Effect of the use of Marpol waste as a partial replacement of the binder for the manufacture of more sustainable bituminous mixtures

Society must move towards an economy in which sustainability is its main driving force. A sustainable solution to avoid sending waste to landfill, the consumption of raw materials and, therefore, the depletion of natural resources, is the reuse or recycling of waste. Here, pavement engineering has great potential, as waste can be used for the manufacture of bituminous mixes. In particular, one of these residues is Marpol, which is generated during shipping, maintenance and cleaning operations, including wastewater and waste other than cargo waste. There are few studies on the analysis of its use in mixtures. Thus, in this work, the effect of partially replacing the binder of bituminous mixtures for another obtained from the treatment of Marpol oily waste was studied in order to contribute to environmental sustainability and circular economy. For this, water sensitivity, deformation and cracking resistance were analysed of two asphalt mixtures whose binder was partially replaced by Marpol binder. Furthermore, the binder ageing resistance was studied. The results obtained from the laboratory, plant and test section mixture were very close to those obtained for the reference. These results have demonstrated the feasibility of partially replacing the conventional binder by one obtained from Marpol waste.

Automated summary

Society needs to move towards a sustainable economy. In pavement engineering, the reuse and recycling of waste can contribute to achieving sustainability. This study investigates the feasibility of partially replacing the binder in asphalt mixtures with Marpol waste and provides evidence of its effectiveness.