Fuming and emissions of waste plastics in bitumen at high temperature

Asphalt is the most common construction material used in building road and airport pavements. With the growing interest around the application of recycled plastics in roads, concerns about fuming and emissions have been raised. The study investigated the emissions generated by recycled low-density polyethylene, commingled polyethylene, virgin low-density polyethylene modified bitumen, and conventional C320 bitumen via air sampling according to NIOSH 5515 for polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) screening. GC-MS analytical methods were employed to analyze the emission compounds of PAH concentrations. The emission test was conducted in a controlled laboratory environment during the blending process of bitumen to investigate the impact of adding recycled plastic waste into bitumen during mixing.