GLOBE: An Innovative Technical Solution to Ensure Waste Free Cold Logistic of Bituminous Binders

GLOBE is a French acronym for “Granulés pour la LOgistique des Bitumes d’Enrobage” literally meaning «Bituminous granulates for the logistic of coating binders». This project supported by ADEME (French Environment & Energy Management Agency) focuses on the development of an innovative technical solution to ensure a logistic of bituminous binders from refineries to asphalt mix plants which is cold, waste free and thus cleaner and safer. The main challenge is to modify a material such as bitumen, usually handled hot in liquid form, in order to be able to produce a granular form of it, which stays stable over time. In order to do that, it is required to overcome in-depth its typical binder characteristics, especially its creep behavior and its exceptional adhesiveness properties. This implies to modify the rheology of the binder and to take into consideration the granulation technology. The final product should avoid agglomeration phenomena, while taking into account the mechanical and thermal stresses associated with the handling, storage and transport of the pellets.