Rejuvenation of asphalt shingles for the production and replacement of polymer paving grade binder

Asphalt shingle waste, exceeding 11 million tons annually, poses a significant environmental challenge. This study introduces a sustainable solution by extracting and rejuvenating the asphalt binder, transforming it into a valuable resource for road construction and new shingle production. A novel solvent-based process was developed to recover the asphalt binder, termed RASphalt, which was subsequently blended with four bio-derived rejuvenators. Comprehensive rheological, durability, and thermal analyses demonstrated the effectiveness of the rejuvenation process. The rejuvenated RASphalt exhibited exceptional performance, matching the performance of polymer-modified binder by achieving a Superpave performance grade of 64–34E. This achievement is particularly noteworthy as it demonstrates that the rejuvenated RASphalt can be used without the addition of virgin binder. Additionally, the rejuvenated RASphalt reduced global warming potential by 10 % and non-renewable cumulative energy demand by 80 % compared to traditional asphalt binders. These findings highlight the potential of rejuvenated RASphalt as a sustainable and high-performance asphalt binder. By upcycling a waste product, this approach contributes to a more circular economy and reduces the environmental impact and costs associated with raw material procurement in road construction. • New large-scale extraction and recovery of binder from Recycled Asphalt Shingles. • Bio-rejuvenators improved RAS binder, matching polymer-modified binder performance. • Upcycling shingles into a valuable binder offers a $1.5B annual economic opportunity. • Rejuvenated RASphalt reduces global warming potential by 10 % and energy demand by 80 %.