Development of Renewable Polymers for Use in Asphalt Pavements

TRB’s National Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP) Innovations Deserving Exploratory Analysis (IDEA) Final Report for NCHRP-IDEA Project 178: Development of Renewable Polymers for Use in Asphalt Pavements summarizes findings of a study on the application of biorenewable polymers for use in asphalt pavements by utilizing soybean oil through chemical synthesis.

Triglyceride molecules from vegetable oils have been considered as important renewable resources, which can be used as biomonomers and be polymerized into biopolymers with properties similar to petroleum-derived monomers and polymers. In this research, non-food soybean oil was selected as a starting point to produce biopolymers.

The modification effects and the effectiveness of the biopolymers were evaluated through a comprehensive asphalt binder investigation to optimize formulation of the biopolymers.