Why are we losing black gold by not recycling existing asphalt pavements?

Are you involved in rehabilitation of existing roads; two-laning of single-lane roads; four-laning of two-lane roads; or six-laning of 4-lane roads? If so, most likely you are losing the black gold !that is, the very very ex"ensive bitumen# on such "ro$ects by not resorting to recycling of existing as"halt "avement% In many cases, we are either $ust dum"ing the &A' !recycled as"halt "avement# material on the road side or mixing it with granular subbase !()*# or +et ,ix ,acadam !+,,#% *oth are exam"les of sheer waste and loss of bitumen, which is the costliest ingredient in as"halt "avement% -ot mix recycling is economically lucrative when existing bituminous "avements get buried while constructing vehicle under "asses, "ublic under "asses, and flyovers% .his is ha""ening on many national highways in India when six-laning of existing four/lane highways is done% In such cases, the existing bituminous "avement usually consisting of 0ense *ituminous ,acadam !0*,# and *ituminous 1oncrete !*1#, can be milled off and &A' trans"orted to hot mix "lant for recycling% A hy"othetical case is given here% An existing four-lane highway with a total length of 234 km is to be made a six lane highway% 0ue to construction of numerous under "asses and flyovers during six-laning, about 54 km of existing four-laned highway will get buried if not reclaimed% .he total tonnage of bitumen in existing 226 mm thick 0*, and 44 mm thick *1 is estimated to be 7,228 tons, which has a value of &u"ees 33%2 crores, considering the cost of bitumen at &s% 52,444 "er ton% .he total tonnage of aggregate which can be reclaimed from &A' is 296,35: tons, which has a value of &s% 9%2 crores considering its cost of &s% 574 "er ton% .herefore, the gross savings from reusing the bitumen and aggregate from &A' amounts to &s% 3:%3 crores% It is estimated that cold milling and trans"ort of &A' to a hot mix "lant would cost about &s% :%3 crores% .herefore, a net saving of &s% 34 crores can be reali;ed on this sixlaning "ro$ect if hot mix recycling is im"lemented% 1old in-"lace recycling should have been im"lemented in India many years ago when 3-laning and 4-laning of highways was begun% ,ost of the existing bituminous "avements were constructed in several stages in the "ast using different !sometimes unknown# ty"es of bituminous mixes or surface treatments% .hese "avements can be converted into a uniform and stable base course through cold in-"lace recycling% An existing one-lane road can also be widened into a 3-lane road simultaneously by incor"orating extra virgin aggregate and as"halt binder during the same recycling o"eration% If the bituminous crust of the existing road is thin, cold in-"lace recycling can include the underlying water bound macadam !+*,# or wet mix macadam !+,,#% .he re$uvenated, uniform, stable base can be "rovided with bituminous overlay!s#% .his recycling<widening "rocess has been done successfully in the =)% .his is far better than strengthening the existing singe lane road with >uestionable "avement courses and widening it to two lanes with dissimilar "aving materials% In case of four-laning of a two-lane highway, the existing two lanes can be strengthened by cold in-"lace recycling as described above% It is about time cold in"lace recycling is encouraged and im"lemented in India% )avings of as much as 54? can result when cold in-"lace recycling is ado"ted in lieu of total reconstruction%

-ot in-"lace recycling !-I'&# is most suited for removing surface distresses such as ravelling and cracking in the to" 64 mm of as"halt "avement, thereby renewing the as"halt wearing course% +hereas recycling of as"halt "avements has become a standard "ractice in many countries of the world for the last 54 years, we in India have missed the boat% -ow long are we going to wait? It is high time the ma$or contractors take lead and start using a""ro"riate recycling techni>ues not only to reutili;e the black gold to save money and energy but also to reduce the carbon foot"rint in India% .his is >uite "ossible on many ma$or highway "ro$ects where the contractors have the o"tion of designing the "ro$ect% Is recycling of as"halt "avements a rocket science ? @o, it is not% )everal "ublications are available on this sub$ect% I !together with 0r% &a$ib ,allick# had the "rivilege of develo"ing detailed, easy to understand, guidelines for recycling as"halt "avements; the "ro$ect was funded by the =) Aederal -ighway Administration !A-+A#% .his manual was used by us to conduct field worksho"s throughout the =) to train highway engineers of state and local governments, contractors, and consultants% .welve worksho"s were conducted by us in different "arts of the =) to train engineers of all 64 states% .his com"rehensive manual addresses all issues related to recycling such as "erformance of recycled mixes; selection of a""ro"riate ty"e of recycling; economics of recycling; and structural design of recycled "avements% Aour ty"es of recycling have been described in detailB -ot mix recycling; -ot in-"lace recycling; 1old as"halt recycling !both central "lant and in-"lace#; and Aull de"th reclamation% Cach recycling method has been described in terms of construction methods D e>ui"ment; materials D mix design; and case histories and E1<EA !>uality control<>uality assurance#% Fou can download and "rint these guidelines free from the internet links, which are "rovided below% I sincerely ho"e engineers involved in ma$or highway "ro$ects would take initiative and im"lement recycling techni>ues a""ro"riate for their "ro$ects% I sincerely ho"e that the Indian &oads 1ongress will develo" s"ecifications for all ty"es of as"halt recycling as soon as "ossible to facilitate the im"lementation of recycling by s"ecifying agencies% 'rof% 'rithvi )ingh Gandhal 32 Hanuary 3422 -ome"ageB www%eng%auburn%edu<users<kandh"s American roads are not good because America is rich, but America is rich because American roads are good% - Hohn A% Gennedy @ever doubt that a small grou" of citi;ens can change the world% Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has% -,argaret ,ead

Kandhal, Prithvi S. and Rajib B. Mallick. Pavement Recycling

Guidelines for State and ocal Governments. !ederal "igh#ay $dministration Re%ort !"&$'S$'()'*+,, -ecember .((/.
The reader can download any or all of the following chapters by clicking on URL given under each chapter (or CTRL plus click or copy and paste in URL). For e a!ple" if the reader is interested in cold in#place recycling only" then Chapters $%" $&" and $' would be appropriate. Use the !ain reference above if any !aterial is (uoted fro! any chapter. The copyright of this !anual is held solely by the U) Federal *ighway +d!inistration (F*,+). The full !anual can be downloaded and printed free at the following URLhttp-..www.fhwa.dot.gov.pave!ent.recycling./01&2 3ndividual chapters can be downloaded and printed free at the following URLs2% 3ntroduction to 4ave!ent Recycling http-..www.fhwa.dot.gov.pave!ent.recycling./01&2.C*4T51$.pdf

3% 4erfor!ance 6ata of Recycled 7i tures http-..www.fhwa.dot.gov.pave!ent.recycling./01&2.C*4T512.pdf

5% )election of 4ave!ent for Recycling and Recycling )trategies http-..www.fhwa.dot.gov.pave!ent.recycling./01&2.C*4T51%.pdf

4% 8cono!ics of Recycling http-..www.fhwa.dot.gov.pave!ent.recycling./01&2.C*4T51&.pdf

6% *ot 7i +sphalt Recycling # 9atch 4lant (Construction 7ethods and 8(uip!ent) http-..www.fhwa.dot.gov.pave!ent.recycling./01&2.C*4T51'.pdf

9% *ot 7i +sphalt Recycling # 6ru! 4lant (Construction 7ethods and 8(uip!ent) http-..www.fhwa.dot.gov.pave!ent.recycling./01&2.C*4T51:.pdf

7% *ot 7i +sphalt Recycling (7aterials and 7i 6esign) http-..www.fhwa.dot.gov.pave!ent.recycling./01&2.C*4T51;.pdf

:% *ot 7i +sphalt Recycling (Case *istories and <C.<+) http-..www.fhwa.dot.gov.pave!ent.recycling./01&2.C*4T510.pdf

8% *ot 3n#4lace Recycling (Construction 7ethods and 8(uip!ent) http-..www.fhwa.dot.gov.pave!ent.recycling./01&2.C*4T51/.pdf

24% *ot 3n#4lace Recycling (7aterials and 7i 6esign) http-..www.fhwa.dot.gov.pave!ent.recycling./01&2.C*4T5$1.pdf

22% *ot 3n#4lace Recycling (Case *istory and <C.<+) http-..www.fhwa.dot.gov.pave!ent.recycling./01&2.C*4T5$$.pdf

23% Cold#7i +sphalt Recycling # Central 4lant (Construction 7ethods and 8(uip!ent) http-..www.fhwa.dot.gov.pave!ent.recycling./01&2.C*4T5$2.pdf

25% Cold 3n#4lace Recycling (Construction 7ethods and 8(uip!ent) http-..www.fhwa.dot.gov.pave!ent.recycling./01&2.C*4T5$%.pdf

24% Cold#7i +sphalt Recycling (7aterials and 7i 6esign) http-..www.fhwa.dot.gov.pave!ent.recycling./01&2.C*4T5$&.pdf

26% Cold#7i +sphalt Recycling (Case *istories and <C.<+) http-..www.fhwa.dot.gov.pave!ent.recycling./01&2.C*4T5$'.pdf

29% Full 6epth Recla!ation (Construction 7ethods and 8(uip!ent) http-..www.fhwa.dot.gov.pave!ent.recycling./01&2.C*4T5$:.pdf

27% Full 6epth Recla!ation (Case *istories and <C.<+) http-..www.fhwa.dot.gov.pave!ent.recycling./01&2.C*4T5$;.pdf

2:% )tructural 6esign of Recycled 4ave!ents http-..www.fhwa.dot.gov.pave!ent.recycling./01&2.C*4T5$0.pdf