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Multi-Scale Characterization of High-Temperature Properties and Thermal Storage Stability Performance of
Yuanle Li1, Bing Hui1, Xinyi Yang1
1School of Highway, Chang'an University, Xi'an 710064, China.
Materials (Basel, Switzerland)
|November 11, 2022
Summary
Discarded medical masks (DM) can enhance asphalt
Area of Science:
- Materials Science
- Environmental Engineering
- Chemical Engineering
Background:
- The COVID-19 pandemic led to increased medical mask waste, posing environmental and disposal challenges.
- Recycling plastic waste into construction materials is a sustainable approach to waste management.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the high-temperature properties and thermal storage stability of asphalt modified with discarded masks (DM).
- To investigate the effects of DM modification on asphalt's physical, rheological, and microscopic characteristics using multi-scale methods.
Main Methods:
- Experimental testing: softening point, rotational viscosity, dynamic shear rheology (DSR), Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy.
- Molecular dynamics (MD) simulations to analyze asphalt-modifier interactions at a molecular level.
- Multi-scale characterization combining experimental and simulation data.
Main Results:
- DM modification improved asphalt's softening point, rotational viscosity, and rutting factor, indicating enhanced high-temperature performance.
- Increased DM content led to segregation and reduced thermal storage stability in modified asphalt.
- FT-IR confirmed polypropylene as the main component of DM, suggesting a physical blending process.
- MD simulations revealed increased cohesive energy density (CED) and reduced fractional free volume (FFV) with DM addition.
Conclusions:
- Discarded mask modifiers enhance high-temperature asphalt performance but decrease thermal storage stability.
- A DM dosage of 1% is identified as an acceptable level based on macroscopic and microscopic analyses.
- This study presents a viable method for recycling medical mask waste into asphalt modification.
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