Modification of Asphalt Pavement with Polysulfide Polymer

In petrochemical industry, the production of polyvinyl chloride (PVC) is accompaniedby formation of heavy end wastes which consist of a mixture of di andmultichloro compounds as kind of materials which are generated in ethylene dichloride(EDC) purification. A high quantity of chloro compounds found in the heavyend waste allows it to be polymerized with alkaline polysulfides to form polysulfidepolymers. Thus, according to this, the environmentally hazardous heavy ends wastecan now be converted into useful polysulfide polymers without any environmentalproblem. There are some methods for synthesizing a polysulfide polymer (PSP) fromthis waste. PSP with a rubbery property can be used for modification of bitumen. Inthis research the effects of polysulfide polymer (PSP) and the polysulfide polymer preparedby heavy end waste (wPSP) on bitumen and asphalt have been studied. Samplesof 1, 3, 5% of PSP and wPSP as modifiers in bitumen have been prepared and theirphysical and mechanical properties are compared. Using this new modifier causes afall in softening point (PSP=39.5%, wPSP=27.6%) and increase in penetration point(PSP=17.8%, wPSP=15.5%) and in asphalt mixture it causes decreases in rutting buthas a small effect on Marshall strength of asphalt samples (PSP=4%, wPSP=11.6%).