Hard-grade asphalt binders, such as AC 20–30, offer excellent resistance to permanent deformation but are inherently brittle, making them highly susceptible to fatigue and low-temperature cracking. While polymer modification addresses these issues, virgin polymers remain expensive. Despite the growing interest in recycled plastics, the rheological impact of complex waste streams, specifically polyvinyl chloride (PVC) derived from flex banners containing plasticizers, on excessively stiff binders within the complete Superpave Performance Grading (PG) framework remains critically underexplored. This study introduces a novel valorization approach by utilizing solvent-extracted flex banner waste (WPVC) as a dual-action modifier. It leverages the stiffening effect of the PVC network alongside the softening effect of leached plasticizers to redistribute the viscoelastic properties of hard-grade bitumen. The primary objective is to upgrade AC 20–30 into a balanced, climate-resilient binder. WPVC was incorporated at 10%, 20%, and 30% by weight. A comprehensive evaluation was performed using microstructural and chemical analyses, including Fourier transform infrared (FTIR), energy-dispersive X-ray (EDX), and optical microscopy, along with advanced rheological testing such as frequency sweep (master curve), multiple stress creep recovery (MSCR), linear amplitude sweep (LAS), and the Glover–Rowe (G–R) index. Results demonstrated that WPVC integration significantly improved microstructural homogeneity without accelerating oxidative aging. The 20% WPVC dosage emerged as the optimum configuration, effectively reducing rotational viscosity and excessive high-temperature stiffness while maintaining exceptional rutting resistance suitable for extreme traffic (PG82-E). Crucially, the intermediate-temperature performance was remarkably enhanced; the WPVC20 blend exhibited a 918% increase in fatigue life (at 2.5% strain) in the LAS test compared to the base binder. Furthermore, the G-R index confirmed a substantial reduction in cracking susceptibility. Ultimately, this research provides a sustainable, data-driven pathway for transforming hazardous flex banner waste into a high-value modifier for durable flexible pavements.
Tests were performed on asphalt concrete specimens with (101.6 mm in diameter and 101.6 mm in height), and the results were implemented for calculating permanent deformation and resilient modulus under repeated compressive stress with different levels of stresses (0.068, 0.138 and 0.206) MPa at 40 ºC. Two types of additives namely (carbon black-asphalt) and (SBR-asphalt) were tried as rejuvenators with three percentages of (0.5, 1 and 1.5) % by weight of asphalt cement along with two ratios of AC (1 and 2) % have been implemented as rejuvenator and blended with the reclaimed asphalt concrete. Aged materials were obtained from the site. 100% Reclaimed Asphalt Pavement material from the reclaimed mixture is implemented. A
... Show MoreThis paper focused on the stone matrix asphalt (SMA) technology that was developed essentially to guard against rutting distress. For this procedure, fibers play a racy role in stabilizing and preventing the drain down problem caused by the necessity of high binder content coupled with their strengthening effect. A set of specimens with cylindrical and slab shapes were fabricated by inclusions jute, polyester, and carbon fibers. For each type, three contents of 0.25%, 0.5%, and 0.75% by weight of mixture were added by lengths of 5, 7.5, and 10 mm. The prepared mixtures were tested to gain the essential pertained parameters discriminated by the values of drain down, Marshall quotient, rut depth, and dynamic stability. It
... Show MoreRecently, some of Iraq's newly constructed asphalt concrete pavements showed premature failures with significant negative impacts on roadway safety and the economy. Using Nano hydrated lime (NHL) in pavement construction could be one of the possible steps to improve pavement durability. This article discusses how NHL affects the durability of hot mix asphalt. NHL was added in two methods to the asphalt concrete mixture for the wearing course. The first is the dry method, i.e., on the aggregate, whereas the second is the wet addition method, i.e., to the bitumen. The percentages were tried for each additional method; 1, 2, and 3% by weight of aggregate for the dry method and 0.5, 1, and 1.5% by weight of asphalt concrete for the wet
... Show MoreThe aim of this study was to know the inhibition activity of squeezed grape waste extract on Bacillus stearpthermophilus by using three different tempretures degree 40, 60 and 80c, in order to reduce the time exposure of food for preservation. This study include two branchs: First: isolation and identification of Bacillus stearothermophilus from soil, 5 sample were collected from the soil of the college agriculture/Baghdad university. Samples were cultured on nutrient agar, microscopic and culturing tests were conducted and many biochemical tests were done. The isolates were cultivated at 55 c and 65 c for differentiate it from Bacillus coagulans which is can't grow at 65 co. The c
... Show MoreNanosilica was extracted from rice husk, which was locally collected from the Iraqi mill at Al-Mishikhab district in Najaf Governorate, Iraq. The precipitation method was used to prepared Nanosilica powder from rice husk ash, after treating it thermally at 700°C, followed by dissolving the silica in the alkaline solution and getting a sodium silicate solution. Two samples of the final solution were collected to study the effect of filtration on the purity of the sample by X-ray fluorescence spectrometry (XRF). The result shows that the filtered samples have purity above while the non-filtered sample purity was around The structure analysis investigated by the X-ray diffraction (XRD), found that the Nanosilica powder has an amorphous
... Show MoreIn order to reduce hydrostatic pressure in oil wells and produce oil from dead oil wells, laboratory rig was constructed, by injecting LPG through pipe containing mixture of two to one part of East Baghdad crude oil and water. The used pressure of injection was 2.0 bar, which results the hydrostatic pressure reduction around 246 to 222 mbar and flow rate of 34.5 liter/hr fluid (oil-water), at 220 cm injection depth. Effects of other operating parameters were also studied on the behavior of two phase flow and on the production of oil from dead oil wells.
This work deals with the separation of benzene and toluene from a BTX fraction. The separation was carried out using adsorption by molecular sieve zeolite 13X in a fixed bed. The concentration of benzene and toluene in the influent streams was measured using gas chromatography. The effect of flow rate in the range 0.77 – 2.0 cm3/min on the benzene and toluene extraction from BTX fraction was studied. The flow rate increasing decreases the breakthrough and saturation times. The effect of bed height in the range 31.6 – 63.3 cm on benzene and toluene adsorption from BTX fraction was studied. The increase of bed height increasing increases the break point values. The effect of the concentration of benzene in the range 0.0559 – 0.2625g/
... Show MoreThe removal of Ibuprofen antibiotics (IBU) by photo-degradation UV/H2O2/Fe+2 system was investigated in a batch reactor under different initial concentrations of H2O2 (100-500) mg/L, Fe+2 (10-40) mg/L, pH (3-9) and initial concentrations of IBU (10-80) mg/L, and their relationship with the degradation efficiency were studied. The result demonstrated that the maximum elimination of IBU was 85.54% achieved at 300 mg/L of H2O2, 30 mg/L of Fe+2, pH=3, and irradiation time of 150 min, for 10 mg/L of IBU. The results have shown that the oxidation reagent H2O2 plays a very important role in IBU degradation.
Many numerical approaches have been suggested to solve nonlinear problems. In this paper, we suggest a new two-step iterative method for solving nonlinear equations. This iterative method has cubic convergence. Several numerical examples to illustrate the efficiency of this method by Comparison with other similar methods is given.