Selected Rheological Properties of Tall Oil Pitch Binder for Asphaltic Road Pavement Construction

Abstract

Tall oil pitch is a secondary by-product of the coniferous wood pulp industry. Its use as a pavement binder is problematic as the basic rheological properties are affected by variable chemical composition of the tall oil pitch. Synthetic blends of fatty acid, resin acid and sterol were used as model compounds for the laboratory study of the effect of chemical composition on the physical properties of tall oil pitch. A reliable empirical method has been developed to predict the key rheological properties of tall oil pitch. Tall oil pitch could thus be altered by means of compositional changes to meet the pavement engineering needs of different climatic service conditions.

Keywords:

• Pavement
• Pitch
• Rheology
• Tall oil
• Wood pulp

Acknowledgements

This study was conducted with partial funding support from the Government of Canada. The skilful technical assistance of Alice Obermajer and Brian Wong, and the technical cooperation from BC Chemicals Limited are greatly appreciated.