Performance Evaluation of Porous Asphalt Mixture Reinforced with Waste Cellulose Acetate Fibers

Cellulose acetate fiber (CAF), a typical waste product derived from cigarette filters, has attracted growing attention for its potential reuse in asphalt materials. However, its application in porous asphalt (PA) mixtures remains underexplored. This study investigates the effects of CAF on the performance of asphalt binders and PA-13 mixtures through a series of laboratory tests. The results demonstrate that CAF significantly enhances the high-temperature rheological performance of asphalt binders. A 1% CAF content improved the low-temperature rheological performance of asphalt binder, while a higher CAF content resulted in performance degradation. A fatigue life analysis revealed a parabolic relationship with CAF content with the optimal Nf50 observed at a 1% CAF-a 4.3% increase over the original binder. Compared to 3% lignin fiber (LF)-modified binders, 3% CAF-modified binders exhibited reduced temperature sensitivity in high-temperature performance, at least a 4.6% improvement in low-temperature performance and an 8.4% increase in the fatigue life. As for PA-13 mixtures, the incorporation of CAF progressively improved rutting, moisture and stripping resistance with increasing CAF content, achieving the highest dynamic stability, highest tensile strength ratio and lowest mass loss rate at 5% CAF. The low-temperature performance and fatigue life (S = 0.45) of PA-13 mixtures exhibited a parabolic trend, peaking at 3% CAF. Moreover, the 3% CAF-modified PA-13 mixture demonstrated improved low-temperature performance and fatigue resistance, while exhibiting a slight decrease in high-temperature stability, water resistance and resistance to disintegration. Overall, CAF is a viable alternative to LF for improving the durability and service life of asphalt pavements.