Rheological and Physical Properties of Aged Bitumen Rejuvenated by Biobitumen

Scientific and technical developments toward improving bio-oil are under investigation, with an emphasis on research into upgrading bio-oil bitumen. The current study presents a new development of eco-friendly bio-oil bitumen produced using some local materials as well as studying its physical and rheological properties. Two bitumen sources with penetration grade of 40/50 were used, Dora and Nasiriyah, which were locally obtained from Dora and Nasiriyah refineries in Iraq. Biobitumen was prepared by vacuum distillation after esterification of waste cooking oil, which was freely collected from local households and cafeterias. Methanol, sulfuric acid (as a catalyst agent), and zeolite were used in the biobitumen preparation process. Physical and rheological properties were tested in evaluating the performance. The physical tests included viscosity, softening point, and penetration, and the rheological properties involved sweep frequency and creep tests using a dynamic shear rheometer (DSR). Three percentages (10%, 20%, and 30%) of biobitumen were blended with aged petroleum bitumen, which was obtained from excessive aging of the virgin bitumen by thin-film oven test (TFOT). It was found that a ratio of 1∶5 of biobitumen and aged petroleum bitumen exhibited the best performance. Results also highlighted that the new modified bitumen with biobitumen showed superior performance compared with that of traditional bitumen, taking into consideration the influence of biobitumen percentage and level of the age of the virgin bitumen. The current development and outcomes of the study can be considered as promising and encouraging for further investigations into sustainable and environmentally friendly production.