Separation of aggregate from asphalt concrete using pulsed power technology

Abstract

In this paper, authors propose a pulsed power application to separate aggregate from asphalt concrete. This study aims at extracting asphalt binder from asphalt concrete specimens using pulsed power technology and evaluating the quality of the asphalt concrete recycled aggregate and residues. Pulsed power was discharged into 5% asphalt content straight and modified asphalt concrete specimens. The results demonstrate that the extraction of modified asphalt binder from asphalt concrete is more difficult than that of straight asphalt and also requires more energy to produce approximately 1% asphalt content recycled coarse aggregate. Furthermore, the results suggest that recycled aggregate quality increases with increasing pulsed power energy.