Abstract
This paper investigates the influence of Waste Cooking Oil (WCO) on the rheological properties of three Trinidad asphaltic base binders: Trinidad Lake Asphalt (TLA), Trinidad Petroleum Bitumen (TPB) and a TLA:TPB (50:50) mixture. The addition of WCO to the asphaltic base binders resulted in changes in the rheological properties as demonstrated by changes in the phase angle, δ (elasticity) and the complex modulus, G* (stiffness) of the blends. The intricate relationship between the chemical composition of the binder and the influence of the WCO was evident as changes in δ and G* due to the addition of WCO was not generalized and were different for each of the asphaltic base binder. The incremental addition of WCO into the three asphaltic binders resulted in the softening of the material (decrease in the G*). Incremental addition of WCO into the TLA asphaltic binder resulted in an incremental decrease in elasticity (maximum δ at 6% WCO), however minimum values of δ were observed (highest elasticity) at 8% WCO for TPB and at 2% WCO for the TLA:TPB (50:50) base blend, the latter blend being the most elastic with a phase angle (δ) of 20.5 degrees. This value of 20.5 degrees was far lower than that of TLA (73%) under identical testing conditions. In all cases G” > G' indicating viscoelastic liquid behavior for the base asphalts and its blends. The study demonstrated the capability to create customized asphalt-WCO blends to suit special applications by formulating specific quantities of Trinidad base asphalts and WCO thus offering an environmentally attractive option for improving the use of asphalt.
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