Kerosene resistance of asphalt binders modified with crumb rubber: solubility and rheological aspects

Due to the abandonment of coal-tar, the development of special asphalt binders is required to obtain flexible pavement with enhanced fuel resistance for use in airport systems, filling stations and industrial areas where the risk of fuel spilling exists. Considering that recent studies showed that the solubility of a bitumen in jet fuel A-1 can be significantly reduced through its modification with an appropriate polymer, the effect of crumb rubber modifier (CRM) on the fuel resistance of bitumen was investigated in this work. A simple procedure to evaluate the solubility of bitumen in kerosene was developed and used to compare the properties of CRM-based binders with those of the starting base bitumen. The obtained results showed that CRM significantly reduces the bitumen solubility in jet fuel A-1 and that complex interactions, including swelling and kerosene absorption, occur. The rheological properties of fuel processed samples were then investigated in order to outline the effects of kerosene on the binder