Bituminous-paving has commenced on the secondary roads that lead
off Beijing's Second Ring Road. Unlike the ring road itself, these
subsidiaries are now being paved with a revolutionary new type of
bitumen. This debut use of the new material results from an
environmental protection project associated with the bid Beijing's
2008 Olympic Games. What makes this material special is that it has
been recycled.
The extensive use now planned for the recycled bitumen should
contribute to environmental protection in the city, produce energy
savings and of course provide very necessary paving materials.
Recycled bituminous-paving is indistinguishable in appearance from
the original product and paving procedures are identical.
"Some 100,000 tons of broken-out bituminous-paving are removed from
Beijing each year," said an official from the Beijing Luxin
Bituminous Concrete Co. Ltd. "The waste used to be disposed of as
land-fill at a cost to the municipal government of 3 million yuan
(US$0.36 million) a year. Meanwhile, hundreds of thousand of tons
of bitumen are imported each year."
With accelerated development of municipal infrastructures, the
amount of bitumen used has increased dramatically. The Luxin
Company, with the support of the municipal government, has invested
in importing advanced equipment.
Extensive research was first carried out on reclaimed bitumen. This
involved crushing and grading the material, heating and adding
controlled proportions of fresh materials.
Then last year, trials using recycled bitumen proved to be a
success in Yangfangdian in Beijing. An evaluation conducted by the
Municipal Construction Committee showed that the recycled bitumen
satisfied all the required technical parameters.
The municipal government has already banned the dumping of waste
bituminous products and construction units are now required to
remove these materials to designated recycling plants.
(China.org.cn by Zhang Tingting, July 12, 2002)