Investigation of modification of petroleum bitumen with fine rubber crumb

Currently, in the world, due to the constant desire for recycling, many countries are considering the possibility of using rubber waste on roads. Bitumen modification for roads in Kazakhstan is considered one of the most suitable and popular approaches. This article presents the results of research on the modification of bitumen with rubber chips obtained from rubber waste. The document describes in detail the details of using rubber chips as bitumen modifiers, with particular emphasis on how they can potentially be used to improve bitumen performance and road durability. A wet process is used to produce rubber-bitumen binders. The wet process modifies the asphalt binder directly by pre-mixing with rubber crumbs at elevated temperatures, it leads to the fact that the material turns out to be the most stable, with increased elasticity and viscosity at high temperatures. The main physical and mechanical characteristics of the modified bitumen were determined after standard tests: penetration and plasticity, softening temperatures. The morphology of the modified bitumen was studied using scanning electron microscopy. The results confirm that bitumen modified with a rubber crumb with the addition of SBS meets the requirements for a polymer-bitumen binder of Kazakhstani standards and, according to its physico-chemical characteristics, is suitable for the production of modified bitumen.