Using Oil Sludge as a Rejuvenator for Reclaimed Asphalt Pavement: Improving Sustainability in Road Maintenance

Abstract

This project seeks to create sustainable methods on a modest scale by investigating the potential of oil sludges in the restoration of milled asphalt material. A thermal stability enhancement of reclaimed asphalt pavement (RAP) was determined by thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) following rejuvenation with oil sludge at a concentration of 1%. The residual mass after decomposition up to 700 oC rose from 72.5% to 93.79%. Analyzed using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), the RAP exhibited reduced roughness in the asphalt mixture. This reduction was accomplished by smoothing the surface of the aged asphalt. An experiment found that increasing oil sludge content increases water-absorbing properties, density, and strength in RAP and bituminous binders, while the average RAP gauge depth decreases. Oil sludge reduces bituminous binders' oxidized functional groups C=O and S=O, according to Fourier Transform-infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). Reduce asphaltenes in the binder to increase plasticity, penetration, and bitumen softening temperature.