Rheological properties of packaging‐waste‐polyethylene‐modified asphalt

Waste‐polyethylene (WPE) in packaging, instead of virgin polymer, was utilized as a modifier of base asphalt, and rheological properties of the modified asphalt were studied. Results show that the modified asphalt possesses better anti‐distortion capacity than the base asphalt, as indicated by the fact that the modified asphalt has higher viscosity and smaller endothermic peak dispersion in the transformation process of asphalt aggregation. Compared with base asphalt, the modified asphalt has higher complex modulus ( G *), storage modulus ( G ′), and dissipation modulus ( G″ ). In addition, the modified asphalt has smaller phase angle ( δ ), less tangent (tan δ ), and lower rut factor ( G */sin δ ), reflecting the high‐temperature rut resistance of the asphalt. The improvement of the rheological properties is related to the main features of the modified asphalt, including the swelling, whereas packaging‐waste‐PE absorbs low‐molecular‐weight fractions of asphalt, the displacement restriction of asphalt particles, and the molecular structure and performance of PE molecules. J. VINYL ADDIT. TECHNOL., 21:215–219, 2015.