Asphalt Rubber Videos
Dateline Episode
Reduced Spray Demonstration
Noise Reduction Video
Where the Rubber Meets the Road from ASU School of Engineering
Dateline Episode
Reduced Spray Demonstration
Noise Reduction Video
Where the Rubber Meets the Road from ASU School of Engineering
Asphalt Rubber (A-R) is a high performance modified asphalt binder defined by the ASTM as a blend of asphalt cement, reclaimed tire rubber and certain additives in which the rubber component is at least 15% by weight of the total blend and has reacted in the hot asphalt cement sufficiently to cause swelling of the rubber particles.
There are many diverse benefits associated with asphalt rubber. It can be applied in reduced thickness. In the age of conservation of natural resources and recycling, the reduced thickness of A-R can save on the amount of aggregate required to resurface a road. That means less material will be mined from diminishing reserves and transported to the job site.
Another benefit is the reduction of traffic noise. Many National and International studies have shown that A-R pavements can reduce traffic noise up to 85% in some cases. Generally, A-R will provide a 50% reduction in noise. The noise reduction can also reduce costs regarding the construction of sound walls, which run between $300.00 to $600.00 per linear foot.
The most notable side benefit of using A-R rubber is that it consumes scrap tires. If 5% of the nation's roads were surfaced with A-R annually nearly all the nation's discarded tires could be completely removed from the waste stream. Waste tires cause problems. If buried whole in a landfill, they can "float" to the surface, break the "cap" or cover on the landfill and
expose once buried waste to the environment. In whole tire stockpiles, they are ideal breeding ground for a variety of pests, such as mosquitoes. The EPA estimates that over $5,500,000 is spent each year to combat mosquito borne diseases such as encephalitis and yellow fever.