VOL. 8, NO.

4, APRIL 2013

ISSN 1819-6608

ARPN Journal of Engineering and Applied Sciences

2006-2013 Asian Research Publishing Network (ARPN). All rights reserved.

www.arpnjournals.com

EFFECT OF POLYTHENE MODIFIED BITUMEN ON PROPERTIES

OF HOT MIX ASPHALT
Mutiu Akinpelu1, Bamidele I. O. Dahunsi1, Oladipupo Olafusi1, Olufemi Awogboro1 and Adedeji Quadri2
2

1
University of Ibadan, Ibadan, Nigeria
Nigerian Building and Road Research Institute, Otta, Nigeria
E-Mail: madelodun@yahoo.com

ABSTRACT
The continuous increase in road traffic couple with an insufficient degree of maintenance due to shortage of funds
has caused an accelerated and continuous deterioration of the road network in Nigeria. To alleviate this process, several
types of measures are reported to be effective, for instance, securing funds for maintenance, improved roadway design, use
of better quality of materials and the use of more effective construction methods. Improving the quality of materials used in
road construction had been shown to improve road service performance in the wake of the increase usage. Practical
experience over the last four decades have shown that the modification of the bituminous binder with polymer additives
offers several benefits in asphalt concrete and has been tested in a number of countries around the World. The use of
polythene materials for pure water sachet in the country has received a great boost due to its abundant supply and high
resistance to insects, fungi, animals, as well as molds, mildew, rot and many chemicals. However the disposal of the waste
polythene materials in large quantities has been a problem all over the country. This study was therefore designed to
investigate the effect of polythene as contained in pure water sachet in the asphalt concrete properties. Polythene was
added in grinded state as binder modifier. It was introduced to the mixture by melting it in the bitumen used in preparing
the asphalt concrete mix. Marshall Mix design method was used, first to determine the optimum bitumen binder content
and then further to test the modified mixture properties. In total, 17 samples were prepared (10 samples were used to
determine the binder content and the remaining samples were used to investigate the effect of modifying the asphalt
mixtures). The optimum asphalt content was 7.0%. Six proportions of polyethylene by weight of the optimum binder
content were selected to be tested (2.5, 5.0, 7.5, 10, 12.5 and 15%). The properties tested include bulk density, stability and
flow of the concrete mix. The obtained optimum proportion of the modifier is 12.5% by the weight of the optimum
bitumen content. It is found to increase the stability, reduce the density and slightly reduce the flow of asphalt concrete
specimen. Findings from this study suggest that polythene modifier offers better engineering properties and its usage as
bitumen modifier could serve as a means of managing the waste menace.
Keywords: waste polythene, bituminous binder, asphalt mixture, optimum binder content, bulk density, stability, flow.

1. INTRODUCTION
The use of polyethylene materials for pure water
sachet in the country has received a great boost due to its
abundant supply and high resistance to insects, fungi,
animals, as well as molds, mildew, rot and many
chemicals. However the disposal of the waste polythene
materials in large quantities has been a problem all over
the country. These polythene break down in fire and form
hazardous smoke, and toxic fumes or ash, typically
containing hydrogen cyanide. Incinerating polythene to
recover the high energy used to create them is usually
expensive, so most of this polythene reaches the garbage
dumps, decaying very slowly. Some recycling is done on
them, usually creating pellets for reuse in the industry, but
this is done at a much lower scale. The mixing up of these
waste pure water sachets with other bio-degradable
organic waste materials in the garbage of the urban areas
is another problem of great concern. As a result, more
research need to be focused towards a better way of
managing these waste materials, so as to eliminate the
problems usually encountered in the present disposal
method.
In case it is possible to find useful application for
the waste polythene materials, there will be substantial
scrap value for this waste product and therefore they will

be collected and sold by interested persons, instead of

being littered or thrown out in the waste bins or into the
road side drains. Asphalt concrete is a composite material
commonly used in construction projects such as road
surfaces, airports and parking lots. It consists of bitumen,
used as a binder and mineral aggregate mixed together,
then lay down in layers and compacted [1].
The amount of aggregate in asphalt concrete
mixtures is generally 90 to 95 percent by weight and 75 to
85 percent by volume and they are primarily responsible
for the load supporting capacity of a pavement. The
binder, usually penetration grade bitumen is a viscoelastic
material with suitable mechanical and rheological
properties for waterproofing and protective coverings for
roofs and roads, because of its good adhesion properties to
aggregates [2, 3, 4, 5].
Ordinarily, the binder constitutes 5 to 10 percent
by weight of the concrete mixture and different grades like
30/40, 60/70 and 80/ 100 are available on the basis of their
penetration values.
The performance of the road pavement is strongly
influenced by the properties of the bituminous binder as
bitumen is the continuous phase and the only deformable
component [6]. However, Roads produced with bitumen
binders are subjected to many harsh environmental

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ISSN 1819-6608

ARPN Journal of Engineering and Applied Sciences

2006-2013 Asian Research Publishing Network (ARPN). All rights reserved.

www.arpnjournals.com
conditions such as heavy traffic loading, ingress of water,
chemical attack and widely fluctuating temperatures.
Conventional bitumen often cannot provide the desired
resistance to these conditions so modification of the
bitumen properties becomes necessary. Though, some
improvements in asphalt properties have been achieved by
selecting the proper starting crude to make asphalt.
Unfortunately, there are only a few crudes that can
produce very good asphalts suitable for paving
applications [6, 7].
However, practical experience over the last four
decades has shown that the modification of the asphalt
binder with polymer additives, offers several benefits.
These include improved adhesion and cohesion properties,
enhanced fatigue resistance, improved thermal stress
cracking, decrease in temperature susceptibility and
reduction of rutting [8, 9, 10]. As a result, bitumen
modified with polymers is a common means of providing
optimally performing pavement. This work aims to
determine the effect of polythene modified bitumen on the
properties of hot mix asphalt.
2. MATERIALS AND METHODS
The materials used for the purpose of this
research were Waste Polythene nylons, Bitumen (80/100),
and Aggregates. Waste polythene nylons were collected
from the canteens of residential hostels within the
University of Ibadan (namely Awo hall canteen, Zik hall
canteen and Independence hall canteen). The collected
wastes were sorted, de-dusted, washed when necessary
and sun-dried for few days until all the samples were dry.
The dried samples of the waste polythene were shredded
into sizes between 0.6mm to 2.36mm in the shredding
machine to increase its surface area of contact with the
bitumen during blending. Generally, polymer utilization in
asphalt concrete could be in form of aggregate or binder
modifier. For the purpose of this research, polythene
material was used as binder modifier. The modified
bitumen was prepared by heating bitumen with shredded
polythene of sizes between 0.6mm to 2.36mm. Six
proportion of polythene content (2.5, 5, 7.5, 10, 12.5 and
15%) by weight of bitumen were considered. The mixture
was continuously steered until a uniform blend was
achieved at 265oC.
Traditionally, graduation requirements are so
broad that they permit the use of paving mixtures ranging
from coarse to fine and to either low or high stability. To
further complicate matters, different combinations of sieve
sizes are specified to control specific grading ranges.
The coarse and fine aggregates used were crushed
granite and sand materials respectively, stone dust were
used as filler materials, all collected from the yard of
Lagos State Public Works Department.
Sieve analysis was performed using mechanical
shaker. The sieve sizes range between 0.075mm to 19mm.
The weight retained on each sieve was measured and
recorded. Percentage passing each size was calculated.
Graph of percentage weight passing against sieve size was
plotted to see if the selected aggregates fall within the

specified envelop. Trial mixes were made to combine the

coarse and fine aggregates to obtain an all-in combined
grading satisfying the specification.
In order to determine the effect of modified
binder on the properties of asphalt concrete, it is necessary
to carry out mix design to determine the optimum bitumen
content for the mix using unmodified bitumen as the
binder. Marshall Mix design method for designing hot
asphalt concrete mixtures, designated as (ASTM
Designation: D 6927-06) using manual compaction was
used.
The performance of an asphalt mixture is based
on the determination of the correct proportion of aggregate
and bitumen. To determine the optimum bituminous
content that would produce asphalt concrete mixtures with
strength and durability properties that meet the standard
specifications. 10 samples each of 1200 gram in weight
were prepared according to the proposed mix design. Two
samples were used to prepare asphalt mixtures with onebitumen content. The average values of two samples for
the Unit Weight, Bulk Specific Gravity, Marshall Stability
and Flow properties for each binder content was
determined. Five binder contents were considered (4, 5, 6,
7 and 8%). All examined asphalt concrete mixtures were
prepared in accordance with the standard 50-blows.
Density and Bulk Specific Gravity of specimens
of compacted asphalt mixtures were determined in
accordance with AASHTO T 166.
The Marshall Stability and Flow test was done to
determine the Marshall stability and Flow values of
bituminous mixture as per ASTM D 6927-06. The
principle of this test is that Marshall Stability is the
resistance to plastic flow of cylindrical specimens of a
bituminous mixture loaded on the lateral surface. It is the
load carrying capacity of the mix at 60oC and is measured
in Newton.
The Optimum Asphalt Binder content was finally
selected based on the combined results of Marshall
Stability, Flow and density analysis. Optimum asphalt
binder content was arrived at in the following procedures:
a)

The following graphs were plotted:

Bulk density content vs. Asphalt binder content

Marshall Stability vs. Asphalt binder content.
Flow vs. Asphalt binder content.

b) Optimum asphalt binder content satisfying the

maximum stability and bulk density, as well as the
required minimum air void was selected from the
graphs.
c) The modified binders (2.5, 5, 7.5, 10, 12.5 and 15%
replacement by weight of the bitumen) were used to
prepare six samples of asphalt concrete according to the
mix design following the standard procedures explained
above. The modified binders were applied at optimum
bitumen content for all the specimens and the samples
were tested for Marshall Stability, Flow and Density to

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ISSN 1819-6608

ARPN Journal of Engineering and Applied Sciences

2006-2013 Asian Research Publishing Network (ARPN). All rights reserved.

www.arpnjournals.com
observe the effect of polythene modified binder on the
properties of the specimen.

Marshall Stability is 4440 N at 7% bitumen content and

the corresponding flow value is 3.5mm.

3. RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS

3.1. Sieve analysis result
From Figure-1 below, it can be observed that the
selected aggregates gradation fall within the standard
specified envelope for hot asphalt mix design.

Figure-3 Marshall Stability against bitumen content

Figure-1 Gradation curve for the aggregates

3.2. Marshall Mix design result
The result of bulk density test carried out on the
specimens prior to marshal stability test is presented
graphically on Figure-2 below. The graph of bulk density
against percentage bitumen content is plotted to obtain the
maximum bulk density and the corresponding bitumen
content. The maximum bulk density is 1.830 gm/cm3
which correspond to bitumen content of 7.0%.

Figure-4 Flow against bitumen content

The summary of Marshall Test results is given in
Table-1 below. The optimum bitumen content for the mix
should give maximum stability and bulk density with flow
value within the specified values. The optimum bitumen
content is 7% by weight of the aggregates.
Table-1 Summary of Marshall Mix design result
Standard specification

Measured
property

Marshall
test result

Minimum

Maximum

Stability (N)

4440

3336

---

Flow (mm)
Bulk density
(gm/cm3)

3.5

1.83

---

---

Figure-2 Bulk density against percentage bitumen content

The values of Marshall Stability and flow for the
specimens were read directly from Marshall Apparatus.
The gauge readings were multiplied by the machine
constant to obtain the stability in Newton and the results
were corrected based on the specimens thickness using
the values given in Table-1 of ASTM D 6927-06
(Standard Test Method for Marshall Stability and Flow of
Bituminous Mixtures). The results are summarized
graphically below; from the graphs below, the Maximum

3.3. Effect of polythene modified bitumen on the

properties of asphalt concrete
Seven samples of asphalt concrete mixtures at the
designed mix were prepared to test the effect of adding
waste polythene material on the mix. Polythene was
added, as binder modifier, to six samples by considering
the six proportions of polythene (2.5, 5, 7.5, 10, 12.5 and
15%) replacement by weight of the optimum bitumen
content. The samples were tested for bulk density,
Stability and flow. The results are presented in the
following section.

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VOL. 8, NO. 4, APRIL 2013

ISSN 1819-6608

ARPN Journal of Engineering and Applied Sciences

2006-2013 Asian Research Publishing Network (ARPN). All rights reserved.

www.arpnjournals.com
The bulk densities of the sample were calculated
as follows:
(1)

The maximum bulk density is found when the

polythene content is around 10% and the trend shows that
the bulk density increased as the modifier content
increases until it reaches the highest bulk density of 1.85
gm/cm3 and started to decline significantly afterwards.

Where
Gmb = Bulk Density of the specimen
A = Weight of sample in the air, gms.
B = Weight of sample in water, gms.
C = Weight of specimen surface dried, gms
The bulk densities of the asphalt concrete
containing polythene were lower than that of the control
concrete mixture (1.87 gm/cm3) for all polythene
percentages (Figure-5). This is due to lower specific
gravity of polythene. This observation was confirmed [11]
in his study of the effect of high density polyethylene on
permanent deformation of Asphalt concrete. [12] Also
agreed with the result.

Figure-5 Bulk density against polythene percentage

Table-2 Bulk density of polythene modified asphalt concrete specimen

% Polythene

Sample description

0.0

2.5

5.0

7.5

10.0

12.5

15.0

64

66

73

62

71

67

70

Wt of sample in air (gms), A

1257.3

1162.1

1288.5

1136.2

1214.6

1216.0

1240.0

Wt of sample in water (gms), B

584.9

519.0

576.6

515.5

560.2

548.0

552.1

Wt of sample surface dried (gms), C

1258.8

1162.7

1290.0

1137.8

1217.5

1219.0

1246.3

C-B

673.9

643.7

713.4

622.3

657.3

671.0

694.2

Bulk density, Gmb (gm/cc)

1.866

1.805

1.806

1.826

1.848

1.812

1.786

Thickness (mm)

Table-3 Marshall Stability and flow properties of polythene modified asphalt concrete
Polythene
%

Thickness
(mm)

Gauge
reading
(load)

Proving ring
constant 24
(N)

Stability
loads (N)

Correction
ratio

Corrected
stability
(N)

Flow
(mm)

64

185

24

4440

1.00

4440

3.50

2.5

66

271

24

6505

0.93

6050

3.30

73

354

24

8494

0.81

6880

3.1

7.5

62

294

24

7048

1.04

7330

3.00

10

71

459

24

11024

0.83

9150

3.10

12.5

67

411

24

9871

0.93

9180

2.90

15

70

431

24

10349

0.86

8900

2.80

For all polythene percentages, the stabilities of

the modified asphalt concrete mixtures were higher than
the conventional asphalt concrete mixture - no modifier
(4440 N). Since cohesion increases with viscosity, the
high stabilities may be attributed to higher cohesion of the
binder and improved internal friction. The highest stability
(9180 N) was reported for modifier content of 12.5% and

started declining afterwards. The trend supports the

observations of [11, 12]
The improvement in stability of polythene
modified asphalt due to increase adhesion and cohesion
properties of the binder will enhance higher fatigue
resistance, improved thermal stress cracking, decrease in
temperature susceptibility and reduction of rutting as
observed by [8, 9, 10]

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Figure-6 Stability against polythene percentage

For all polythene percentages, the flows of the

modified asphalt concrete mixtures were lower than that of
the control - no modifier (3.5mm). This may be attributed
to the reduction in viscosity of the binder with increasing
polythene content as observed during the experiment. This
agrees with the result of [11]. [11] Noted that the reduction
in flow suggested that the polythene content has increased
effect on the internal friction of the concrete. The general
trend (Figure-7) shows that flow decreases with increasing
polythene content.
However, the above result does not agree with the
observation of [12]. [12] Observed that the flows of
asphalt concrete containing polythene were higher than
that of the control.

RECOMMENDATIONS
The benefits derivable from the use of waste
polythene in asphalt concrete cannot be over emphasized.
It will not only improve the strength and durability of the
pavement but also reduce the problems associated with the
disposal of waste polythene both in the country and other
parts of the world, as a result, the followings are
recommended:

Figure-7 Flow against polythene percentage

CONCLUSIONS
To investigate the effect of polythene modified
bitumen on the properties of hot mix asphalt concrete, a
study was conducted at the University of Ibadan, Ibadan.
The tests proceeded in two stages. Firstly, Asphalt
concrete mix design was done to determine the optimum
bitumen content for the mix. Secondly, modified binder
prepared by blending bitumen with waste polythene at
different percentages, was used to prepare asphalt concrete
specimen. The specimens were tested to observe the
effects of the modified binder.
Testing and observation of the asphalt concrete
prepared from polythene modified binder concluded that:

The bulk density of modified asphalt is lower than that

of the control due to low density of the polythene.
The bulk density of polythene modified specimen
increases with increasing polythene percentages
reaching peak value at 10% polythene content and
drops afterward.
The flow for modified asphalt concrete decreases with
increasing polythene content and the values are lower
than that of the control for all polythene percentages.
The Marshall Stability of the modified asphalt is
generally higher than that of the control reaching
maximum value at about 12.5% polythene content.
This shows about 100% increase in stability compared
to that of the control.
The optimum proportion of the binder is 12.5% by
weight of the bitumen.
The improvement in stability of the polythene
modified asphalt due to increase adhesion and
cohesion properties of the binder will enhance higher
fatigue resistance, reduce thermal stress cracking, and
decrease temperature susceptibility and reduction of
rutting.

More research is needed to verify the results and

conclusions of this work. First and foremost, other
properties of asphalt concrete such as air voids and
void filled aggregates should be tested and compared
to standard values.
The effects of aggregate gradation on polythene
modified mixtures should be examined. The limited
results of this study did not adequately determine
whether aggregate gradation plays a major role in the
behaviour of mixtures containing polythene material.
The effects of different binder grades also need to be
addressed. Binder grades determine what type of
pavement an asphalt binder can be used in. The
optimum percentage of polythene in different grades
should be determined.
The Federal and State Governments should encourage
and provide incentives for demonstration projects on
the use of waste polythene in asphalt concrete in
various locales and under differing conditions. This
would stimulate further research work on the subject
matter. Furthermore, demonstration projects are
needed to derive reliable estimates of the benefits and
impacts of the polythene modified asphalt.

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