Biobased and Recycled paving materials with Optimised and Advanced Durability for ROAD infrastructures

Descripción del proyecto

Hacia unas carreteras más ecológicas y sostenibles

Las carreteras desempeñan un papel fundamental en la sociedad moderna, ya que permiten el transporte y fomentan la actividad económica. Sin embargo, su construcción y mantenimiento tienen importantes consecuencias para el medio ambiente. La extracción y el transporte de materias primas, junto con la producción de asfalto, contribuyen al agotamiento de los recursos y a las emisiones de gases de efecto invernadero. A pesar de los avances, el uso predominante del asfalto en las infraestructuras viarias subraya la urgente necesidad de alternativas sostenibles. Con el apoyo de las acciones Marie Skłodowska-Curie, el equipo del proyecto BioROAD2 pretende revolucionar las prácticas de construcción de carreteras. Aprovechando los principios de la economía circular, pretende reciclar el asfalto e integrar los biorresiduos y subproductos en nuevos materiales de pavimentación. Dicho planteamiento reduce la dependencia de los recursos y minimiza el impacto ambiental.

Objetivo

Roads are indispensable to our daily lives, promoting mobility and supporting socio-economic interactions. However, the impact caused during their construction (i.e. extraction and transport of raw materials, and production) cannot be disregarded. Moreover, asphalt will be used for the next decades in road infrastructures because of its pragmatic applicability; therefore, it is crucial to identify ways to mitigate their environmental influence and make them more sustainable.
The BioROAD2 project seeks to participate in the ongoing research by applying circular economy principles encouraging the reuse/ recycling of asphalt and bio-waste and bio-by-products – often limited due to regulations, performance blockers, and technological challenges – into new paving materials to decrease the use of virgin and fossil resources. It also aims to emphasise the benefits of low-energy-consuming processes fostering the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions and related issues. BioROAD2 will highlight the overall benefits of all phases of pavement development, including its circularity, often neglected during the R&D phase.
Therefore, BioROAD2 will adopt an integrated approach ensured by a three-pillar R&I strategy including (1) Requirements definition, (2) Experimental studies through Design and Characterisation combined with (3) Sustainability assessments addressing the technical, environmental and socio-economic compatibility. The objectives are to (i) specify and document the criteria for the materials and suitable use area validation and propose a unique, flexible, and verifiable self-devised method supported by literature; (ii) produce samples, verify their recyclability and identify the best mixtures; and (iii) conduct rigorous sustainability assessments for the selected mixtures and translate the results into knowledge that can be exploited as a generalised approach for biobased and recycled paving materials with optimised and advanced durability for road infrastructures.