstating not only the functional qualities of the pavement but the structural characteristics as well by removing the distressed portion of the pavement. By doing so it fixes any rutting, fatigue cracking and pothole problems. The other alternative considered was total pavement reconstruction. This solution obviously addresses all the pavement problems as it is replaces the old pavement by a new one. Thickness design for the three rehabilitation alternatives was considered under the same future expected service conditions except for the design period of the reconstruction solution, 20 years, instead of the 10 years considered for both recycling and cold milling. The final result of the pavement design for all the alternatives is as shown in Figure 3.

Figure 3 Existing Pavement and Alternatives Layer Overview (1) Existing Wearing Course (2) Granular Roadbase(3) Granular Sub-Base (4) Wearing Course With Modified Bitumen (5) Recycled Layer With Cement and Bitumen Emulsion (6) Aspahlt Concrete Wearing Course (7) Bituminous Macadam Wearing Course

The disappointing performance regarding energy efficiency of the mixed recycling used in the IC12 led to consider another recycling alternative. Cement recycling was the chosen technique. Unlike the other alternatives there was no specific design using either the Shell Method or ELSYM5.

Figure 4 Configuration of Cement Recycled Pavement. (8) Cement Recycled Layer

The next step after designing the alternatives is addressing the energy issue itself. Three main phases were considered to more carefully assess the energy costs: Material production; Pavement Placement (includes all the operations necessary to place new layers or remove old ones); Transportation of all the materials produced or removed like asphalt concrete, aggregate or recycled material. For a correct analysis it is necessary to thoroughly analyze all the processes involved in each of these phases. Process is defined as any activity, regarding any of each phases, necessary to correctly accomplish a task. For instance, all the processes associated with the asphalt concrete in cold milling are: production of bitumen, bitumen transportation to the mixing plant, aggregate production and transportation to the mixing plant, mix transportation to the job site, placement of the asphalt concrete. The energy involved in each process is obtained by having the consumption and performance values of all the machinery that make that process possible. Regarding the mixed recycling in IC12, those values were obtained by interviewing several people responsible. As far as the alternatives go, the values were obtained by consulting with people with much experience in these types of techniques and some literature. Energy is obtained by converting the energy supplies (diesel, natural gas or electricity) to equivalent units using energy contents. Thus, is possible to calculate the energy necessary to produce one volumetric unit (mega Joules per cubic meter) of any resource.

Energy Source Diesel (l) Fuel (l) Electricity (kWh)

Energy (MJ) 38,71 39,6 3,6

Table 1 Energy Units [United Nations, 1987]

Fig. 5. shows the detail diagram for the Mixed Recycling solution. Cold Milling, Reconstruction and Cement Recycling follow the same procedure.

Figure 5 Mixed Recycling Energy Assessment Methodology

Regarding the material transportation, the energy consumption associated with haulage in each process is a function of the volume (real volume as it is calculated based on each materials bulk density), truck capacities and distance to the construction site. The bulk density of all the materials involved is in Table 2.

Material Asphalt Concrete Bitumen Emulsion Aggregate5/10 Agreggate10/14 Agreggate 0/5 Filler Recyled Rubber Bituminous Macadam Asphalt Concrete Cement

Bulk density (g/cm ) 2,34 1,03 1 1,45 1,45 1,4 1,45 0,95 2,38 2,35 1,15
3

Source Mota Engil Mota Engil Cepsa Mota Engil Mota Engil Mota Engil Mota Engil Recipneu Eng. Paulo Fonseca Eng. Paulo Fonseca Cimpor

Table 2 Material Bulk Density

The volume of materials transported necessary for the rehabilitation of the IC12 is obtained by multiplying the bulk density by the amount of the materials used.

Task Recycling Recycling Recycling Wearing Course Wearing Course Wearing Course Sealing

Material Cement Emulso Bitumen Aggregate Bitumen Rubber Emulsion

Quantity (ton) 400 1350 810 34000 2500 630 140

Table 3 Quantity of Materials Used in IC12 Mixed Recycling

In the alternatives to the mixed recycling, because were dealing with hypothetical situations we dont have the exact amount of materials used so the volume is calculated on the basis of the layer design (width, length and thickness) and an estimate of the percentage of each material per layer. These values are shown in Table 4 and were obtained by interview.

Layer Desgaste BB Regularizao MB

Bitumen (%) 5,2 4,2

Aggregate (%) 88,8 88,8

Voids (%) 6 7

Table 4 Estimate on Material Percentage in bituminous Layers

Having the overall volume of each material, the number of trips needed can be determined by dividing the volume to be transported by the truck capacity multiplying it by two in order to account for the return trip. Google Maps was used to calculate the total length of kilometers to be covered. If origin and destination are fixed (aggregate plant to mixing plant, for example), the distance traveled is determined simply by multiplying the number of trips by distance. Providing origin and destination are not fixed (e.g. section to be paved), the transportation distance changes constantly. This factor wasnt taken into account, in order to simplify, all transportation was made to a middle point of the road to be rehabilitated. Assuming an average speed of 80 km/h for big distances (above 50 km) and 60 km/h for the rest, the time to travel each distance is calculated. Once truck performances and total distance is determined, the total amount of fuel needed to carry out the haulage operation is calculated by multiplying the truck consumption (l/h) by the time necessary to travel each distance (h) and the number of trips. The fuel used for transportation is related to placed or removed materials (e.g. 1.3m3 of mix transported corresponds to 1m 3 of compacted material). Thus, obtaining average consumption in liters for each cubic meter of resource (asphalt layer, granular layer, recycled base, etc.) and using the energy content of diesel (38.71 MJ), energy consumption for transportation of materials is obtained. 6

3.2 Results

In the complete dissertation the result analysis is much more thorough. The analysis presented in this article is therefore a global analysis lacking the depth and detail of the complete thesis. Total pavement reconstruction was, as expected, the less efficient technique spending more 109 MJ/m2 (34%) and 107 MJ/m2 (35%) than the mixed recycling and cold milling respectively. What comes as a surprise is the cold millings performance compared to the mixed recycling as it involves a larger number of processes. Although more efficient than recycling, cold milling doesnt come close to the energy spending of Cement Recycling. In fact, it spends 88% less energy than cold milling, 90% less than mixed recycling and 150% less than total pavement reconstruction. This technique would offer a significant improvement from the technique used in IC12. Overall energy consumptions can be seen in Figure 6.

Overall Energy Consumptions

500 450 400 350 300 250 200 150 100 50 0

432
325 323 Mixed Recycling Cold Milling 171 Reconstruction Cement Recycling

Energy MJ/m2

Rehabilitation Technique
Figure 6 Overall Energy Consumptions

For a better understanding of the overall results a phase (material production, layer placement and material transportation) analysis is presented. Regarding material production, bituminous mixtures are the materials that require the most energy to be produced. That explains why both recycling alternatives have less energy needs regarding material production as both of them have only 6 cm of bituminous layers unlike cold milling and reconstruction that have 20 and 21 cm respectively. Although cement production needs more energy than either bitumen or emulsion, the cement recycling was more efficient than mixed recycling. By not using emulsion, energy is saved by not having to produce both emulsion and bitumen. Although there is a slight increase in cement production it is compensated by the larger decrease of not having to produce emulsion and 7

bitumen thus cement recycling being more efficient, material production wise, than mixed recycling. The major difference between cold milling and total pavement reconstruction is that in cold milling there is no need to produce aggregates for granular layers therefore saving a lot of energy.

Material Production Comparison

120 100 Energy MJ/m2 80 Mixed Recycling 60 92 108

47

46

Cold Milling Reconstruction Cement Recycling

40
20 0 Rehabilitation Technique
Figure 7 Energy Involved in Material Production

Regarding layer placement, operations considered in cement recycling were assumed as having the same consumptions and performances as in the mixed recycling therefore having the same energy spending. This is the phase where energy spending is the lowest and differences between solutions are very slim. Although recycling machines require a lot of energy and dont have very high performances recycling techniques are the most energy efficient. As both cold milling and reconstruction require more processes to get the job done energy costs go up. Reconstruction is the least efficient as it involves more processes than any of the other solutions, spending double of what is necessary for recycling and 1,5 times more than cold milling.

Placement Comparison
14 12 Energy MJ/m2 10 8 6 4 2 0 Rehabilitation Technique
Figure 8 Energy Involved in Layer Placement

12

8 Mixed Recycling 6 6 Cold Milling Reconstruction Cement Recycling

Last but certainly not least transportation, material transportation. This is the key phase, not only because of a biggest spending but also due to the largest gaps between techniques. Cement Recycling is the most efficient technique here due to the proximity of the sources of necessary materials. Not having to transport either bitumen or emulsion for the recycling results in an overall save of up to 130 % compared to the mixed recycling. Cold milling is also more efficient than the mixed recycling essentially because of not needing emulsion (145 km) or rubber (392 km) thus avoiding to travel those long distances. The difference between cold milling and reconstruction is due to the removal and placement of granular layers and the inherent material transportation.

Transportation Comparison
350 300 Energy MJ/m2 250 200 150 100 50 0 Rehabilitation Technique
Figure 9 Energy Involved in Material Transportation

312 272 223 Mixed Recycling Cold Milling

119

Reconstruction Cement Recycling

3.3 Material Consumption

The sustainability of a road rehabilitation technique is not only assessed by an energy evaluation but with a material consumption and waste generation analysis. In this dissertation a brief assessment of this last parameters was made.

Amount of Materials Used

Quantidade de Materiais (Ton) 400000 350000 300000 250000 200000 150000 Cement Recycling Mixed Recycling Cold Milling 39.154 39.020 65.608 Reconstruction 356.508

100000
50000 0

Rehabilitation Technique
Figure 10 Amount of Materials Used

Figure 10 shows that the amount of materials used for reconstruction is huge in comparison to the rest of techniques, presenting a difference of 840% towards recycling and 460% regarding cold milling. Between Cold Milling and recycling there is a difference of 70% in material and between cement recycling and mixed recycling 0,3% favorable to mixed recycling.

Waste Generation
300000 Amount of Materials (ton) 250000 200000 150000 100000 50000 0 Cold Milling Reconstruction 95.651 143.476 Waste Reusable 265.828

Figure 11 Waste Generated

10

As Figure 11 shows the amount of waste generated is considerable, being 585 % bigger than the total amount of materials necessary for either of the recycling techniques.

4. Conclusions
Significant conclusions and recommendations from this study are as follows: The production of bituminous mixtures is the process that consumes the largest amount of energy regarding material production therefore pavement recycling presents a good solution as it reuses 100% of the milled pavement. Although rubber recycling is a highly energy inefficient process it is recommended as it improves the quality of the pavement and prevents the tires from going to a land-fill. Although cement production needs more energy than either bitumen or emulsion by not using emulsion in cement recycling energy is saved by not having to produce both emulsion and bitumen. Although there is a slight increase in cement production it is compensated by the larger decrease of not having to produce emulsion and bitumen thus cement recycling being more efficient, material production wise, than mixed recycling. Layer placement is the least important phase as it presents the lowest energy consumption values. Although the pavement recycling process is highly inefficient energy wise it should be encouraged as overall the layer placement phase in recycling is more effective than the other alternatives studied. Material Transportation is the most important phase as it presents, by far, the largest energy consumptions. The volume of material transported (related to the bulk density and truck capacity) and distance are crucial. Cement Recycling was the most efficient technique in this case study due to the proximity of the necessary materials. For future research regarding this dissertation, an economical analysis could be made. Having environmental, technical and economical parameters a better assessment of what is the best rehabilitation can be made. New studies about these and other rehabilitation solutions, as well as the use of alternative materials would constitute very interesting analysis regarding energy consumption. The influence of pavement color in its durability and surrounding temperature is also a subject that justifies pursuing.

11