Khalid Ahmed Owaid

This study focuses on producing asphalt with improved rheological properties that differ from the original asphalt and are less affected by aging conditions. The rheological properties of Qayara asphalt were enhanced by modifying the asphalt using spent rubber tire (SRT) with different percentages of anhydrous aluminum chloride. Percentages ranging from 1.0% by weight of the spent tire rubber were added after proceeding with the thermal crushing process. The percentages of anhydrous aluminum chloride catalyst were 0.4 and 0.8%, respectively. This mixture was microwaved at 270 watt of power for 4, 8, and 12 min, respectively. The measurements performed are plasticity, penetration, softening point, and penetration index. The previously mentioned measurements were also made on the modified asphalt one year after the modification process to understand the effect of aging conditions. The microstructure and thermodynamics have been characterized by FE-SEM and EDX measurements. This study provides good rheological properties of the modified bitumen binder that is aging-resistant.

The hazards of plastic waste (PW) from polymers (e.g., polyethylene terephthalate (PET), high-density polyethylene (HDPE), low-density polyethylene (LDPE), polyvinyl chloride (PVC), nylon, polystyrene (PS), etc.), the mechanism of its spread in general, and its ubiquity in our daily lives as a continuously and/or frequently expelled product are a crisis of the twenty-first century, as reported by the United Nations in 2019, especially after the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. This research included the process of modifying the rheological properties of asphalt to obtain asphalt suitable for use in a high-humidity atmosphere. The Iraqi climate is characterized by heat that reaches the point of harshness in the summer and coldness that falls below zero on some winter days. From this point of view, our recent study focuses mainly on making rheological and chemical modifications to asphalt using spent polymeric materials and used lubricating oils (ULO), thus achieving two important goals, namely obtaining asphalt with rheological properties resistant to the Iraqi atmosphere as well as eliminating both solid and liquid environmental pollutants. The microstructure and morphology of the designed patches were characterized using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) to indicate phase composition.