Physical Chemistry Supports Circular Economy: Toward a Viable Use of Products from the Pyrolysis of a Refuse-Derived Fuel and Granulated Scrap Tire Rubber as Bitumen Additives

The production and maintenance of road pavements consume resources and producewastes that are disposed of in landfills. To make more sustainable this activity, wehave envisioned a method based on a circular use of residues (oil and char) frommunicipal solid waste pyrolysis as useful additives for producing improved asphaltsand for recycling old asphalts to generate new ones, reducing at the same time theconsumption of resources for the production of new road pavements and the disposalof wastes to landfills. This work aims to show the feasibility of the integration of twoprocesses (thermal treatment of municipal solid waste on one side, and that of roadpavement production on the other side) where the products deriving from wastepyrolysis become added-value materials to improve the quality of road pavements.In this contribution, we presented the effect of pyrolysis product addition on asphaltbinder (bitumen) preparation and aging. Solid and liquid products, deriving fromthe pyrolysis of two kinds of wastes (refused derived fuel (RDF) and granulatedrubber tyre waste), have been used for the preparation of asphalt binder samples.Rheological tests have been performed to determine the mechanical properties ofneat asphalt binder (bitumen) and those enriched with pyrolysis derived products.Measurements to evaluate possible anti-aging effects have been also performed.The collected results indicate that char addition strengthens the overall bitumenintermolecular structure while bio-oil addition exerts a rejuvenating activity.