The growing demand for sustainable and high-performance asphalt binders has prompted the exploration of waste-derived modifiers. This study investigates the performance enhancement of Natural Asphalt (NA) using Sugarcane Molasses (SM) and Waste Engine Oil (WEO). The modified blends were prepared by partially replacing 50 % NA with varying proportions of SM and WEO ranging from 10 % to 40 % of the total weight of NA. Comprehensive testing was conducted, including penetration, softening point, ductility, viscosity, Bending Beam Rheometer (BBR), Multiple Stress Creep Recovery (MSCR), Energy Dispersive X-ray Spectroscopy (EDX), Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, and Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM). The results demonstrated that modified blends with a high WEO content significantly increased fluidity, reducing rotational viscosity by up to 91 % for the blend with 40 % WEO and 10 % SM at 135 ◦C. Conversely, higher SM content increased stiffness, as seen in the blend with 40 % SM and 10 % WEO, with penetration values rising by 305 % compared to unmodified NA. Rheological testing showed that the 40 % SM and 10 % WEO blend achieved the highest rutting resistance with a Performance Grade (PG) of 88 ◦C, while the 40 % WEO and 10 % SM blend exhibited the best fatigue resistance with a 55 % reduction in G* .sinδ. Low-temperature performance was significantly improved across all blends, with the 40 % WEO and 10 % SM blend achieving the lowest creep stiffness and highest m-value, ensuring superior thermal cracking resistance. Chemical analysis revealed increased oxygen content (18.6 %) and reduced sulfur content (60 %) in the 40 % SM and 10 % WEO blend, indicating enhanced oxidation resistance. SEM analysis confirmed the development of dense morphology in the 40 % SM and 10 % WEO blend, correlating with superior structural integrity. Grey decision analysis identified the 40 % SM and 10 % WEO blend as the optimal blend with the lowest bull’s-eye distance, reflecting balanced performance across all parameters. These findings highlight the complementary effects of SM and WEO in enhancing the performance of NA, with the 40 % SM and 10 % WEO blend emerging as the most promising blend for bio-asphalt applications.
AlPO4 catalysts supported with WO3 were prepared by impregnating the catalysts with ammonium metatungstate. The catalysts were checked by X-ray Diffraction (XRD), AFM, and SEM; also, the catalysts analysis was done by X-Ray (EDX). Finally, the N2 adsorption-desorption was used to measure the pore volume and surface area of the catalyst. The prepared catalyst has a surface area of 185.83 m2/g, pore volume of 0.645 cm3/g at a calcination temperature of 500°C for 3 hrs, and particle size of AlPO4 with an average of 35.36 nm. Transesterification of edible oil using WO3/AlPO4 was performed, it was observed that WO3/AlPO4 catalysts give high conversion of edible oil, and this is attributed to the high surface area, smaller particle size, and the
... Show MoreRapid worldwide urbanization and drastic population growth have increased the demand for new road construction, which will cause a substantial amount of natural resources such as aggregates to be consumed. The use of recycled concrete aggregate could be one of the possible ways to offset the aggregate shortage problem and reduce environmental pollution. This paper reports an experimental study of unbound granular material using recycled concrete aggregate for pavement subbase construction. Five percentages of recycled concrete aggregate obtained from two different sources with an originally designed compressive strength of 20–30 MPa as well as 31–40 MPa at three particle size levels, i.e., coarse, fine, and extra fine, were test
... Show MoreHighly Modified Asphalt (HiMA) binders have garnered significant attention due to their superior resistance to rutting, fatigue cracking, and thermal distress under heavy traffic loads and extreme environmental conditions. While elastomeric polymers such as Styrene- Butadiene-Styrene (SBS) have been extensively used in HiMA applications, the potential of plastomeric polymers, including Polyethylene (PE) and Ethylene Vinyl Acetate (EVA), remains largely unexplored. This study aims to evaluate the performance of reference binder (RB) modified with plastomeric HiMA asphalt in comparison to SBS-modified binders and determine the optimal polymer dosage for achieving an optimal balance between rutting resistance and fatigue durability. The experi
... Show MoreThis work investigates the utilization of waste papers (natural and industrial) i.e (citrus aurantium and papers A4) mortars containing specified contents 0.5%, 1%, 1.5% of waste papers were prepared and cured. Mechanical characteristics such as compressive and bending strengths, hardness and water absorption were determined for the mortars mixed with the waste papers and compared with those obtained from the pure mortars. Results showed that the addition of waste paper leads to increase the hardness to (69 - 68.5) shore D for (natural and industrial) wastes materials respectively comparing with pure specimen 66 shore D. The compressed strength of the mortar cement specimen cured for 28 days from 13 MPa to (17-18) MPa for (natural and in
... Show MoreThis research investigates solid waste management in Al-Kut City. It included the collection of medical and general solid waste generated in five hospitals different in their specialization and capacity through one week, starting from 03/02/2012. Samples were collected and analyzed periodically to find their generation rate, composition, and physical properties. Analysis results indicated that generation rate ranged between (1102 – 212) kg / bed / day, moisture content and density were (19.0 % - 197 kg/ m3) respectively for medical waste and (41%-255 kg/ m3) respectively for general waste. Theoretically, medical solid waste generated in Al-Kut City (like any other city), affected by capacity, number of patients in a day, and hosp
... Show MoreMunicipal solid waste generation in Babylon Governorate is often affected by changes in lifestyles, population growth, social and cultural habits and improved economic conditions. This effect will make it difficult to plan and draw up future plans for solid waste management.In this study, municipal solid waste was divided into residential and commercial solid wastes. Residential solid wastes were represented by household wastes, while commercial solid wastes included commercial, institutional and municipal services wastes.For residential solid wastes, the relational stratified random sampling was implemented, that is the total population should be divided into clusters (socio-income level), a random sample was taken in e
... Show MoreLow-level microbial activity due to the production of organic acids is a recognized problem during the initial phase of food waste composting. Increasing such activity levels by adjusting the pH values during the initial composting phase is the primary objective to be investigated. In this study, sodium acetate (NaoAc) was introduced as an amendment to an in-vessel composting system. NaoAc was added when the pH of the compost mixture reached a low level (pH < 5), the addition increased pH to 5.8. This had a positive effect on the degradation of organic materials i.e. the formation of methane gas compared to the results without NaoAc addition.
The results also proved that anaerobic-aerobic in-vessel composting could reduce the
... Show MoreThe aim of this research is to benefit from recycl the aircraft waste oils which is discarded in sewage network, to be used in preparation of greases for industrial purposes and to reduce the environmental pollution. In this research synthetic greases were prepared with special specifications by mixing the waste oils after treating with (silica gel as adsorbent agent, and filtration to precipitate impurities then heated to 110 C? to get rid of water) bentonite produced in Iraq which is available and cheap with existence of high density polyethylene at specific conditions of ( heating and mixing) . The best weight proportion were reached, then paraffin wax and additives were added to improve the properties of grease and give the
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