UAE university study calls for incorporating recycled materials into pavement construction

A study by two UAE-based researchers has demonstrated that incorporating recycled materials into pavement construction yields substantial economic, environmental, and public health benefits.

The research involved a life cycle assessment (LCA) of the 8-km rehabilitated Al Ittihad Taween Road that connects two major highways (E 11 and E 311) in Ras Al Khaimah. The LCA study assessed the economic, environmental and public health impacts of various scenarios, including the current design which is based on a traditional pavement design.

According to the findings, incorporating recycled plastic and reclaimed asphalt pavement (RAP) delivers significant environmental benefits which include reduction of Greenhouse Gases (GHGs) and air pollutants, as well as increasing the energy and water efficiency of pavement construction. RAP refers to reprocessed pavement materials containing asphalt and aggregates.

The study was conducted by Prof. Hamed Assaf, from the Department of Civil and Infrastructure Engineering, American University of Ras Al Khaimah (AURAK), and Prof. Ahmad Abu Abdo, from the Department of Civil Engineering, Liwa College of Technology, Abu Dhabi.

Prof. Hamed Assaf said, "The aim of the study was to demonstrate hypothetical benefits of pavement construction using recycled materials. Whereas RAP should replace conventional materials at rates well above 10% to yield these benefits, recycled plastic offers more superior environmental performance at varying replacement rates. Environmental benefits include reduction of Greenhouse Gases (GHGs) and air pollutants as well as increasing the energy and water efficiency of pavement construction.”

According to the study, using recycled plastics as replacement for pavement binders and fine aggregates offers many advantages, such as less wastage that would have caused damage to the environment, less consumption of energy, water, and natural resources, and less release of harmful pollutants.

WAM