RECYCLING IN ROAD PAVEMENTS

Modern trends in the industrial sector tend towards the elimination of waste materials and byproducts, through the optimization of their use in all the industrial processes. In the area of recycling, the generic term "reuse" is used, although some concepts need to be clarified. Existing deteriorated material can be reused; its characteristics can be rehabilitated, recycled and improved. The old material can be used in the same application that it was initially used for, or as part of a new material. This means that it is possible to reuse material from the same source or from a different one. The process of reuse can be carried out through the regeneration of the material by means of simple physical processes, such as its homogenization, reclassification, and filtration, or mixture with other new or reused materials. In other cases, its original nature and behavior can be modified by adding additives of several types. When a specific technique is adopted, it is because it produces better benefits than other alternatives. Such benefits do not have to be exclusively monetary since they can include other aspects such as environmental operativeness and logistics. The objectives of recycling waste materials and by-products, making optimal use of additives, can be summarized as follows: economical and energy benefits, the avoidance of refuse pits, the decrease in the exploitation of stone-quarries and the reduction of contamination. In any case, it is necessary that the end product, for example a pavement layer, in addition to being environmentally friendly (not producing any reaction to other materials or producing leaches), have enough quality, being mechanically compatible with the remaining part of the pavement layers.