Sripath Asia-PAc’s ReLIXER® asphalt rejuvenator is among the leading global rejuvenation technologies, with more than a decade of application to show for it. The pioneers behind ReLIXER sit down with Roads & Infrastructure to explain more.
While it may seem like a blanket statement, the use of RAP (Recycled Asphalt Pavement) is increasing globally day by day.
Australia in particular has seen an influx of RAP applications over the past decade, becoming the largest source of recycled material used to replace conventional materials nationally, according to a report by Infrastructure Australia.
While asphalt can be fully recycled, asphalt mixes exceeding 25 per cent RAP are typically dosed with an asphalt rejuvenator to help restore the functionality of the aged RAP binder.
It’s here that Sripath has shone, providing guidance and products that have led to more sustainable outcomes nationally while also helping to support greater sustainability in North America, Asia, Europe, and South America.
John Riccardi, Customer Service Manager at Sripath Asia-Pac, says the company’s philosophy is as simple, as it is critical.
“Sripath has close to 20 years of experience in being a customer-centric organisation,” Riccardi says. “We are proud of our ability to handle complex logistical situations and provide top-notch customer service and technical support to our Australian customers.”
ReLIXER, the company’s asphalt rejuvenator, has helped contractors worldwide reduce their costs and carbon footprint for more than a decade without sacrificing roadway performance and durability.
Comprising a blend of green bio-based oils, ReLIXER helps to restore functional balance of aged bitumen in RAP, reducing the need for virgin bitumen and aggregates.
Jill McConaghie, Marketing Specialist at Sripath, says the difference in outcomes can be night and day when ReLIXER is or isn’t used.
“Every region of the world does it differently, but the end result is the same,” she says. “You can utilise higher levels of RAP when you have an effective rejuvenator like ReLIXER in your pocket.
“When you utilise a high RAP mix, and you add a rejuvenator like ReLIXER, you get a roadway with a performance similar to or better than a roadway without RAP.”
ReLIXER not only supports sustainability by allowing the use of higher levels of RAP in an asphalt mix; it is also sustainably produced. It’s highly dosage efficient, with production also leaving no burden on food sources.
It was essential to Sripath that the company take a transparent and accountable approach to the sustainable production of environmentally conscious products like ReLIXER.
That’s why ReLIXER, among several other Sripath products, has an independently verified Environmental Product Declaration available to view anytime on its website.
In addition to production considerations, Sripath Technologies also sought to deliver a product that was as user-friendly as it was versatile, as Ravi Rajagopalan, General Manager of Sripath Asia-Pac, explains.
“ReLIXER is highly efficient at low dosing levels, easy to incorporate in a mix plant, non-hazardous, and safe to handle,” he says. “Our customers are routinely utilising ReLIXER with a range of conventional and PMB (polymer modified) binders to pave high-RAP mixes on roadways in Australia.”
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Proof in the pavement
ReLIXER’s qualities have been tested with several field projects aiming to demonstrate the product’s effectiveness.
Just one of these was a project led by the Australian Flexible Pavement Association (AfPA), which organised a national pavement rehabilitation project in Queensland to evaluate the use of high-RAP mixes dosed with a rejuvenator.
The trial was conducted on Hymix Road, a quarry road in Gaven, Queensland and involved several major stakeholders, including Austroads, the City of Gold Coast, Fulton Hogan, and RMIT University.
The selected road featured pavement ranging from good to poor condition, with the surface having to cater for large machinery, and with heavy vehicles making up 60 per cent of vehicle traffic on the connection.
“The whole idea of the project was to demonstrate that ReLIXER works with local materials, gives you the benefit you’re looking for, using local standards and local materials, on top of being tested by local labs,” McConaghie says.
The project used a mix of 40 per cent RAP, an A15E PMB binder, and a rejuvenator to pave a wearing course on the road.
ReLIXER performed strongly, exemplifying the rejuvenator’s ability to adjust to different regional testing standards, meet viscosity requirements, and enable more environmentally friendly road construction methods in the future.
“It was a very robust study, in the sense that we not only wanted to do a project to lay down some of the product onto a roadway, but we also wanted to look at the durability and do some follow-up studies,” McConaghie says.
Professor Filippo Giustozzi, Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology, says that projects in Australia and across the globe continue to validate Sripath’s claims, and that the product is among the leading rejuvenator technologies available.
“Sripath has tremendous amount of technical data evaluating the impact of ReLIXER on the performance of asphalt mixes and roadways around the globe,” he says.
“High-RAP mixes dosed with ReLIXER, consistently show superior fracture toughness and demonstrate long-term ageing performance.
“Asphalt mixes properly dosed with ReLIXER meet or exceed established specifications.
“It is gratifying to now have customers in Australia who are regularly using high-RAP mixes dosed with ReLIXER,” says Rajagopalan.
This article was originally published in the June edition of our magazine. To read the magazine, click here.
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