CONTROL AND RESEARCH LABORATORIES IN THE ASPHALT INDUSTRY (Is there any space for the emulsions?) WITH A SHORT INTRODUCTION ON THE ITALIAN MARKET Carlo Giavarini, SITEB Italy
SHORT INTRODUCTION ON THE ITALIAN MARKET -In Italy, emulsions are mostly used for bond coat and cold recycling. -Cold recycling is about 30% of all available RAP (900,000 t/y). -Besides a limited number of Companies producing and selling emulsions, there are many Contractors producing emulsions for their own use. -Therefore, it is not easy to quantify the emulsion production. -It is easier to quantify the success of some national emulsion-plant producers. -Moreover, the activity of emulsifier producers is going well.
EMULSION PLANTS IN ITALY About 40 emulsion units (spot size proportional to unit number in that site).
EMULSION PLANTS IN ITALY Emulsion plants supplied in 2006-2016 by Massenza in Italy 4 2 0 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016
CONTROL AND RESEARCH LABORATORIES 1. Background and introduction Modern analytical techniques have contributed a deep insight into the bitumen structure and behavior. The control laboratories are evolving to give a more complete set of services, including high performance control equipment, chemical analyses and researches. I am in the process of considering various typologies of Industry (not University) Labs working in the asphalt sector, in order to classify them according to their activities and importance, and to see how many work on the emulsions. At the moment I have visited a number of Italian Labs and few other structures. This is an anticipation of my activity.
2. Tipologies of LABs in the road sector - Labs at the service of the production plants - Control Labs for the State road network - Control Labs for Toll-motorways administrators - Independent control Labs - Control and research Labs for binder producers - Control and research Labs for the producers of additives - Control and research Labs of important international contractors - Independent, specialized research Labs
3. Labs at the service of the production plants Normally, asphalt-mix production plants devote a small Lab to carry out essential routine control tests. When the production is connected with road work activities there is sometimes the willingness to experiment new mixes or products, and the Lab is better equipped. We have seen practical innovations introduced by this kind of contractors (e.g. new TiO2 based systems). Emulsions are sometimes produced by the contractor; in this case the Lab performs basic tests on them.
4. State road network respnsibles In Italy, the reference point for the national road system is ANAS. Its duty is to build, maintain and control the State road network and to pay assistance to other bodies. Its research Center is extended in an area of about 9,000 m 2 containing 9 pavilions devoted to: geotechnics, pavements, structures, road markings, chemistry, acoustics, and other facilities. A peculiar and unique characteristic of the Center is the development of a series of mobile high performance equipment, some of them very new in concept, such as the Traffic Speed Deflectometer. The Center provides a wide range of services also for third parties and abroad.
5. Toll motorways Labs The responsible for the maintenance and construction work of the main motorway network (about 4,000 km of Autostrade per l Italia) is a unique company (Pavimental). It is equipped with a central Lab and a series of small satellite Labs spread along the Autostrade network. The main Lab is essentially a control Lab. As a binder, Autostrade makes use only of PMBs made in its production sites; the control of the polymers and compatibility is very accurate. Another Company (ASTM group) is responsible of about 1,400 km toll motorways. The activities of its Lab (SINECO) spread also in other fields, including airports and railways, in Italy and abroad. It is specialized in non destructive control of viaducts and in laser mobile technologies.
6. Independent control labs They carry out control activities for private and public clients and are generally properly equipped, frequently with mobile Labs. They follow the EU standard. Rarely they carry out research activities. Siteb regularly organizes interlab round robin tests (on binders and asphalt mix) to improve the service quality and to point out the most critical tests. The participants are normally 40-50 Labs, including 7-8 Universities.
EXAMPLE OF TABULATED RESULTS OF A ROUND ROBIN TEST
7. Labs of the producers of binders (Petroleum Companies) The ENI Research Center covers a surface of 250,000 sm of which 80.000 are indoor. Among the many Labs dedicated to Oil & Gas, it hosts the Labs for control and research on bitumen, PMB, rheology (SHRP), emulsions and asphalt mixes. The Lab assists the bitumen production units of ENI and the commercial sector. It carries out research work for the development and production of new products, especially PMBs.
8. Research and control Labs of additive producers We have visited an Italian Company producing additives for bitumen and asphalt mix, since 1967 (Iterchimica). It covers a market spread in all continents. In this case, the Lab is the key component of the Company business. The activity is carried out in different sessions: chemistry, binders, emulsions, materials, asphalt mixes. Besides the EU and SHRP tests, it is rich of instruments for physical-chemistry analyses. The last development is based on pelletized poly-function additives to be fed directly into the asphalt-mix production plant. Emulsions are part of the core business
9. Labs of important international contractors Some international contractors can afford control and research structures capable of creating innovation. The Colas Scientific and Technical Campus (Paris) is spread on 20,000 sm of which 12,500 are buildings. The Labs include 5 specialized units: asphalt mixes, cold techniques, coatings and composites, materials and hydraulic binders, road materials chemistry. It is in contact with 50 other Labs in the world. The quantity and quality of the equipment is quite impressive. The Campus has created innovation on many subjects, including energy recovery from the road pavement (Wattway project).
10. Independent, specialized research Labs The Western Research Institute in Laramie (USA) is a non-profit organization renowned for work on energy systems. WRI s Asphalt and Petroleum group (APT) conducts property research (mostly chemical and analytical) for public and private clients on bitumen binders. APT was prime contractor of the SHRP project. Trough FHWA contracts it developed a number of new analytical methods: SAR-AD, Asphaltene & Wax Determinator, Usat aging test, 4mm DSR, Thin film aging, Micro-sampling, ExpliFit sofware, etc. IBEF Exchange Seminar
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