Boral has unveiled a proprietary crumbed rubber asphalt bitumen using off road (OTR) tyres in what is understood to be an Australian first.
Boral paved 7000sqm of local roads using 10,000 kilograms of OTR-derived crumbed rubber sourced from vehicles from Boral’s West Burleigh Quarry. The equivalent of 25 large earthmover tyres were used. This road demonstration is believed to be the first-known use in Australia of OTR tyres in asphalt mix.
The usage of the crumbed rubber from OTR tyres of heavy-duty industrial vehicles replaces common crumbed rubber. Test results have shown it has a higher cracking resistance and extends the life of pavements by up to two times that of conventional road treatment.
The new product comes six months after Boral’s involvement in an Australian Flexible Pavement Association (AfPA)-funded project with Tyre Stewardship Australia, which aimed to find the optimum OTR-derived asphalt mix to create more sustainable and resilient roads. Boral then partnered with Sunshine Coast Council to conduct a road demonstration across three sites to measure against different traffic conditions: Railway Parade in Glass House Mountains, Spalls Road in Diddillibah, and Perlan Street in Nambour.
“We are pleased to be leaders in construction material innovation and bring to market our high-binder crumb rubber asphalt surfacing derived from Off the Road tyres. Finding ways to be more sustainable and drive a more circular economy is central to what we do at Boral,” Boral executive general manager for asphalt Richard Pearson said.
“Our successful engagement with Sunshine Coast Council, AfPA and Tyre Stewardship Australia led to the creation of this new product that will provide increased circularity benefits to the community – diverting tyres away from landfill and into new recycled products. Our operations will also benefit from reduced emissions from asphalt manufacturing and the reuse of end-of-life OTR and truck tyres from Boral sites.”
Boral’s high-binder crumbed rubber asphalt surfacing uses end-of-life OTR tyres sourced from front-end loaders and quarry haul dump truck vehicles from Boral sites. Crumbed rubber in asphalt can prolong the lifeof pavements due to its anti-oxidation properties; oxidation from UV is the primary failure mode of residential roads. Approximately two-thirds of an OTR tyre is recovered for Boral’s crumbed rubber mix, equating to approximately 400 kilograms per tyre.
According to the company, Boral’s OTR-derived crumbed rubber asphalt provides increased road performance and longevity, benefiting customers and road-users alike. According to Boral, there is a significant reduction in maintenance such as crack sealing and patching during the lifecycle of the road which minimises cost and disruption to the community. The product also provides broader sustainability and emission-reduction benefits.
“We look forward to seeing the building and construction industry continue to innovate. We welcome more councils and all levels of government to embed recycled materials into their projects, including the use of crumbed rubber asphalt roads,” Pearson said.
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