A whitepaper issued by the Rubberized Asphalt Foundation (RAF), a research foundation dedicated to the science and practical use of recycled tire rubber in asphalt pavements, concludes that recycled tire rubber (RTR) binders can be used in place of polymer modified binders such as Styrene Butadiene Styrene (SBS) and achieve the same performance-graded (PG) results. The whitepaper was authored for RAF by advisory board member Dr. John D'Angelo, P.E., principal of D’Angelo Consulting, LLC.
RTR binders have been extensively used to provide the same type of improved performance as SBS. The issue with polymer modifiers is that they are subject to supply demands and chemical production variations that can lead to supply shortages and higher costs. Scrap tire rubber for RTR is in plentiful supply with a relatively stable cost that is attractive for use to produce improved binders.
