How Canada’s Oilsands Can Help Build Better Roads
The future seems bleak for Canada’s oilsands.
But given the world's continued need for smoother, better roads, there's hope to help the industry expand on how it grows.
canada’s oil sands innovation alliance
Bitumen binder made from oil sands bitumen is the ideal glue to join the world's 40 million kilometers of roads together and it can be done in a sustainable, economical and environmentally friendly way..
With the global transition to electric vehicles and Canada's commitment to meet Canada's Paris Agreement obligations by reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 40% to 45% by 2030 from 2005 levels, Canada will reduce its use of fossil fuels, particularly are fossil fuels from imported and upgraded products.
Including the Alberta oil sands..
About 10% of Canada's current emissions come from the extraction and upgrading of crude bitumen from the oil sands, or about 70 million tons per year.
Globally, approximately 70 to 80 percent of greenhouse gas emissions come from burning electricity, heat, and transportation fuels, as well as industry..
Our research group has investigated the life cycle performance of asphalt pavements over the past 30 years, providing some important insights into the relative advantages of direct Alberta adhesives produced with minimal repairs and upgrades.
Producing asphalt binders from raw Alberta bitumen can reduce oil sands combustion and life-cycle greenhouse gas emissions by 40 to 60 percent..
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Lower quality asphalt leads to more maintenance
Alberta bitumen has a low wax content, making it ideal for the production of bitumen binders.
Low wax content means pavements can be reused - and recycled again - supporting a true circular economy..
Heavy traffic, extreme temperatures and inappropriate use of recycled materials to repair and rebuild old roads are shortening the lifespan of sidewalks.
Using so-called green technologies such as cheap, recyclable engine oil provides short-term gratification at the expense of long-term performance.
Green income trusts could accelerate Canada's energy transition
The use of strong adhesives by government transportation agencies is discouraged.
However, pavement cracking can be reduced by 30 to 50 percent by building roads that maximize the use of straight, salt-free Alberta adhesives.
Doing so could allow municipal, provincial and state infrastructure owners around the world to reduce construction and repair budgets, reduce travel delays and associated costs, and improve safety..
Adhesives are complex materials
Two binder components affect road life: asphalt and wax.
canada’s oil sands is about the size of what us state
Asphaltenes are large molecules that give adhesives cohesive strength and cohesive strength but prevent Flow at low temperature.
Paraffin wax is usually a natural component of bitumen, and its content depends on the source of crude oil used to make the binder..
The binder is a mixture of solid bitumen and wax in an oily substance.
When the wax content is high, the bitumen separates from the oil and packs more tightly.
High-wax adhesives harden at low temperatures, reducing adhesion and promoting cracking.
The best adhesives have the least amount of wax and have a more or less uniform composition..
Grayscale image of 3D structures that look like fragments of sponges or roots..
Environmental scanning electron microscope image showing partially evaporated filled asphaltenes from light oil.
The tough, spongy structure prevents the adhesive from flowing at low temperatures, which can eventually lead to cracking, unraveling and flaking..
Poor quality adhesives are expensive
Construction specifications for asphalt often fail to identify poorly performing binders.
Some inferior adhesives are currently used in road construction in Canada.
Oil sands crude oil has the lowest wax content of all sources and can produce high quality binders.
A long road..
Top performance for top Alberta adhesives..
All grades of Alberta adhesives perform well without additives as long as they are used with good pavement design.
However, adding PET (polyethylene terephthalate) fibers from recycled plastic bottles can significantly increase the strength of the asphalt..
For example, a 12-year-old asphalt test section in northern Ontario, manufactured with a high-quality binder from Alberta and modified with 0.
3% recycled PET fiber, has few issues today.
Expected final useful life is approximately 38 years; a significant improvement from the historical performance cycle of 15 to 25 years..
canada oil sands community
Producing asphalt binders from the Alberta oil sands could not only reduce the industry's greenhouse gas emissions by 40 to 60 percent but extend the life of pavements by 30 to 50 percent..
Demand for fuel and bitumen moves in opposite directions
Today, about 2 to 5 percent of crude oil is turned into bitumen, and the rest is upgraded to fossil fuels.
As government regulations shift toward reducing greenhouse gas emissions, companies that mine and/or produce crude oil will see reduced demand and be forced to produce products that do not require refining or burning.
In the 2050 Net Zero Scenario, light and medium crude oil cannot meet the demand for bitumen binders, making bitumen a strong contender for use as bituminous binders..
There are approximately 40 million kilometers of roads in the world, 65% of which are paved.
Asphalt paved roads are safer than unpaved roads and are more economical for heavy traffic.
The number of unpaved roads presents a huge economic opportunity globally.
Carbon pricing and credits will accelerate the asphalt transition.
If oil sands companies used about 50% of each barrel of oil sands to produce asphalt binders, Alberta will have enough bitumen to supply the global road construction industry for more than 100 years..
Innovative road construction material: asphalt emulsion
Emulsified asphalt is an excellent product in modern road construction.
As we all know, its application itself is environmentally friendly to nature.
Asphalt Pavement Emulsion suppliers are working hard to produce the best bitumen for road construction..
Major roads in India are flexible pavements made of asphalt emulsion.
Due to its flexibility, it can be easily reused during maintenance phases.
Hot mix asphalt has been widely used over the past few decades, but today the use of cold mix asphalt emulsions is gaining popularity.
Benefit from technological progress and sustainable development..
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