Mechanical Performance Assessment of a Hot-Mix Asphalt Modified with Biochar Obtained from Pine Wood Shavings

Diverse types of waste are generated during the sawmilling process. One of them is pine wood shavings (PWSs). This waste can be transformed by pyrolysis into biochar (BC) to produce a sustainable material that can serve as an asphalt binder modifier. In this study, a BC produced with PWS as biomass (BC-PWS) was used to modify the properties of an asphalt cement (AC). This type of BC has not been investigated as a modifier of ACs and asphalt mixtures. Three BC-PWS contents were used for this purpose (BC/AC = 5, 10, and 15% by weight). Conventional characterization tests such as penetration, softening point, and rotational viscosity were performed on the unmodified and modified ACs. Rheological properties were also evaluated at high and intermediate temperatures, and observations were made with a scanning electron microscope (SEM). The modified BC/AC = 10% binder was chosen to manufacture a hot-mix asphalt (HMA). Marshall, indirect tensile strength—ITS, Cantabro, resilient modulus (RM), permanent deformation, and fatigue resistance (under stress-controlled mode) tests were performed on the HMA. The Tensile Strength Ratio (TSR) parameter was determined from ITS tests. BC-PWS is a promising material as an AC modifier from the technical-environmental point of view, which tends to enhance the evaluated properties of AC and HMA (monotonic load, rutting, fatigue, moisture damage, and raveling resistance), without resorting to increases in asphalt content or increases in mixing and compaction temperatures.