Project Lanote turns old tires into an environmentally friendly paving material

"Dreamers" at "Expo Dubai"... Protect the Earth with an innovative "powder".

  • Assistant Professor of Civil Infrastructure and Environmental Engineering at Khalifa University: Dr. Michel Lanotte.

  • The "Dreamers" program is hosted by the UAE pavilion at the "Dubai Expo".

    From the source

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From the portal of the "Dreamers" program, hosted by the UAE pavilion at "Expo 2020 Dubai", the Italian, Michel Lanotte, presents an innovative project, through which he hopes to contribute to protecting the earth from the massive damage caused by the materials that pave the roads, by using Old tires, which contribute to raising the quality of roads, reducing the consumption of natural resources, reducing gas emissions and carbon footprint and their negative effects, such as pollution and global warming.

Assistant Professor of Civil Infrastructure and Environmental Engineering at Khalifa University, Dr. Michel Lanott, told "Emirates Today": "He dreams that his project, which focuses on converting old tires into better materials for paving roads, will contribute to making our planet in a better condition, in addition To inspire others to contribute in this field.”

And he sent a message to everyone who has a dream that he wants to achieve, especially in the UAE: “Do not listen to those who tell you that your dreams are unrealistic, and always rely on patience and perseverance to achieve them... I believe that the UAE is the right place to realize the dreams of young people who aspire to develop, thanks to Availability of the latest laboratories and technologies in various fields.

recycled

"The materials on the base of our platform represent two different asphalt tests, one tested on conventional asphalt, and the other is asphalt mixed with recycled tires with plastic particles that give it more rigidity," explained Lanotte, who has a PhD in road design and paving materials.

He added: “As for the materials at the top of the platform, they constitute the raw materials used to create the alternative asphalt, and a test for additional pressures on it, as the extraction, production and purification of the materials used in paving roads require huge amounts of energy, which means that they leave a high carbon footprint, which necessitates us to innovate. More sustainable solutions from an economic and environmental point of view.

He believed that the solution to this problem is "the use of asphalt that contains powder extracted from rubber tires after grinding, as it has been proven that it sticks better, lasts for a longer period, and has a lower cost, compared to traditional materials used in paving roads."

Tests

The Italian researcher continued: “The Abu Dhabi Municipality and the pavement engineering team at (Khalifa University) are conducting tests for the next few years for this new type of asphalt, along a two-kilometre stretch of the truck road between Abu Dhabi and Al Ain.

The results will also be evaluated by the University's Infrastructure Materials Laboratory.

He stressed that "work has been done on this innovative type of asphalt to keep pace with the comprehensive transport plan 2030, which requires the use of road paving materials that can withstand high temperatures, and a greater number of vehicles that pass through them, as the goal is to adopt sustainable paving materials that can raise the quality level of roads." Reducing energy consumption of natural resources, reducing gas emissions and carbon footprint, and their negative effects of pollution and global warming.”

He continued: “The project is based on replacing the synthetic and costly materials used in the production of compact bitumen with a specific polymeric substance (PMB), which is the main ingredient in the traditional asphalt used around the world, with spent rubber tires, after grinding, as only high-quality polymers are used in The production of tires, which thus means reducing the cost of producing paving materials.

The produced bitumen, which is known as rubber modified bitumen powder (CRMB), has properties and advantages equal to, or even superior to, polymer-embedded bitumen.”

• The Italian researcher confirmed that traditional paving leaves a high carbon footprint, which necessitates the creation of more sustainable solutions.

Michelle Lanotte:

• “Do not listen to those who tell you that your dreams are unrealistic, and always rely on patience and perseverance to achieve them.”

• «The UAE is the right place to realize the dreams of ambitious youth, thanks to the availability of the latest laboratories in various fields».

next step

On the details of how old tires are used in paving roads, Assistant Professor of Civil Infrastructure and Environmental Engineering at Khalifa University, Dr. Michel Lanott, said: “When using spent tire powder, it takes about 650 recycled tires to pave one kilometer of one lane of the road. In Abu Dhabi alone, more than 7,000 tons of tires were consumed in 2018, only partially recycled, for use in the local rubber industries, while the next step we are seeking is to use plastic packaging after grinding, to replace the gravel that is usually mixed with asphalt.”