Repurposing Waste Polyurethane into Cleaner Asphalt Pavement Materials: Laboratory Investigation

Abstract

With the increasing consumption of polyurethane (PU) products, more and more waste polyurethane (WPU) needs to be handled, resulting in the inefficient utilization of post-consumer PU becoming a key problem in the recycling of waste polymers. Therefore, this paper aims to explore the properties of WPU modified asphalt and assess the feasibility of using WPU materials for asphalt pavement applications. At the same time, the conventional properties, rheological properties, stability, and microscopic properties of the modified asphalt were analyzed. The results show that the rheological properties and permanent deformation resistance of the modified asphalt are improved when the WPU content is increased from 5% to 25%, while the storage stability of the WPU modified asphalt decreases with the WPU content. The optimal amount of WPU modified asphalt is accordingly recommended to be 20%.