Plastic becomes sustainable new material for road construction

A second asphalt paving project in Ontario, Canada has once again demonstrated the potential of using recycled plastics in road construction projects
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The brainchild of Nova Chemicals Corporation and GreenMantra Technologies, the project integrates 700,000 plastic bags from post-consumer recycled plastic materials into two roads and a parking lot at the construction site of Nova Chemicals' newest polyethylene manufacturing plant near Sarnia in
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GreenMantra is an advanced recycling company whose technology upgrades post-consumer and post-industrial recycled plastics into specialty waxes and polymer additives
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The company says the materials are ideal for use in roofing, plastic products and asphalt, an emerging area of ​​plastic material reuse
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The Nova Chemicals paving project incorporates a polymer additive that it says improves the performance of asphalt, making roads stronger and more durable
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The first project, completed in 2020, will focus on a field paving trial conducted by Nova Chemicals in partnership with GreenMantra, in which the amount of plastic used is equivalent to 118,000 plastic bags
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During the trial, the behavior of the product relative to the Canadian climate and the environmental impact of freeze-thaw cycles, UV light and moisture were evaluated
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The tests also examined the performance of the modified bitumen under heavy construction equipment loads
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Asphalt companies often use modifiers, such as GreenMantra's wax, to help make the asphalt more resistant to rutting and cracking, increasing the durability and longevity of the pavement
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Following the positive results of the pilot, a second project was launched
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GreenMantra's specialty polymers are certified as 100% recycled content and can replace virgin polymers in industrial products, reducing carbon footprints and improving the sustainability and performance of end products
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Nova Chemicals is currently constructing a second advanced SCLARTECH technology polyethylene production facility (AST2) in Rokeby (the plant for the new paving project), located near its Corunna plant
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In addition, the company is expanding the ethylene capacity of the existing cracker in Colonna by more than 50% to provide ethylene feedstock for the new plant
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