Development of Mix Design for Asphalt Concrete Mixed with Plastic Waste Based on Marshall Mix Design and Dry Mixing Method

Abstract

Presently, plastic waste has become a significant problem. Unavoidably, discovering new methods to recycle those plastic wastes is still needed. Nevertheless, most plastic wastes are thermoplastics that can be effectively mixed in the hot mix asphalt process. However, there is no suitable mix design method for the asphalt concrete mixed with plastic wastes. Based on the dry mixing process, this research aimed to present a modified Marshall mix design for asphalt concrete mixed with (polyethylene, PE) and plastic. The plastic is mixed with hot aggregates before mixing with the hot asphalt cement (binder). This research focused on the study materials of asphalt concrete mixed with plastic (ACP) and asphalt concrete (AC) with no plastic added. The study results showed that following the modified Marshal mix design for ACP, the ACP using PE entirely complies with all Marshall mix design’ requirements. Compared to AC, ACP provided higher Marshall stability with lesser cement content. This modified Marshall mix design of ACP based on the dry mixing concept could be used to incorporate plastic wastes into the hot mix asphalt process in the future.