Upcycling and recycling of wastes towards greener and resilient road pavements

Obiettivo

Every day about 4 millions of kilometres of asphalt pavements along the European road network allow the transportation of more than 70% of total passengers and goods. The continuous maintenance and expansion of the road infrastructures are key factors for the socio-economic growth and welfare of the European countries. Nonetheless, existing pavements represent a source of valuable materials (i.e. recycled aggregates and bitumen) that, adequately exploited, would allow the maintenance and new construction of roads in a circular economy perspective. The general, yet necessary, impetus of applying the green transition of industrial sectors also pervades the paving industry. Thus, it is urgent to make this sector less dependent on non-renewable resources, as well as less energy-demanding, to face environmental concerns. UPtoREPAVE proposes the development of innovative road binders, formulated with bio-based wastes that can be used with reclaimed asphalt pavement for the production of highly recycled low-energy paving materials. The developed materials will contribute to the gradual transition of the sector towards its complete restructuring in a carbon neutral vision. Sustainable paving materials produced at low temperatures (low GHGs) will be targeted, while fully exploit advantages and compensate drawbacks given by: the use of each selected material, their combination and their interaction with the recycled aggregates. The fellow will be supervised by renowned experts from the University of Texas at Austin, Delft University of Technology and University of Bologna, working on innovative pavements and sustainable materials. The multidisciplinary project will let the fellow acquire cutting-edge expertise and skills (including soft ones), improving her background on the chemo-mechanical analysis of road materials. The envisaged challenge of producing greener materials for a cleaner industry will be spread beyond the project duration in the academic and industrial fields.