Market Analysis of Asphalt Mixture Recycling Technology
Market Analysis of Asphalt Mixture Recycling Technology
After a certain period of use, asphalt mixture pavement (hereinafter referred to as asphalt pavement) cannot meet the needs of transportation and must be maintained or overhauled. In the process of maintenance, major repairs, and reconstruction, a large amount of waste asphalt mixture will be generated. The stone and asphalt in these materials also have certain usage value. If they cannot be reasonably and effectively recycled, it not only wastes resources, increases road construction costs, but also pollutes the environment. Therefore, from the perspective of cost reduction and environmental protection, reusing waste asphalt mixtures has become an inevitable trend in highway construction and development.
Since the 1930s, asphalt mixture recycling technology has been applied abroad. By the late 1970s and early 1980s, the concept of asphalt pavement regeneration technology continued to improve, and regeneration equipment and processes were developed. By the early 1990s, there had been a qualitative leap in geothermal regeneration technology, with various regeneration units and technologies being applied in the United States and Canada.
Since the 1990s, China’s highway transportation industry has developed rapidly, and the task of urban road reconstruction and expansion has also been increasing. At that time, it was focused on construction and little attention was paid to maintenance issues. Today, more than a decade later, roads have suffered varying degrees of damage, and people realize the importance of maintenance. Due to the late start of highway construction in China, limited reserves of technical resources, poor economic foundation, complex climate and environment, and severe overloading of transportation vehicles; The design, construction, materials, and other aspects of highways are influenced by traditional concepts. In some areas, the construction experience and structural design methods of traditional thin layer surface treatment, asphalt macadam pavement, and asphalt macadam pavement are still applied to highways without modification; There are also some transportation department leaders who are eager for quick success and blindly rush for the construction period, resulting in a considerable portion of highways with unsatisfactory asphalt pavement usage, and even having to face large-scale maintenance in the first few years of operation. Therefore, the issue of recycling old asphalt pavement has been put on the agenda. Various regions have organized human and material resources to research and solve related technical problems, and government departments have also introduced relevant policies to encourage the recycling and utilization of old asphalt mixtures. It can be said that promoting asphalt pavement regeneration technology is sustainable development in China