Mistura asfáltica com resíduos de PEAD

Abstract

In accordance with the Worldwide Fund for Nature (WWF) (2019), Brazil is the fourth largest producer of plastic waste in the world, with about 11.3 million tons, a lower position in relation to the United States, China, and India. Of this amount, over 10.3 million tons (91%) are collected, but only 145 thousand tons (1.28%) are actually recycled, well below the global average of 9% regarding plastic recycling. In another aspect, the Consolidated Statistical Yearbook of the National Transport Confederation (CNT) in 2019 classified 1,046 km of paved highways in the State of Amazonas as regular (65.59%), poor (7.55%) and terrible (26.86%). This result combined with environmental preservation motivates the use of residues in the construction of asphalt pavements, which is the object of this study. Hence, the mechanical behavior of alternative asphalt mixtures with High Density Polyethylene (HDPE) residue was evaluated, in ratios of 1% and 2%, replacing the fine aggregate, which is stone powder. Such a material originated from the post-consumer disposal of HDPE tubes, from the installation of building extensions in the city of Manaus. The reference asphalt mix, which is of Asphaltic Concrete (AC) type, followed one of the dosages applied in paving services of the Municipality of Manaus (PMM). The mechanical behavior of these composites was determined according to the Tensile Strength by Diametral Compression (TS) and Resilience Modulus (RM) tests, submitted to temperatures of 25 °C and 40 °C. The results showed that the RM/TS ratio values for the formulations with polymeric residues in comparison to the reference mixture were lower at the temperature of 25 °C, and slightly higher at the temperature of 40 ° C. However, it was remarked that when comparing the set of results concerning the aforementioned ratio, the alternative compositions presented lower values at high temperatures, alluding to the temperature of 25 °C. Consequently, a better behavior with regard to elasticity and tensile strength at temperatures similar to the region’s is observed. From the above, it can be concluded that the use of HDPE waste as a fine aggregate revealed satisfactory results for paving services depending on technical and environmental aspects.