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Title:

Instrumental Method Suitable for the Detection of Polymers in Asphalt Binders

Accession Number:

01090133

Record Type:

Component

Availability:

Transportation Research Board Business Office

500 Fifth Street, NW
Washington, DC 20001 United States

Abstract:

Superpave™ performance-graded asphalt binder technology continues to advance with some producers focusing on the use of additives to enhance the performance of asphalt binders. A common practice is to extend the high- and low-temperature range by modifying asphalt binder with a polymer. However, agencies require a method to verify the presence of the polymer in the mix. The method presented is not optimized for the separation required but serves to demonstrate that the gel-permeation chromatographic (GPC) method, which is synonymous with size-exclusion chromatography (SEC) can be used to detect the presence of polymers in asphalt binders. The goal of this study was to determine if polymer-modified asphalt binders could be distinguished from unmodified asphalt binders using the GPC technique. Typically, the polymers used in asphalt binders have a number average molecular weight ranging from 300 to 600 times larger than the number average molecular weight of asphalt binders. The GPC technique separates the polymer from the asphalt binder as a function of molecular size or volume. The analysis of eight unknown samples, some of which were reported to contain a polymer, was conducted. The results demonstrated that three of the asphalt binders were polymer modified; while the remaining five asphalt binders were not modified. After the results were reported, the actual composition of the asphalt binders was revealed and found to be in agreement with the GPC results. Thus, GPC can be used as a relatively simple screening test to identify when asphalt binder has been modified with a polymer.

Monograph Accession #:

01084478

Report/Paper Numbers:

08-0907

Language:

English

Corporate Authors:

Transportation Research Board

500 Fifth Street, NW
Washington, DC 20001 United States

Authors:

McCann, Martin
Rovani, Joseph F
Thomas, Kenneth P

Pagination:

14p

Publication Date:

2008

Conference:

Transportation Research Board 87th Annual Meeting

Location: Washington DC, United States
Date: 2008-1-13 to 2008-1-17
Sponsors: Transportation Research Board

Media Type:

DVD

Features:

Figures (5) ; References; Tables (2)

Uncontrolled Terms:

Size exclusion chromatography

Subject Areas:

Highways; Materials; I31: Bituminous Binders and Materials

Source Data:

Transportation Research Board Annual Meeting 2008 Paper #08-0907

Files:

TRIS, TRB

Created Date:

Jan 29 2008 3:14PM