Aqueous leaching of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons from bitumen and asphalt

The application of bitumen in, e.g. asphalt roads, roofs and hydraulic applications will lead to the leaching of compounds from the bitumen/asphalt into the environment. Because polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are present in bitumen, static and dynamic leach tests have been performed to study the leaching behaviour of this class of compounds. Nine petroleum bitumens covering a representative range of commercially available products and one asphalt made from one of the bitumens have been tested in a static leach test. The asphalt has been also subjected to a dynamic leach test. The main conclusions are that a 30h dynamic leach test is sufficient to determine the equilibrium concentration that will be reached after bitumen or asphalt has been in contact with the water for more than 3-6 days. As an alternative to performing a leach test, this concentration can be calculated from the PAH concentrations in the bitumen, and their distribution coefficients, as calculated here, or from their aqueous solubilities. The equilibrium PAH concentrations in the leach water from bitumens stay well below the surface water limits that exist in several EEC-countries and are also more than an order of magnitude lower than the current EEC limits for potable water.