{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,4,20]],"date-time":"2026-04-20T17:16:45Z","timestamp":1776705405656,"version":"3.51.2"},"reference-count":64,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"4","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2022,2,18]],"date-time":"2022-02-18T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1645142400000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Applied Sciences"],"abstract":"<jats:p>The use of plastic waste as a bitumen extender added throughout the manufacturing process of asphalt concrete contributes value to that type of waste. Moreover, this type of polymer can improve some mechanical properties of asphalt concrete without weakening its workability and other mechanical characteristics too much. The study aimed to address these issues for four types of plastic waste, using different plastic contents added by the dry process and compared the results with a conventional mixture without plastic. A set of laboratory tests, such as volumetric parameter evaluation, the Marshall, gyratory compactor, and indirect tensile tests, repetitive four-point bending; and repetitive compression, assessed the workability and mechanical behavior of the studied materials. The results show that, although the addition of plastic waste reduces workability, the asphalt concrete retains satisfactory handling conditions. By adding plastic waste, the asphalt concrete becomes more elastic, and the stiffness values of the material are adequate to apply the material in a pavement surface layer. The resistance to fatigue cracking was at a suitable level for the asphalt mixtures studied. Adding the plastic waste in the study generally improved resistance to permanent deformation, although the performance was plastic type and content dependent.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/app12042146","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2022,2,21]],"date-time":"2022-02-21T08:14:46Z","timestamp":1645431286000},"page":"2146","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":31,"title":["Influence of Plastic Waste on the Workability and Mechanical Behaviour of Asphalt Concrete"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"12","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-2455-9859","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Mariana","family":"Fonseca","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Associa\u00e7\u00e3o CECOLAB, Collaborative Laboratory towards Circular Economy, Business Centre, Rua Nossa Senhora da Concei\u00e7\u00e3o 2, 3405-155 Oliveira do Hospital, Portugal"},{"name":"Instituto Polit\u00e9cnico de Coimbra, Instituto Superior de Engenharia de Coimbra, Rua Pedro Nunes, 3030-199 Coimbra, Portugal"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-6615-3008","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Silvino","family":"Capit\u00e3o","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Instituto Polit\u00e9cnico de Coimbra, Instituto Superior de Engenharia de Coimbra, Rua Pedro Nunes, 3030-199 Coimbra, Portugal"},{"name":"Civil Engineering Research and Innovation for Sustainability (CERIS), Instituto Superior T\u00e9cnico, Universidade de Lisboa, Av. Rovisco Pais 1, 1049-001 Lisboa, Portugal"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-5193-4896","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Arminda","family":"Almeida","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Departamento de Engenharia Civil, Faculdade de Ci\u00eancias e Tecnologia, Universidade de Coimbra, Rua Lu\u00eds Reis Santos\u2014Polo II, 3030-788 Coimbra, Portugal"},{"name":"CITTA Centro de Investiga\u00e7\u00e3o do Territ\u00f3rio, Transportes e Ambiente, Faculdade de Engenharia da Universidade do Porto, Rua Dr. Roberto Frias, 4200-465 Porto, Portugal"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-2072-3188","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Lu\u00eds","family":"Picado-Santos","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Civil Engineering Research and Innovation for Sustainability (CERIS), Instituto Superior T\u00e9cnico, Universidade de Lisboa, Av. Rovisco Pais 1, 1049-001 Lisboa, Portugal"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2022,2,18]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","unstructured":"Plastics Europe (2021, December 30). \u2018Plastics Europe\u2019. Available online: https:\/\/plasticseurope.org\/."},{"key":"ref_2","unstructured":"(2021, December 30). Pacto Portugu\u00eas Para os Pl\u00e1sticos. \u2018Relat\u00f3rio de Progresso do Pacto Portugu\u00eas para os Pl\u00e1sticos\u2019. Available online: www.pactoplasticos.pt."},{"key":"ref_3","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"124355","DOI":"10.1016\/j.jclepro.2020.124355","article-title":"Repurposing waste plastics into cleaner asphalt pavement materials: A critical literature review","volume":"280","author":"Wu","year":"2021","journal-title":"J. Clean. Prod."},{"key":"ref_4","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"124369","DOI":"10.1016\/j.jclepro.2020.124369","article-title":"Systematic literature review, meta-analysis and artificial neural network modelling of plastic waste addition to bitumen","volume":"280","author":"Vargas","year":"2021","journal-title":"J. Clean. Prod."},{"key":"ref_5","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"120704","DOI":"10.1016\/j.conbuildmat.2020.120704","article-title":"Low temperature performance characteristics of polyethylene modified asphalts\u2014A review","volume":"264","author":"Du","year":"2020","journal-title":"Constr. Build. Mater."},{"key":"ref_6","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"746","DOI":"10.1080\/14680629.2013.876443","article-title":"Effect of high density polyethylene on the fatigue and rutting performance of hot mix asphalt\u2014A laboratory study","volume":"15","author":"Nejad","year":"2014","journal-title":"Road Mater. Pavement Des."},{"key":"ref_7","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"117253","DOI":"10.1016\/j.conbuildmat.2019.117253","article-title":"Performance of AC mixtures containing flakes of LDPE plastic film collected from urban waste considering ageing","volume":"232","author":"Almeida","year":"2020","journal-title":"Constr. Build. Mater."},{"key":"ref_8","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"311","DOI":"10.1016\/j.conbuildmat.2011.08.031","article-title":"A technique to dispose waste plastics in an ecofriendly way\u2014Application in construction of flexible pavements","volume":"28","author":"Vasudevan","year":"2012","journal-title":"Constr. Build. Mater."},{"key":"ref_9","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"239","DOI":"10.1016\/j.conbuildmat.2018.04.067","article-title":"Sustainable use of waste in flexible pavement: A review","volume":"180","author":"Gautam","year":"2018","journal-title":"Constr. Build. Mater."},{"key":"ref_10","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"703","DOI":"10.1002\/etc.4371","article-title":"Rethinking microplastics as a diverse contaminant suite","volume":"38","author":"Rochman","year":"2019","journal-title":"Environ. Toxicol. Chem."},{"key":"ref_11","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"145758","DOI":"10.1016\/j.scitotenv.2021.145758","article-title":"A comparative review of microplastics and nanoplastics: Toxicity hazards on digestive, reproductive and nervous system","volume":"774","author":"Yin","year":"2021","journal-title":"Sci. Total Environ."},{"key":"ref_12","unstructured":"Giustozzi, F., Xuan, D.L., Enfrin, M., Masood, H., Audy, R., and Boom, Y. (2021, December 30). Use of Road-grade Recycled Plastics for Sustainable Asphalt Pavements: Towards the Selection of Road-grade Plastics\u2014An Evaluation Framework and Preliminary Experimental Results\u2019, Austroads, Sydney, Austroads Publication No. AP-R663-21. Available online: https:\/\/austroads.com.au\/publications\/pavement\/ap-r648-21\/media\/AP-R648-21_Use_of_road-grade_recycled_plastics_for_sustainable_asphalt_pavements.pdf."},{"key":"ref_13","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"463","DOI":"10.1016\/j.jclepro.2019.04.111","article-title":"Carbon dioxide emissions and heavy metal contamination analysis of stone mastic asphalt mixtures produced with high rates of different waste materials","volume":"226","author":"Fernandes","year":"2019","journal-title":"J. Clean. Prod."},{"key":"ref_14","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"11227","DOI":"10.1007\/s11356-020-07633-7","article-title":"Pollution characteristics, sources, and health risk assessments of urban road dust in Kuala Lumpur City","volume":"27","author":"Othman","year":"2020","journal-title":"Environ. Sci. Pollut. Res."},{"key":"ref_15","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"96","DOI":"10.1016\/j.scitotenv.2019.05.405","article-title":"Microplastic abundance in atmospheric deposition within the Metropolitan area of Hamburg, Germany","volume":"685","author":"Klein","year":"2019","journal-title":"Sci. Total Environ."},{"key":"ref_16","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"85","DOI":"10.1007\/s11270-020-4459-4","article-title":"A New Contaminant Superhighway? A Review of Sources, Measurement Techniques and Fate of Atmospheric Microplastics","volume":"231","author":"Mbachu","year":"2020","journal-title":"Water Air Soil Pollut."},{"key":"ref_17","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"141842","DOI":"10.1016\/j.scitotenv.2020.141842","article-title":"Recycling waste plastics in roads: A life-cycle assessment study using primary data","volume":"751","author":"Santos","year":"2021","journal-title":"Sci. Total Environ."},{"key":"ref_18","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"267","DOI":"10.1016\/S0167-577X(03)00458-0","article-title":"Use of waste high density polyethylene as bitumen modifier in asphalt concrete mix","volume":"58","year":"2004","journal-title":"Mater. Lett."},{"key":"ref_19","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"751","DOI":"10.1016\/j.wasman.2019.03.018","article-title":"Use of plastic scrap in asphalt mixtures added by dry method as a partial substitute for bitumen","volume":"87","author":"Raposeiras","year":"2019","journal-title":"Waste Manag."},{"key":"ref_20","first-page":"685","article-title":"Properties of Waste Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET) Modified Asphalt Mixes: Dependence on PET Size, PET Content, and Mixing Process","volume":"62","author":"Choudhary","year":"2018","journal-title":"Period. Polytech. Civ. Eng."},{"key":"ref_21","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"117496","DOI":"10.1016\/j.conbuildmat.2019.117496","article-title":"Sustainable use of waste plastic modifiers to strengthen the adhesion properties of asphalt mixtures","volume":"235","author":"Haider","year":"2020","journal-title":"Constr. Build. Mater."},{"key":"ref_22","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Rodrigues, C., Capit\u00e3o, S., Picado-Santos, L., and Almeida, A. (2020). Full Recycling of Asphalt Concrete with Waste Cooking Oil as Rejuvenator and LDPE from Urban Waste as Binder Modifier. Sustainability, 12.","DOI":"10.3390\/su12198222"},{"key":"ref_23","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"199","DOI":"10.1002\/vnl.20189","article-title":"Optimization of the modification technologies of asphalt by using waste EVA from packaging","volume":"15","author":"Fang","year":"2009","journal-title":"J. Vinyl Addit. Technol."},{"key":"ref_24","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1117","DOI":"10.1080\/14680629.2016.1207554","article-title":"Storage stability and high-temperature performance of asphalt binder modified with recycled plastic","volume":"18","author":"Dalhat","year":"2017","journal-title":"Road Mater. Pavement Des."},{"key":"ref_25","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"04017169","DOI":"10.1061\/(ASCE)MT.1943-5533.0002022","article-title":"Asphalt Surface Mixtures with Improved Performance Using Waste Polymers via Dry and Wet Processes","volume":"29","author":"Ranieri","year":"2017","journal-title":"J. Mater. Civ. Eng."},{"key":"ref_26","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"349","DOI":"10.1080\/10298436.2015.1088150","article-title":"Performance of recycled plastic waste modified asphalt binder in Saudi Arabia","volume":"18","author":"Dalhat","year":"2017","journal-title":"Int. J. Pavement Eng."},{"key":"ref_27","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"302","DOI":"10.1016\/j.jhazmat.2014.07.018","article-title":"An approach to the usage of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) waste as roadway pavement material","volume":"279","author":"Arslan","year":"2014","journal-title":"J. Hazard. Mater."},{"key":"ref_28","first-page":"457","article-title":"Incorporation of Waste Plastic in Asphalt Binders to Improve their Performance in the Pavement","volume":"6","author":"Costa","year":"2013","journal-title":"Int. J. Pavement Res. Technol."},{"key":"ref_29","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1452472","DOI":"10.1080\/23311916.2018.1452472","article-title":"Enhancing rutting resistance of asphalt binder by adding plastic waste","volume":"5","author":"Abdo","year":"2018","journal-title":"Cogent Eng."},{"key":"ref_30","unstructured":"(2015). Bitumen and Bituminous Binders\u2014Determination of Needle Penetration (Standard No. CEN EN 1426)."},{"key":"ref_31","unstructured":"(2015). Bitumen and Bituminous Binders\u2014Determination of the Softening Point\u2014Ring and Ball Method (Standard No. CEN EN 1427)."},{"key":"ref_32","unstructured":"(2021, December 30). Infraestruturas de Portugal. Construction Specifications, 14.03 Paving\u2014Materials\u2019 Characteristics. Available online: https:\/\/servicos.infraestruturasdeportugal.pt\/pdfs\/infraestruturas\/14_03_set_2014.pdf."},{"key":"ref_33","unstructured":"(2002). Aggregates for Bituminous Mixtures and Surface Treatments for Roads, Airfields and Other Trafficked Areas (Standard No. CEN EN 13043)."},{"key":"ref_34","unstructured":"(2012). Tests for Geometrical Properties of Aggregates\u2014Part 3: Determination of Particle Shape\u2014Flakiness Index (Standard No. CEN EN 933-3)."},{"key":"ref_35","unstructured":"(2010). Tests for Mechanical and Physical Properties of Aggregates\u2014Part 2: Methods for the Determination of Resistance to Fragmentation (Standard No. CEN EN 1097-2)."},{"key":"ref_36","unstructured":"(2011). Tests for Mechanical and Physical Properties of Aggregates\u2014Part 1: Determination of the Resistance to Wear (Micro-Deval) (Standard No. CEN EN 1097-1)."},{"key":"ref_37","unstructured":"(2009). Tests for Mechanical and Physical Properties of Aggregates\u2014Part 8: Determination of the Polished Stone Value (Standard No. CEN EN 1097-8)."},{"key":"ref_38","unstructured":"(2013). Tests for Mechanical and Physical Properties of Aggregates\u2014Part 6: Determination of Particle Density and Water Absorption (Standard No. CEN EN 1097-6)."},{"key":"ref_39","unstructured":"(2013). Tests for Geometrical Properties of Aggregates\u2014Part 9: Assessment of Fines\u2014Methylene Blue Test (Standard No. CEN EN 933-9)."},{"key":"ref_40","unstructured":"(2008). Tests for Mechanical and Physical Properties of Aggregates\u2014Part 4: Determination of the Voids of Dry Compacted Filler (Standard No. CEN EN 1097-4)."},{"key":"ref_41","unstructured":"(2013). Tests for filler Aggregate Used in Bituminous Mixtures\u2014Part 1: Delta Ring and Ball Test (Standard No. CEN EN 13179-1)."},{"key":"ref_42","unstructured":"(2016). Bituminous Mixtures\u2014Test Methods\u2014Part 35: Laboratory Mixing (Standard No. CEN EN 12697-35)."},{"key":"ref_43","unstructured":"(2019). Bituminous Mixtures\u2014Test Methods\u2014Part 30: Specimen Preparation by Impact Compactor (Standard No. CEN EN 12697-30)."},{"key":"ref_44","unstructured":"(2020). Bituminous Mixtures\u2014Test Methods\u2014Part 31: Specimen Preparation by Gyratory Compactor (Standard No. CEN EN 12697-31)."},{"key":"ref_45","unstructured":"(2019). Bituminous Mixtures\u2014Test Methods\u2014Part 32: Specimen Preparation by Vibratory Compactor (Standard No. CEN EN 12697-32)."},{"key":"ref_46","unstructured":"(2012). Bituminous mixtures\u2014Test methods for hot mix asphalt\u2014Part 8: Determination of void characteristics of bituminous specimens (Standard No. CEN EN 12697-8)."},{"key":"ref_47","unstructured":"(2003). Bituminous Mixtures\u2014Test Methods for Hot Mix Asphalt\u2014Part 9: Determination of the Reference Density (Standard No. CEN EN 12697-9)."},{"key":"ref_48","unstructured":"(2019). Bituminous Mixtures\u2014Test Methods\u2014Part 5: Determination of the Maximum Density (Standard No. CEN EN 12697-5)."},{"key":"ref_49","unstructured":"(2007). Bituminous Mixtures\u2014Test Methods for Hot Mix Asphalt\u2014Part 34: Marshall Test (Standard No. CEN EN 12697-34)."},{"key":"ref_50","unstructured":"(2018). Bituminous Mixtures\u2014Test Methods\u2014Part 10: Compactability (Standard No. CEN EN 12697-10)."},{"key":"ref_51","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1143","DOI":"10.1016\/j.conbuildmat.2007.02.005","article-title":"Compactibility of hot bituminous mixtures made with crumb rubber-modified binders","volume":"22","year":"2008","journal-title":"Constr. Build. Mater."},{"key":"ref_52","unstructured":"(2017). Bituminous Mixtures\u2014Test Methods for Hot Mix Asphalt\u2014Part 23: Determination of the Indirect Tensile Strength of Bituminous Specimens (Standard No. CEN EN 12697-23)."},{"key":"ref_53","unstructured":"(2018). Bituminous Mixtures\u2014Test Methods\u2014Part 12: Determination of the Water Sensitivity of Bituminous Specimens (Standard No. CEN EN 12697-12)."},{"key":"ref_54","unstructured":"(2004). Bituminous Mixtures\u2014Test Methods for Hot Mix Asphalt\u2014Part 26: Stiffness (Standard No. CEN EN 12697-26)."},{"key":"ref_55","unstructured":"(2007). Bituminous Mixtures\u2014Test Methods for Hot Mix Asphalt\u2014Part 24: Resistance to Fatigue (Standard No. CEN EN 12697-24)."},{"key":"ref_56","unstructured":"(2005). Bituminous Mixtures\u2014Test Methods for Hot Mix Asphalt\u2014Part 25: Cyclic Compression Test (Standard No. CEN EN 12697-25)."},{"key":"ref_57","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"355","DOI":"10.1080\/14680629.2000.12067148","article-title":"Design Temperature on Flexible Pavements","volume":"1","year":"2000","journal-title":"Road Mater. Pavement Des."},{"key":"ref_58","unstructured":"Gardete, D., Picado-Santos, L., and Capit\u00e3o, S. (2016, January 12\u201314). Avalia\u00e7\u00e3o da trabalhabilidade de misturas betuminosas com base nas curvas de compacta\u00e7\u00e3o (Evaluation of the workability of asphalt mixtures using compaction curves). In Proceedings of the 8th Congresso Rodovi\u00e1rio Portugu\u00eas. Lisbon, Portugal."},{"key":"ref_59","unstructured":"Christensen, D., and Bonaquist, R. (2006). Volumetric Requirements for Superpave Mix Design, National Cooperative Highway Research Program. NCHRP Report 567."},{"key":"ref_60","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"8","DOI":"10.1016\/j.matdes.2014.04.046","article-title":"Effect of waste plastic bottles on the stiffness and fatigue properties of modified asphalt mixes","volume":"61","author":"Modarres","year":"2014","journal-title":"Mater. Des."},{"key":"ref_61","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"384","DOI":"10.1016\/j.conbuildmat.2017.02.082","article-title":"Evaluating the fatigue properties of hot mix asphalt reinforced by recycled PET fibers using 4-point bending test","volume":"139","author":"Dehghan","year":"2017","journal-title":"Constr. Build. Mater."},{"key":"ref_62","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"527","DOI":"10.1061\/(ASCE)0899-1561(2002)14:6(527)","article-title":"Utilization of Reclaimed Polyethylene in Bituminous Paving Mixes","volume":"14","author":"Panda","year":"2002","journal-title":"J. Mater. Civ. Eng."},{"key":"ref_63","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1133","DOI":"10.1016\/j.conbuildmat.2016.02.156","article-title":"Comparative analysis of the performance of asphalt concretes modified by dry way with polymeric waste","volume":"112","year":"2016","journal-title":"Constr. Build. Mater."},{"key":"ref_64","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Lastra-Gonz\u00e1lez, P., Lizasoain-Arteaga, E., Castro-Fresno, D., and Flintsch, G. (2021). Analysis of replacing virgin bitumen by plastic waste in asphalt concrete mixtures. Int. J. Pavement Eng., 1\u201310.","DOI":"10.1080\/10298436.2021.1884863"}],"container-title":["Applied Sciences"],"original-title":[],"language":"en","link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/www.mdpi.com\/2076-3417\/12\/4\/2146\/pdf","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2025,10,10]],"date-time":"2025-10-10T22:22:30Z","timestamp":1760134950000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/www.mdpi.com\/2076-3417\/12\/4\/2146"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2022,2,18]]},"references-count":64,"journal-issue":{"issue":"4","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2022,2]]}},"alternative-id":["app12042146"],"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/app12042146","relation":{},"ISSN":["2076-3417"],"issn-type":[{"value":"2076-3417","type":"electronic"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2022,2,18]]}}}