Effect of Extraction and Recovery Procedure on the Determination of PmB Content and on the Properties of the Recovered Binder

ABSTRACT In Belgium, the commonly used test method for the determination of the binder content of a bituminous mixture is based on the extraction of the soluble bitumen with a centrifuge. This step is followed by a recovery of the solvent with a rotary evaporator when the binder is yet to be characterized. The procedures for pure binders are clearly described in the European standards, but this is not the case for polymer modified bitumens (PmBs). Consequently, a research project has been launched to evaluate, in the case of bituminous mixtures with PmB both the effect of extraction on the binder content as well as the effect of extraction and recovery on the properties of the recovered PmB. In this study, the use of several solvents and dissolution methods has been compared.