“GEO320(TM) or Biopave(TM) do “not” compete with world food resources because they can be manufactured solely from waste “food” and vegetable and plant (biomass) raw materials, in fact GEO320 Biobitumen(TM) “promotes” the production of more food and plant cultivation of which wastes can be utilized and converted to GEO320 and Biopave(TM) Bio based road grade bitumen bioasphalts(TM).”

Biopave(TM) is based on the GEO320(TM) binder technology which is used as an additive in Cement, Concrete and Masonry pavings and bricks, paints and protective coatings, especially in road line marking applications and general purpose adhesive formulations. The interesting feature with Bio-pave(TM) is that up to 60% can be used as a binder replacement substitute in conventional cement concrete paving and bricks which will help reduce the high CO2 emissions (5% globally) in the paving brick manufacturing stage and help combat global warming and help our environment with no loss to the paver performance.

When used motor oil is recycled and cleaned, it goes through a distillation process (fractional distillation) where a Residue (Residuum) waste material is recovered, this residue material is processed to remove volatiles and other impurities and the waste material that is left at the bottom of the vacuum tower (VTB) distillation column is called “bottoms”. this residue is further processed to remove heavy metals ( lead ) and other impurities and the resulting left over waste i.e, from (TFE or WFE bottoms) is clean enough to be used as a raw material to manufacture GEO320 bitumen.

The method of manufacturing GEO320 MRH Biobitumen is the ability to convert (conversion) any water-soluble plant, material eg, sugar or molasses into an insoluble material, and the ability to controll the Cross-linking and branching reactions in the binder matrix formulations very accurately. The benefit of this system is that the end product is totally non water-soluble and highly resistant to common solvents such as gasoline, naphtha (Diesel) aviation fuel (Avgas), acids etc. It must be noted that the full solvent resistance is realized in the final asphalt composition i.e, zero void (pore) content of the asphalt therefore benefiting the end user ie, petrol terminals, petrol stations and anywhere where solvents or acids are exposed to the asphalt surface.

There is also a very interesting new “solubility” phenomenon associated with GEO320 non-petroleum based biobitumen in that the binder is highly immune to hydrocarbon based solvents but is sensitive to alcohol based solvents, in other words the “solubility sensitivity” has changed away from hydrocarbons to alcohols which is a great new OH&S a environmental benefit that comes with this technology. Futhermore GEO320 MRH Warm Mix Asphalt (WMA) uses 60% less energy and produces 98% less emissions than the standard method of producing asphalt.

Since GEO320 biobitumen can be manufactured primarily from non-petroleum “waste” raw materials that don’t compete with the world food supplies, the environmental benefits are numerous, for example, there are no damaging by-fumes (emission) emitted at the time of the bitumen and asphalt manufacturing stages or at the time of the asphalt placement on to the road. The fact that GEO320 is made from renewable resources promotes sustainability. Also because GEO320 can be pigmented economically, the lighter asphalt paving surfaces contribute positively to the so called “Urban heat island Effect”.

Bitumen has always been hazardous to work with due to the potential serious burns to plant and road crews because normal bitumen has to be kept in a liquid suspension (Suspension chemistry) by storing it in heated containers. Because GEO320 bio-bitumen(TM) comes in a dry granulated form, it can be stored indefinitely and it is only introduced at the hot aggregate asphalt Mixing (process engineering) stage.

From the point of Occupational Health and Safety OH&S, this is a great benefit since there is no more exposure hazards to fumes for the asphalt workers, which make the work place safer? Bioasphalt(TM) made with GEO320(TM) MRH(TM) (Mastic roller hybrid(TM) is less slippery due to two important characteristics a) it has a lower oil content than conventional bitumen and b) the mix design that was designed in the mid eighties in the MRH asphalt formulation has a micro aggregate protrusion, (MAP) meaning that once the surface has gone through roller compaction the asphalt surface retains these fine silica particles and resembles very much your everyday sand paper. The surface finish is therefore comparable to a “properly” constructed mastic asphalt with the addition of having zero voids 0% all the way up to 20% if drainage asphalt (Permeability) when desired.

GEO320 was designed to be a “Multigrade” (universal bitumen) since it is much easier to use one grade and eliminate the juggling between different bitumen grades. GEO320 can be manufactured to perform anywhere from class 600 to class 170. As far as the conventional Class 320 or multigrade is concerned, GEO320 out performs in durability, fatigue and crack resistance by a significant margin.

Since GEO320 is a non-Newtonian fluid it exhibits rheological behavior different to normal bitumen. This difference brings important benefits that when controlled properly equate to improvements in performance characteristics compared to petroleum based residue bitumen. GEO320 is made from environmentally friendly renewable resources and the fact that it can also incorporate “recycled” plastics and tire rubber in the binder and asphalt formulations adds to the “environmentally friendly”cycle.

When colorful (pigmentable) colored asphalt is required GEO320 bitumen is made primarily from clear resinous materials such as Sugar to give it the translucence necessary for a good color definition in asphalt but can also be made from waste, neat and bio-based materials as outlined earlier. A pigment system specifically for GEO320 asphalt was developed that resists fading due to wear, efflorescence and weathering. It was noticed many years ago how the color in cementic concrete faded after a short period of time due to efflorescence ( blooming ), a better coloring solution was imperative and had to be found and this pushed Ecopave Australia in the same way as it did with the development of its GEO320 bitumen.

GEO320 has 22 performance benefits compared to conventional petroleum road grade bitumen and asphalt and they are:

1) Higher rheological and mechanical performance properties

2) is made into granulated form hence no hot storage required

3) higher durability and fatigue (Fatigue material) properties

4) resistance to solvents

5) lower volatile emissions

6)is non toxic

7) light reflecting surface in colored form

8 Micro Mastic matrix Technology

9) recycled plastics and tire rubber can be used

10) non fuming

11) coloring system used is wear and fade resistant

12) is made from renewable resource resources eg, sugar and molasses

13) GEO320 is highly resistant to damage caused by i.e., wear, ice, salinity, heat, plant growth and Base course deformation etc

14) Glass spheres in the asphalt mix to give light reflectivity to increase road safety

15) lower application and workability temperatures of asphalt (Warm mix asphalt).

16) Increased skid and abrasion resistance to conventional roller and stone mastic asphalts.

17) is fully pigmentable

18 low heat absorption

19) Warm mix asphalt

20) Thinner and stronger asphalt pavement construction

21) High anti slip anti skid resistance.

22) Prevents Asphat Failures

Bitumen has always been hazardous to work with due to the potential serious burns to plant and road crews because normal bitumen has to be kept in a liquid suspension (Suspension (chemistry) by storing it in heated containers. Because GEO320 comes in a dry granulated form, it can be stored indefinitely and it is only introduced at the hot aggregate asphalt Mixing (process engineering) stage. From the point of Occupational Health and Safety, this is a great benefit since there is no more exposure hazards to fumes for the asphalt workers, which make the work place safer? Asphalt made with GEO320 MRH (Mastic roller hybrid) bitumen is less slippery due to two important characteristics a) it has a lower oil content than conventional bitumen and b) the mix design that was designed in the late eighties in the MRH asphalt formulation has a micro aggregate protrusion, meaning that once the surface has gone through roller compaction the asphalt surface retains its fine silica particles and resembles very much your everyday sand paper. The surface finish of asphalt made with GEO320 is therefore comparable to a “properly” constructed mastic asphalt with the addition of having zero voids 0% all the way up to 20% if drainage asphalt (Permeability) when desired.

References,

• ECOPAVE AUSTRALIA Non-Petroleum Bitumen Asphalt

• GEO320 MRH bio bitumen asphalt concrete research testing