Main issues

The Upper Rhine region has a densely populated and busy regional road network, which requires large quantities of noble materials such as aggregates or bitumen from petroleum refining. These materials are used in the composition of various asphalts.
In addition to the unbonded layers of the layers linked to the various functions and lifetimes, the road construction thus has to be partially or completely milled during maintenance measurements, resulting in the production of large quantities of asphalt aggregates (AA) (some tens of thousands of tons).

These AAs must be recycled in Germany, France and Switzerland in the most efficient way possible, which on the one hand saves non-renewable resources, aggregates and bitumen and on the other hand reduces the environmental impact The production of these resources, their transport and storage. This also reduces storage costs. At present, reuse of AA is carried out either in the manufacture of asphalt (with an operating temperature of 160°C or 130°C. around which ensures good maneuverability of the material) or in cold mixtures, during which bitumen emulsions ( Regenerating) or cement (called "binder") are added. Use in binder-free layers in Germany is permitted up to a maximum of 30% of AA.

By using AAs without the addition of bituminous binder and at room temperature, the current AA recycling rate would be greatly increased, environmental impacts would be minimized (CO2 emissions, energy consumption and natural resources) and road maintenance costs would be Reduced. Thus, significant ecological and economic gains could be realized for the management bodies of low-traffic communal roads, which account for about 50% of the road network in the Upper Rhine region.