Boral has launched an Australian-first proprietary crumbed rubber asphalt bitumen that replaces common crumbed rubber with that from Off the Road (OTR) tyres – those used for heavy-duty industrial vehicles.
The alternative asphalt mix has a higher cracking resistance and extends the life of pavements by up to two times that of conventional road treatment.
OTR tyres are designed for demanding conditions and to support heavy machinery used in construction, manufacturing, mining, agriculture, and aviation industries.
“We are pleased to be leaders in construction material innovation and bring to market our high-binder crumb rubber asphalt surfacing derived from Off the Road tyres,” Richard Pearson executive general manager Asphalt at Boral said.
Tyres range in size from less than 20cm for a forklift tyre with a rim to nearly two meters for a mining dump truck tyre.
Boral’s high-binder crumbed rubber asphalt surfacing uses end-of-life OTR tyres sourced from front-end loaders and quarry haul dump truck vehicles from Boral sites.
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Crumbed rubber in asphalt can prolong the life of pavements due to its anti-oxidation properties; oxidation from UV is the primary failure mode of residential roads.
“We are pleased to be leaders in construction material innovation and bring to market our high-binder crumb rubber asphalt surfacing derived from Off the Road tyres. Finding ways to be more sustainable and drive a more circular economy is central to what we do at Boral,” Pearson said.
Approximately two-thirds of an OTR tyre is recovered for Boral’s crumbed rubber mix, equating to approximately 400 kilograms per tyre.
Boral paved 7000 sqm of local roads using 10,000 kilograms of OTR-derived crumbed rubber sourced from vehicles from Boral’s West Burleigh Quarry.
The equivalent of 25 large earthmover tyres were used. This road demonstration marked the first-known use in Australia of OTR tyres in asphalt mix.
