Obtaining Energy Efficient Polymer-Bitumen Binders Using Polymer-Bitumen Concentrate

New requirements for the operational reliability of highways lead to the need for the expanded use of polymer-bitumen binders (PBB) in road construction. The traditional technology for the production of polymer-bitumen binder includes very energy-consuming processes: bitumen preparation, polymer grinding in a colloid mill and additional exposure in containers at temperatures above 170 °C. This leads to an increase in the consumption of electricity and fuel (most often it is natural gas or fuel oil) and, as a result, to an increase in the cost of the final product. In addition, the process of binder synthesis for a long time at high temperatures leads to increased aging, which significantly reduces the service life of this material in the pavement. The article presents the results of studies on the effect of polymer-bitumen concentrate (PBC) on the characteristics of bitumen. It has been established that the use of PBC in a bituminous binder leads to an increase in the temperature range of plasticity, elasticity, cohesive strength with a decrease in the viscosity of the modified bitumen and an increase in the softening temperature. Thus, the expediency of using a complex additive containing a polymer and surface-active substances (surfactants) that can be distributed in bitumen without the use of a colloid mill and a plasticizer has been proven to improve the quality of the organic binder. It is shown that the use of the PBC modifier can significantly reduce the energy intensity of the process and reduce emissions of volatile bitumen components.