A New Asphalt Fume Generator: Development of an Original Sequential Mixing and Sampling Protocol

At a time when regulations are becoming stricter in order to control and limit occupational exposure to pollutant emissions, the road industry is no exception to this trend. One of the main pollutant sources for road workers, and the subject of several studies, is the emission of fumes by Hot Mix Asphalt (HMA) and Warm Mix Asphalt (WMA) at plants and on road sites. Whereas the previous studies concerning this topic have focused on bitumen fumes, the Laboratoire Central des Ponts et Chaussees (LCPC) and the Shell Bitumen laboratory have collaborated on the development of a new laboratory device enabling the generation and sampling of asphalt fumes. An innovative mixing and sampling experimental protocol has been developed in order to recreate the different steps undergone by HMA from the asphalt plant to the site. The new sequential method enables monitoring of the changes in concentration of the different fume components: for example, the first tests on two different HMAs show that the evolution of emission outlines may depend on the binder type. In the future, it is planned to study the impact of parameters such as manufacturing temperature, mix design or additive use on the amount and composition of asphalt fumes.