2023年8月9日

信贷:皇家墨尔本理工大学新道路与回收塑料混合在维多利亚的十个网站将演示一个可行的国家循环经济解决方案,专家说。RMIT大学领衔的项目由澳大利亚研究理事会Austroads和10个维多利亚时代的议会能将从消费者和工业废料再生塑料,包括臭名昭著的顽固的软塑料,为沥青性能增强剂。与澳大利亚人每年产生260万吨塑料垃圾和垃圾填埋空间预计到2025年将达到容量,这个项目正在帮助解决迫切的挑战。项目领导RMIT菲利普·Giustozzi副教授说,该小组还将产生最佳实践指导方针在沥青路面再生塑料的使用。“这些指南将使地方政府控制全国80%的道路,开始大规模的采用这种创新回收解决方案,“说Giustozzi RMIT的工程学院。墨尔本和九个郊区的城市和地区议会将领导方式,各有部分回收路长900米铺设在未来数月。10项目网站将使用一个大约21000公斤的再生塑料,但是这种解决方案的潜在规模相当大的考虑到几十万公里的道路在澳大利亚,Giustozzi说。“如果澳大利亚的537个地方政府使用少量的再生塑料的许多道路,他们每年重现,然后在全国范围内我们已经创建了一个大型终端市场回收塑料。”New roads built on quality research Extensive laboratory studies conducted by RMIT for Austroads—the collective of the Australian and New Zealand transport agencies—show these mixes are mechanically, chemically, and environmentally sound, he said. "The performance of roads can actually be improved with the additions of recycled material, such as plastic and rubber, to be more durable against traffic and resistant against aging," Giustozzi said. The team's latest study, published in the journal Science of The Total Environment, found the recycled plastic asphalt mixtures had 150% less cracking and 85% less deformation under pressure testing than conventional asphalt. "These studies tell us that adding specific types of plastic in the right way can generate greater rutting and fatigue resistance," he said. "In some instances, the performance of the mix was similar to some of the more expensive polymers used in roads and substantially higher than conventional asphalt mixes." The partnership with Victorian councils and Austroads will now translate these findings into applied solutions that enhance the sustainability of our roads. "This is a critical step in demonstrating the feasibility of this approach to tackling a problematic waste stream in Australia, while establishing a trusted network for plastics recycling in road applications," he said. Supporting widescale adoption Austroads Chief Executive Geoff Allan noted increasing interest in exploring the viability of repurposing recycled waste plastic, and said Austroads was leading ground-breaking work to investigate the most suitable types of plastics for use in roads. "This project builds on the work completed last year that confirmed recycled plastics can be successfully incorporated in road infrastructure without detrimental effects on the environment, the health and safety of the workers, or the future recyclability of plastic-modified asphalt," Allan said. "A major contribution of this project will be to develop evidence-based guidance that will provide certainty to road managers about the use of recycled plastics in road surfacing applications and thus lay the foundations for this solution to be embraced nationally." Along with Austroads, the collaboration includes Australia's leading pavement authorities and specialists, including public works and building bodies, recyclers and contractors. More information: Yeong Jia Boom et al, Engineering properties, microplastics and emissions assessment of recycled plastic modified asphalt mixtures, Science of The Total Environment (2023). DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.164869 Journal information: