Asphalt mixtures emission and energy consumption: A review

Liseane Padilha Thives and Enedir Ghisi

Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, 2017, vol. 72, issue C, 473-484

Abstract: The objective of this paper is to assess carbon dioxide emissions and energy consumption for the production of road pavements by means of a literature review. The construction of the main types of pavements requires energy and generates greenhouse gas emissions that impact the environment. Different types of asphalt mixtures such as cold mixtures, warm mixtures, asphalt rubber mixtures and mixtures with reclaimed asphalt pavement were assessed. The fuel used in the burners that heat and dry the aggregates is the main source of emissions. Also, the aggregates moisture content is an important parameter that influences the energy consumption. On the other hand, the energy consumption and emissions to produce Portland cement mixtures are related to the process of cement production. For both asphalt and Portland cement mixtures, the extraction, manufacturing and placement were also evaluated. Moreover, the energy consumption of the pavements structures was evaluated. Pavements composed of Portland cement concrete consume more energy than hot mix asphalt. But, warm mix asphalt technologies can save 20–70% of the energy consumption when compared to hot mix asphalt, mainly due to the temperature reduction in the warm mix processes. In addition, the emissions caused by different fuels used to produce pavement mixtures were compared. Asphalt mixtures and their alternative technologies consumed less energy and emitted fewer gases than Portland cement mixtures. Carbon dioxide emissions for hot mix asphalt and asphalt rubber mixtures can be 70% lower than emissions for Portland cement concrete. Some alternatives to reduce energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions in asphalt mixtures production are the decrease of aggregates moisture content, reduction of the asphalt mixtures production temperature and use of waste materials in pavement construction. Switching from hot mix to warm mix technologies would reduce the carbon footprint generated by the asphalt industry.

Keywords: Asphalt mixtures; Hot mix asphalt; Warm mix asphalt; Asphalt rubber mixtures; Reclaimed asphalt pavement; Portland cement concrete; Recycling; Energy consumption; Greenhouse gas emissions (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2017
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (11)

Downloads: (external link)
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1364032117300904
Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:rensus:v:72:y:2017:i:c:p:473-484

Ordering information: This journal article can be ordered from
http://www.elsevier.com/wps/find/journaldescription.cws_home/600126/bibliographic
http://www.elsevier. ... 600126/bibliographic

DOI: 10.1016/j.rser.2017.01.087

Access Statistics for this article

Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews is currently edited by L. Kazmerski

More articles in Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews from Elsevier
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Catherine Liu ().