Less noise from the road with sound-absorbing asphalts made with rubber recycled from End-of-Life tyres

Less noise from the road with sound-absorbing asphalts made with rubber recycled from End-of-Life tyres.

There are about 113 million people daily exposed to excessive levels of traffic noise in Europe. For this reason, they risk serious consequences for their health – as the World Health Organisation has highlighted on a number of occasions. 

Among the possible contrasting measures, one of the solutions is the use of “sound-absorbing” asphalts made thanks to the addition of rubber powder from End-of-Life tyres to bitumen. Indeed, this solution has the greatest potential of development thanks to the maturity of the technology and the possibility of it being spread on a large scale.

Last April, an event was organised by the University of the Studies of the Republic of San Marino, the State Autonomous Agency for Public Works (Azienda Autonoma di Stato per i Lavori Pubblici - AASLP) of the Republic of San Marino, and Ecopneus. Its aim was to discuss the most recent technological developments and the experiences of both companies and the Public Administrations that have used asphalts modified with Styrene-Butadiene Rubber (SBR) from End-of-Life Tyres.

During the workshop, Professor Gaetano Licitra, expert of acoustics of the University of Pisa and Co-ordinator of ARPAT (Agenzia Regionale per la Protezione dell’Ambiente della Toscana – The Regional Agency of the Protection of the Environment of Region Tuscany) updated the participants on the latest developments of the LIFE-Nereide Project. This is a project that is co-financed by the European Union thanks to the programme LIFE. Its aim is to show the high acoustic performance made possible with the use of bituminous conglomerates with low sound emissions made with SBR recycled from ELTs and production technologies at low temperatures that provide for the use of recycled bituminous conglomerates. The objectives of the projects are the ones of reducing the levels of noise pollution by at least 5 dB compared to traditional surfaces through the creation of 13 different compounds. It also aims at reducing the emissions of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons by 30% and improve the adherence and durability of the works.

Road surfaces made with low noise emission asphalts have been laid in Massarosa (Lucca), Arezzo, and near Castiglion Fiorentino (AR). An experimental stretch of road made with PERS (PoroElastic Road Surface) has been made in the city of Ghent in Belgium.

The project LIFE Nereide is led by the University of Pisa. Its partners are Region Tuscany, ARPAT, BRRC (Belgium), The Institute of Acoustics and Sensoristics “Orso Maria Corbino”, and Ecopneus. This project aims at defining the optimal formulae to obtain improved mechanical performances and noticeably reduce the noise from vehicle traffic and that may be reproduced on a larger scale by Administrations and Management Bodies.