An effective waste management approach from nano agricultural waste ashes in asphalt mixture binder

This study investigates the utilisation of nano-scale agricultural waste ashes, including rice husk ash, sugarcane bagasse ash and wheat straw ash, as sustainable modifiers for asphalt binder and mixtures. Agricultural waste disposal poses significant environmental challenges, while conventional asphalt pavements suffer from rutting, fatigue and moisture damage. The waste ashes were processed using ball milling to obtain nano-sized particles and incorporated into asphalt binder at different proportions. A comprehensive experimental programme, including binder characterisation, rheological analysis and mixture performance tests, was conducted. The results indicate that nano agricultural waste ashes significantly improve stiffness, rutting resistance and moisture damage resistance of asphalt systems. However, excessive wheat straw ash content (6%) leads to reduced dispersion stability and performance. Overall, the study demonstrates that nano agricultural waste ashes can serve as effective and sustainable asphalt modifiers, contributing to improved pavement performance and waste reutilisation.