Chipboard low energy (ABE), with the same quality as the HMA

Alain Romier
Chairman and CEO
Fairco

Maurice Audeon
Jac David
Yves Martineau
Consultants

ABSTRACT
Kyoto agreements continue to divide the planet, even in the case of the signatory countries to define the conditions of application. Everyone tries to understand the impact on their domain of activity and their living environment. In this context is presented in this article a new technique of asphalt, the ABE process, which significantly reduces both energy consumption and the emission of greenhouse gases. Chipboard technique Low Energy (ABE, in French "à Basse Énergie Enrobage EBE") gets manufacture and put in work asphalt mixes at a temperature lower than 100ºC. These agglomerates have characteristics and equivalent to those of hot mix qualities. This technique combines the action of temperature, water and energy mixing of the components of the agglomerate, bitumen and mineral skeleton.

The originality of the procedure is to take advantage of the best possible state changes bitumen, fluid when it is hot, fit to become foam or emulsify when in contact with water. It just takes heat the coarse aggregate at a moderate temperature, the rest of the mineral skeleton is used cold and wet. This approach means saving an important part of the energy required for mixing / shell and reduces, in turn, gaseous emissions that occur. The article presents, briefly, this procedure, and place it in context.

KEYWORDS
Bituminous mixture, Chipboard low energy, hot mix, Energy saving, Environment, Wrapped arid, Greenhouse gases.