Asphalt mix plant with the heat recovery technology

The production of asphalt mix is an energy-consuming process where energy is expended to dry the aggregate and heat the mix ingredients up to the required process temperature. The large proportion of heat used in the dying process in the form of hot air is then lost. Furthermore, traditional asphalt mixing methods use large amounts of mineral constituents as aggregate. This study presents the results of research and development efforts aimed at building an asphalt mix plant implementing the novel technology of mixing asphalt with 90 % (Reclaimed Asphalt Pavement) content. Application of a 2-stage drying process, dedicated heat recovery installation and the use of a WMA (warm mix asphalt) technology produced an asphalt mixing plant where the fuel oil consumption could be considerably reduced. The paper summarizes the efforts aimed at the development and building of the asphalt mixing plant, laboratory testing of the key plant modules and construction of the pilot installation where the first phase of the mixing process took place.