This document discusses the environmental impacts of asphalt road construction and maintenance. It notes that refining oil and manufacturing asphalt release large amounts of greenhouse gases and other pollutants. It also depletes aggregate resources. The document promotes the use of Reclamite, a pavement preservative sealant that can extend the life of roads, requiring fewer overlays that use additional raw materials and fuel. Reclamite has a lower carbon footprint than traditional overlays since it is applied in a simple process using existing roads and can postpone more intensive rehabilitation. It also improves pavement performance characteristics like skid resistance and reduces the need for winter road chemicals.

1. OUR
CARBON FOOTPRINT...
... OUR
JOINT RESPONSIBILITY

2.  The asphalt we use in
the road industry is a
by-product of oil
refining.
Highway 401

3.  Paving roads is the best use of this by-
product.

4.  Refining oil releases massive amounts of
detrimental carbon gases into the earth’s
atmosphere.

5.  Manufacturing asphalt depletes our valuable
and limited aggregate resources.

6.  The Environment Canada website includes
information on the environmental impacts of
asphalt manufacturing. It lists…

7.  …5 Criteria Air Contaminants (Particulate,
Nitrogen Oxides, Sulphur Oxides, Carbon
Monoxide, Volatile Organic Compounds)
 2 Toxic Substances (Polycyclic Aromatic
Hydrocarbons, Heavy Metals)

8.  …and Greenhouse Gas (Carbon Dioxide)

9.  Even with lower temperature mixes, there are
huge environmental and human health risks.
Warm mix project

10.  Hot mix plants are required to shut down
operations on designated “smog alert” days in
populated areas.
Toronto “smog alert” day

11.  British Columbia has already implemented a
Carbon Tax which is applied against every
tonne of asphalt produced.

12.  Also in BC, every litre of gasoline and diesel
fuel is being levied a carbon tax.
Revenue
Canada

13.  Tremendous strides have been taken to
encourage recycling technologies such as Cold-
in-Place and Expanded Asphalt.

14.  These technologies reduce aggregate
depletion, but still require huge carbon outputs
including new hot mix asphalt for a final driving
surface.

15.  Polymer additives improve asphalt performance
and allow for higher percentages of recycled
asphalt content in the mix, however…
Polymer structure model

16.  …heating these complex synthetic molecular
polymers in asphalt plants creates a whole new
set of environmental and health risks.

17.  Aggregate extraction affects local water
resources, air quality and wildlife habitat.

18.  It also contributes to noise pollution and traffic.
Extraction equipment and trucks add significant
carbon to the atmosphere.

19.  Once asphalt is manufactured it must be
trucked to the jobsite, placed and compacted
with heavy carbon producing equipment.

20.  The auto industry is experiencing a revolution
in improving the fuel economy of vehicles in
efforts to reduce green house gas emissions for
each kilometre travelled.

21.  Tire manufacturers are introducing improved
“low rolling resistance” tires which improve
fuel economy when driving on smooth roads.
All major tire
manufacturers
“Between 1.5% and 4.5%
are developing
of total fuel use could be and introducing
saved if all replacement low rolling
tires had low rolling resistance tires.
resistance” Many now
Source: Transport Canada indicate how
many kilometres
worth of fuel are
saved during the
use of the tire
over the lifetime
compared with a
standard tire.

22.  Adding pavement texture contributes to higher
fuel consumption and the associated
greenhouse gases, negates the efforts of low
rolling resistance tires, adds needless tire wear
and the associated replacement and disposal
costs, and creates needless noise pollution.
 Increase pavement texture only in areas where
there is a high vehicle accident risk. This is a
legitimate trade-off for fuel economy. (eg.
slurry or micro on high speed curves,
descending steep grades requiring vehicles to
stop at the bottom, and filling wheel ruts)

24.  The longer a high-class bituminous surface can
be kept in good condition, the larger the fuel
savings and lower the carbon emissions per
each kilometre of road.
 Smooth roads = better fuel economy
 Better fuel economy = lower emissions

25.  Technology exists to improve the carbon
footprint of a road system and lower the
lifecycle costs at the same time.

26.  Selection decisions for pavement preservation
technologies must be made based on life cycle
economics and environmental considerations.
Cost effective in-depth seal application

27.  Reclamite® In-Depth Preservative Seal is the
best choice based on life cycle savings and
environmental benefits.
Computerized spray truck applicator

28.  Reclamite® In Depth Preservative Seals are
applied in a simple 3-step process on new
pavement (construction seal), or to add
additional life to older pavements (maintenance
seal)
 The process takes just minutes to complete.

29.  STEP #1 The asphalt is sprayed with
Reclamite® using a computerized spray truck
applicator.
 The Reclamite® penetrates into the pavement
to create a seal in-depth that cannot be worn
off by traffic.

30.  STEP #2 When the Reclamite® has penetrated
the asphalt, a thin layer of sand is applied to
prevent tracking of the sealer. The street is
then immediately opened to traffic.

31.  STEP #3 The day following the application,
the sand is swept up to be reused on another
street, and all remaining signage is removed
from the project.

32.  Reclamite® cures in the asphalt creating a more
durable and longer lasting pavement adding
many years beyond the pavement’s natural
lifecycle.
A completed Reclamite® project

33. Engineer taking cores for viscosity testing
With a sixteen year history of use in Ontario, it
has had extensive trial, assessment, and
laboratory testing to prove its ability to cost-
effectively extend the life of asphalt.

34. Reclamite applied in 2002
This picture taken in 2012
Limit of 8 foot wide “control”
section left untreated in 2002
Cracking occurred in the
untreated section.

35. Engineer testing skid resistance
This testing includes viscosity, sorptivity or
permeability, and skid resistance.

36. Untreated and “open”
Treated and “tight”

37. Engineer utilizes a non-destructive method of sorptivity testing
The testing done in Ontario supports the findings
of other jurisdictions around the world over the
last 5 decades.

38. Testing is done utilizing the Strategic Highway
Research Program protocol, such as rheological
testing using the Bending Beam Rheometer test
and the Dynamic Shear Rheometer test.
The results have proven the excellent aging
properties of treated pavements.

39.  Reclamite® is the most cost-effective pavement
preservation product available.

40.  Reclamite® is a non-toxic, cold-applied, low
carbon process that adds many years of
additional life to your asphalt surfaces.

41.  Reclamite® postpones overlays and the need
for other high-carbon, high-aggregate
rehabilitation processes.
The “Fountain Of Youth” for your roads.

42.  Both grades of Reclamite® contain the maltene
components of asphalt cement that have been
enhancing pavement performance for over 50
years.

43. Warm Mix Asphalts
 In order to make asphalt flow at lower
temperatures for reduced greenhouse gas
emissions, the asphalt producer must place
additives into the asphalt mix.
 Products such as Sasobit, Hyper-therm, Aspha-
min, Zeolite, Evotherm DAT, Lea, Rediset WMX,
Revix, or simply injecting water into the liquid
AC causing rapid AC expansion/foaming, all
create asphalt with reduced emissions.

44.  These additives (even the water/rapid foam
expansion method) upset the delicate balance
of the five asphalt cement components that
determines the asphalt performance ratio. This
is why some Warm Mix projects exhibit a
premature “drying” of the mix just weeks after
placing the mix.
PC + A1
S + A2

45.  The Reclamite® formulation rebalances the
performance parameters of warm mix asphalts,
thus extending the service life of the pavement.
Even the tracking marks are
rejuvenating and sealing the
dry open warm mix.
Untreated

Warm Mix side-by-side
sealing/rejuvenation
comparison trial.
Treated

46.  Application trucks are not required to be
placarded (Reclamite® is non-toxic), however,
all municipal catch basin drains are covered
with absorbent “spills kit” covers.

47.  A Reclamite® application does not deplete
any natural aggregate resources
because...

48.  …a premium manufactured sand is used (which
would otherwise be landfill waste from the steel
industry).

49.  This sand performs excellent and is reused
several times before the municipalities use it
again for municipal projects.
Sand that was used on 4 different Reclamite®
street jobs has now become a walking/bike path.

50. Reduced Winter Chemical
Requirements

51.  Pavements treated with Reclamite® require less
salt to break the bond between snow/ice and
pavement.

52.  Similarly, anti-icing chemical requirements on
treated pavements can be reduced and still
achieve the same results.

53.  All winter chemicals eventually end up in our
streams and lakes.

54. Municipal test section showing salt residue
unsealed sealed
The resulting in-depth seal reduces the
permeability of the asphalt. This will prevent loss
of fines, and will result in a reduction of anti icing
chemical needed to achieve results.

55.  Reclamite® is the only pavement preservation
product that improves the quality of
watercourses by reducing winter chemical
requirements.

56. ENVIRONMENTAL BENEFITS
 Longer lasting asphalt = reduced carbon
 Low impact process = reduced carbon
 No natural aggregate depletion
 On-site multiple reuse of traction grit
 Non toxic emulsion
 No solvents
 Reduced winter chemical needs
 Does not diminish the benefits of low rolling resistance tires

57.  Should a road manager use pavement
preservation products that consume high-
carbon, and deplete aggregate resources, if
better choices are available?
What choice would this little girl want
you to make for her future?

58. OUR
CARBON FOOTPRINT...
... OUR
JOINT RESPONSIBILITY

59. THANK YOU
“green technologies for modern road managers”
Superior Road Products