EFFECT OF WASTE ENGINE OIL AND NANOCLAY I28E ON THE TECHNICAL PROPERTIES OF BITUMEN

Abstract

Each year, a significant amount of used oil is discharged from vehicle engines. Once disposed of, it is
collected and repurposed for various applications, mainly for recycling. Recycling waste oil at unregulated
facilities is challenging to monitor and can lead to environmental pollution. As waste oils from vehicle
engines blend well with bitumen, an experiment utilized them directly in concentrations of 0, 5, 10, 15,
and 20 wt% (by weight) to alter bitumen and create a novel material. However, excessive use of used oil
from vehicle engines (above 15 or 20%) for bitumen modification leads to excessive flexibility, substantial
decreases in softening temperature, and flammability, thereby compromising the quality of the modified
bitumen. The project tackled this issue by adding 1 wt% of nanoclay I28E to the bitumen modification and
utilizing waste engine oil, thereby reducing environmental emissions. Modified bitumen meets all physical
and chemical requirements for transportation industry applications.