International Journal of Civil & Environmental Engineering IJCEE-IJENS Vol: 11 No: 06

43

Polymer Modified Asphalt Emulsion

M. A. Shafii1, M. Y. Abdul Rahman2, and J. Ahmad2
Postgraduate, Universiti Teknologi MARA, Shah Alam, Selangor, Malaysia.
2
Faculty of Civil Engineering, Universiti Teknologi MARA, Shah Alam, Selangor, Malaysia.
1

In road paving industry, asphalt emulsion is used for cold mix application such as chip seal, slurry seal, microsurfacing, cold
recycled mixture and etc. Asphalt emulsion has several advantages compared to normal asphalt such as eco-friendly, easy to handle at
ambient temperature and energy saving material because it does not need any heating process in its application. The history of asphalt
emulsions and its application in road construction begin in the early part of 20th century. Due to the increasing number of traffic loads
and volume, the used of normal asphalt emulsion is not enough to prevent the pavement from deterioration. Nowadays, polymer
modified asphalt technology is used by researcher and manufacturer in asphalt emulsion to improve the performance of asphalt
emulsion. Various types of polymers can be used to prepare polymer modified asphalt emulsion such as styrene butadiene styrene
(SBS) block copolymer, ethylene vinyl acetate (EVA), polyvinyl acetate (PVA), styrene butadiene rubber (SBR) latex, epoxy resin and
natural rubber latex. Polymer can be added into asphalt emulsion in three ways: 1) pre-blending method, 2) simultaneous-blending
method and 3) post-blending method. The blending method has important influence on polymer network distribution and will affect
the performance of polymer modified asphalt emulsions. The absence of an agreed protocol has allowed various techniques to be used
by testing laboratories in order to obtain asphalt emulsion residue. This paper presents an overview of the researches which have been
conducted on polymer modified asphalt emulsions using various types of polymer and performance of its application.
Keywords: Asphalt Emulsion, Polymer, Blending, Residue, Performance, Application

I.

rutting and thermal cracking related problem and increased

resistance to many forms of traffic-induced stress.

INTRODUCTION

In the past, unmodified asphalts were able to cope with the

traffic volumes and loads exerted on them. Nowadays, the
burden placed upon road system has reached a critical stage in
many developed and developing countries where the increased
volume in heavy vehicles coupled with an appreciable
increase in allowable axle weights for these vehicles has lead
to a dramatic increase in level of stresses exerted on asphalt
surface. Due to the sharp increased of stresses exerted on
asphalt surface, most of the road system experience distress
and deteriorate before it can achieve the design service life.
The use of polymer modified asphalt offer a promising way to
improve pavement performance hence it can prolong the
service life of the road system even though the road
experience unexpected increasing number of traffic volume.
Polymer modified asphalt pavement exhibits greater resistance
to rutting and thermal cracking and decreased fatigue damage,
stripping and temperature susceptibility. Typically, polymer
modified asphalt are more viscous compare to unmodified
asphalt and tend to show improved adhesive bonding to
aggregate particles.
Asphalt emulsion consists of small asphalt droplets
suspended in water. It can be produced by mixing hot asphalt
with water containing emulsifying agent in a colloid mill.
Asphalt emulsion that normally used for cold application has
several advantages compared to normal asphalt or asphalt
cutback such as eco-friendly, easy to handle at ambient
temperature and energy saving material because it does not
need any heating process in its use. Currently, polymer
modified technology is used in asphalt emulsions to improve
its physical properties, performance, and durability. Polymer
modified asphalt emulsions offers improvements in mitigation
of pavement distress and reduced life cycle costs when
compared to unmodified asphalt emulsions [1]. In addition,
polymer modified asphalt emulsions also exhibit reduction in
Manuscript received October 31, 2011. Corresponding author: M. A.
Shafii (e-mail: amintybe982@gmail.com).

II.

HISTORY, USE AND BENEFITS

The history of asphalt emulsions and its application in road

construction begin in the early part of 20th century. Today, up
to 10% of paving-grade asphalt is used in emulsified form [23]. However, the use of polymer modified asphalt started
earlier than that where in 1843, the process of asphalt
modification using natural and synthetic polymers were
patented [4]. Nowadays, polymer modified asphalt technology
is used by researcher and manufacturer in asphalt emulsion to
improve the performance of asphalt emulsion. Polymer
modified asphalt emulsion is used for cold mix especially for
chip seal, slurry seal, surface dressing and microsufacing. The
use of polymer modified asphalt emulsion was recorded by
Texas Department of Highway and Public Transportation in
June 1982 where it was used in placement of a seal coat on a
section of State Highway 327 near Silsbee [5]. There are no
problems were encountered during the application of styrenebutadiene block copolymer emulsified asphalt for seal coat
[5].
Compare to unmodified asphalt emulsion or hot applied
polymer modified asphalt, polymer modified asphalt emulsion
have several advantages. Emulsifying of polymer modified
asphalt leads to a dried binder film that is more homogeneous
and has a better polymer distribution which can improve the
binder properties, particularly the ability of the binder to
develop consistent cohesion strength and to have a better stone
retention [6]. Moreover, study conducted by Forbes et al found
that emulsifying of polymer modified asphalt show a good
compatibility of polymer network distribution within asphalt
compare to polymer modified asphalt [6]. Polymer modified
asphalt show incompatibility as the polymer has coalesced
into localized agglomerations. Compatibility can be defined as
the state of dispersion between two dissimilar components [7].
The compatibility of the polymer within asphalt is important
for optimum binder performance.

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Research also show that polymer modified asphalt
emulsion performs at least as well as modified hot mix binders
[1]. In 1992, Anderson et al use three types of polymers such
as Neoprene, Styrene-Butadiene-Styrene (SBS) and StyreneButadiene-Rubber (SBR) to study the rheological properties of
polymer modified asphalt emulsion residue [8]. From his
study, it was found that the polymer modification had little
effect on the low temperature stiffness of the emulsion
residue. Anderson et al also concluded that some of the
polymer modification emulsions slightly increase the
consistency of the residue at high temperature [8]. Overall, the
benefits of polymer modified asphalt emulsions over
unmodified asphalt emulsions can be summarized as follows
[1][5]:
More resistant to rutting and thermal cracking.
More resistant to flushing or bleeding.
Increase in trafficinduced stress resistance (fatigue
cracking).
Increase in stone retention.
Faster setting (minimizes land closures and traffic
delay).
Longer lifecycle with same equivalent cost
III.

SPECIFIC POLYMER/MODIFIERS

Polymers are very large molecules made by chemically

reacting smaller molecules together. The physical properties
of polymers are determined based on starting molecules which
are called monomers. When two or more different monomers
are combined, the resulting compound is termed a
copolymer. The structure of copolymers may be random, or
may repeat in blocks of polymers (block copolymers) as
illustrated in Figure 1 [9].

Plastomer polymers attain very high strength at a rapid rate,

but are brittle and resistant to deformation at low temperature.
An example of plastomer material is ethylene vinyl acetate
(EVA). Unlike plastomer, elastomer polymers is a flexible
polymer that can be stretched up to ten times without breaking
and quickly return to its original shape once the load has been
removed. Styrene butadiene rubber (SBR) latex is an example
of synthetic elastomer. Plastomer modify asphalt by forming a
tough, rigid, three-dimensional network to resist deformation,
while elastomer have a characteristic of high elastic response
and therefore, it can resist permanent deformation by
stretching and recovering their initial shape [10]. The quality
of material properties of the polymer modified asphalt
emulsion prepared does not only depends on uniformity of the
mixture, but also relates greatly to the type, status and nature
of polymer or modifiers [11].
1)

There are two basic types of polymer that are used in

modifying asphalt for road applications [1]:
Plastomer
Elastomer

Natural Rubber Latex

Natural rubber latex (NRL) is an elastomeric hydrocarbon

polymer that exists as a natural milky sap produced by several
species of plants. The sap has a water-based colloidal
structure. Natural rubber is produced from natural rubber latex
by coagulation to form a solid material [1]. In 1929, the first
ever application of natural rubber latex in road construction
took place in Singapore [3]. In UK, Europe and USA, the use
of natural rubber latex (NRL) in asphalt modification had been
studied extensively in the 1950s and 1960s [3]. In 1970s a
patented process known as Ralumac process was develop to
modify asphalt emulsion with natural rubber latex. This
process involves mixing anionic natural rubber latex in
aqueous phase with cationic asphalt emulsions during asphalt
emulsification [3]. Natural rubber latex modification of
asphalt since its original introduction has been found to
enhance the thermal stability of asphalt in two fundamental
ways [3]:
i.
Natural rubber latex at high temperatures increases
the bitumens viscosity (thickening) making road
surface more resistant to deformation under heavy
loads during hot weather.
ii.
At low temperatures the natural rubber reduces
thermal cracking associated with asphalt.
Study conducted by Malithong and Thongpin show that
pre-vulcanized natural rubber latex could be added to modify
asphalt emulsion and improve properties of asphalt better than
natural rubber latex [12]. Moreover, pre-vulcanized natural
rubber latex modified asphalt emulsion could provide asphalt
emulsion that possesses acceptable properties of modified
asphalt emulsion for highway construction application [12].
2)

Fig. 1. Example of Copolymers [9]

44

Styrene Butadiene Rubber (SBR) Latex

SBR is synthetic latex that has random structure of

copolymers. SBR latex particles in a polymer modified asphalt
emulsion remain in the aqueous phase and spontaneously
transform into a continuous microscopic polymer film
surrounding asphalt particles upon curing [13]. Takamura has
demonstrated the benefits of SBR modification of asphalt
emulsions and microsurfacing mixes, with significant
increases in rutting resistance temperatures observed with

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increasing polymer content [13]. Asphalt emulsions modified
with 3 percent SBR latex performed significantly better than
did unmodified emulsions or neat non-emulsified asphalt [1].
From the study conducted by Qinqin et al, it was found that
the temperature susceptibility of SBR latex modified asphalt
emulsion became lower, which was more favourable for
practical application, such as slurry seal and micro-surfacing
[14]. Furthermore, the increase of equivalent softening point
indicated that the thermal stability and the heat resistance of
asphalt were significantly enhanced by SBR modification.
Compared to unmodified asphalt emulsion, the increase of 5
C ductility and decrease of equivalent brittle point revealed
that anticracking performance of asphalt was also enhanced
considerably by SBR modification [14]. Study conducted by
Zhang and He on the performances of the asphalt emulsion
modified by compound of water-epoxy resin emulsion and
SBR latex show that, in the aspects like low-temperature
cracking, high temperature stability, adhesion and durability, it
obviously exceeds ordinary asphalt emulsion [11].
3)

Styrene Butadiene Styrene (SBS)

SBS block copolymers are classified as elastomers that

increase the elasticity of bitumen and they are probably the
most appropriate polymers for bitumen modification [15].
SBS copolymers derive their strength and elasticity from
physical cross-linking of the molecules into a three
dimensional network [16]. Serfass et al found that emulsified
SBS modified asphalts show excellent adhesion to various
types of aggregate compare to hot applied SBS modified
binder and it can even be sprayed on damp surfaces [17].
Moreover, emulsified asphalt applications also show to
tolerate higher SBS dosing levels than modified hot mixes,
resulting in improved stone retention, cohesion and
viscoelasticity, especially in crack sealing applications [17].
Generally, random SBR polymer modified asphalts elongate
more (have better ductilities, especially at very low
temperatures) than SBS block copolymers because of the
double bond structure, but SBS block copolymer modified
asphalts show more strength at elongation (elastic recovery,
especially at high temperatures) because of the structure of the
styrene blocks [1].
4)

Ethylene Vinyl Acetate (EVA)

EVA is a commonly used as plastomeric modifier which

represents a copolymer of ethylene and vinyl acetate. EVA
polymers have been used in road construction for more than
20 years in order to improve both the workability of the
asphalt during construction and its deformation resistance in
service [10]. There has not been much record on polymer
modified asphalt emulsion using EVA. Normally, EVA is
used in asphalt modification that is purposely used for hot
application. Study conducted by Panda and Mazumdar
confirmed that asphalt mixture using EVA modified asphalt
increased the value of Marshall stability and air voids and at
the same time decreased the flow and unit weight value [18].

5)

45

Polyvinyl Acetate (PVA)

Polyvinyl acetate is one of the clear, water-white,

thermoplastic synthetic resins produced from its monomer by
emulsion polymerization. The degree of polymerization of
polyvinyl acetate typically is 100 to 5000. PVA has the
advantage over the other resinous adhesives in that it is
available in the form of an emulsion that is readily diluted
with water, is easily applied, and is safe to use because it
contains no flammable solvents [19]. Study conducted by
Chavez-Valencia et al show that the compressive strength of
the cold mix that use asphalt emulsion modified with PVA
was not improve with regards to the cold mix with unmodified
asphalt emulsion [20]. However, for the cold mix where the
aggregates were coated with a diluted PVA emulsion before
blended with asphalt emulsion modified with PVA, the
compressive strength was improved in 31% relative to the
unmodified cold mix [20].
IV.

METHOD TO ADD POLYMERS

Polymer modified asphalt emulsion is a product made from

asphalt emulsion that has been modified with polymer
emulsion or a product made by means of emulsifying asphalt
that has been modified by polymer. Several techniques can be
used to produce polymer modified asphalt emulsion. The
polymers or modifiers may be added into hot asphalt before
emulsification process take place, added to the finished
emulsion product or co-milled at the colloid mill with the
various component streams during production. The blending
method to add polymer has important influence on polymer
network distribution and will affect the performance of
polymer modified asphalt emulsions [11]. Forbes et al studied
the effect of polymer modification techniques on asphalt
binder microstructure at high temperatures [6]:
i.
Pre-blending The polymer modifier is added
directly to the bitumen prior to emulsification. This
method is required for solid forms of polymer.
ii.
Co-milling Separate streams of polymer, bitumen,
and emulsifier solution (soap) are co-milled together
simultaneously.
iii.
Soap Pre-batching The polymer modifier is added
to the soap solution (water and emulsifier) prior to
milling with the bitumen.
iv.
Post-blending The polymer modifier is added to the
final asphalt emulsion either at the plant or in the
field.
From the study, Forbes et al found that, pre-blending
method produce a monophase emulsion where a single phase
of polymer modified asphalt droplets can be seen. The other
methods produce bi-phase emulsions which are a combination
of two phases of asphalt droplets and polymer droplets.
However, in bi-phase emulsion manufacture, the polymer is
not exposed to temperatures above 85 - 90 C while in
monophase emulsions the pre-blended asphalt and polymer is
processed at temperatures up to 180 C to allow adequate
dispersion of the polymer in the asphalt. At high temperatures
approaching 200 C there is an increased risk of both polymer
and asphalt degradation occurring. This may cause an adverse
effect upon the quality of the polymer modified asphalt

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residue and presents a major advantage with bi-phase
emulsions [6].
Some of the polymers such as SBR latex and natural
rubber latex have an advantage in manufacturing polymer
modified asphalt emulsion due to its physical form. It can be
co-milled, added into emulsifier or even can be post-blended
into the prepared emulsion [21]. Sometimes, post-blending
method is discouraged due to the need for vigorous, continual
and thorough mixing to ensure proper and homogeneous
polymer dispersion [1]. Becker et al observed that the phase
separation and stability problems associated with using solid
polymer modifiers generally necessitate pre-blending the solid
polymer in the asphalt at elevated temperatures prior to
emulsification process [1]. Because of the importance of
uniformity and compatibility for performance, it is
recommended that the polymer should be pre-blended into the
asphalt or co-milled into the emulsion and not be post-blended
with the asphalt emulsion in the field [9].

Fig. 2. Typical Emulsion Modification Process [1]

V.

POLYMER DOSAGE RATES

The dosage rates of polymer vary but are generally one to

five percent polymer by weight asphalt, two to three percent is
the most common dosage rates for chip seal and slurry seal
application [9]. Johnston and Gayle stated that the range of
polymer content dosing recommended for most applications
generally varies between about 2 percent and 10 percent by
weight of the residual asphalt content with most research,
standard, and manufacturer specifications calling for a
polymer concentration of approximately 3 percent to 5 percent
[1]. The optimal percent depends upon the specific polymer,
specific asphalt and their interaction. Study conducted by
Anderson et al shows that the addition of polymer between
2.8% - 3.0% had little effect on the stress-strain response of
the emulsion residue at low temperatures and had moderate
increases in stiffness of the emulsion at temperatures above 25

46

C [8]. Takamura use 3.0-3.5 percent of SBR latex for

microsurfacing formulation that consist of 100 parts of
aggregates, 8-15 parts of water and 0.5-2 parts of Portland
cement [22].
VI.

RESIDUE RECOVERY METHOD

Transportation Research Board (TRB) stated that, the main

purpose of asphalt emulsion residue recovery process is to
determine the amount of non-water phase in the emulsion and
to obtain the asphalt residue for further testing [23]. Generally,
residue recovery techniques can be categorized based on two
basic concepts which are distillation and evaporation.
Distillation normally used high temperature of heat compare
to evaporation technique. Currently, a variety of asphalt
emulsion residue recovery method has been used by US and
European countries. The absence of an agreed protocol for
recovery of the residue from the emulsion has allowed various
techniques to be used by testing laboratories, and these
techniques can affect the rheological properties of the
recovered binder. For example, in French standard (NF T 66031), asphalt emulsion is store at temperature of 50 C for 14
days. In European standard (EN 14895), firstly, asphalt
emulsion is store for 24 hours at ambient temperature, then 24
hours at 50 C (recovered binder, short-term aging) and,
finally, 24 hours at 85 C (stabilized binder, medium term
aging). In Belgian Procedure (08-34), the binder is recovered
by evaporating off the aqueous phase of 1 L of emulsion in a 2
L tall beaker heated with a Bunsen burner and stirred
continuously. A temperature of 163 C is reached in the course
of the test. The binder is then placed in an oven at 163 C for
half an hour in order to eliminate any remaining traces of
water. Spanish Method (NLT 147) consists of heating 50 g of
emulsion for 2 hours at 163 C in a 600 ml beaker. American
Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) stated that there are
four standard methods for recovery of normal emulsion
residue which is Standard Test Method for Residue by
Evaporation of Emulsified Asphalt (ASTM D6934-08),
Standard Test Method for Distillation of Emulsified Asphalt
(ASTM D6997-04), Standard Test Method for Determination
of Emulsified Asphalt Residue by Moisture Analyzer (ASTM
D7404-07) and Standard Practice for Recovering Residue
from Emulsified Asphalt Using Low Temperature Evaporative
Technique (ASTM D7497-09)[24-27]. Waters et al in the
report of Residual Binder Extraction from Emulsions for
Quality Assurance Testing categorized most of the emulsion
residue recovery methods into three groups as follows [28]:
i.
Distillation and high temperature evaporation method
ii.
Low temperature evaporation method
iii. Solvent precipitation method.
However the use of heat at high temperature to obtain
residue from asphalt emulsion especially ASTM D6934-08
and ASTM D6997-04 methods are not represents the
application temperature of asphalt emulsion at site [24-25].
Moreover, high temperature can also affect the rheological
properties of asphalt emulsion residue. For polymer modified
asphalt emulsion, the high temperature not only will affect the
asphalt residue but also can cause damage to the polymer
network within asphalt emulsion. Takamura and Lubbers

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show that the high temperature used in distillation procedure
can significantly alter or damage the microscopic structure of
the emulsion and therefore the residues recovered by these
processes do not represent the field conditions where
construction is done in ambient temperatures [29]. They
proposed a new residue recovery procedure that uses airflow
under ambient temperatures to simulate field conditions. The
forced air-drying procedure, wherein the emulsion was dried
under ambient temperatures for 5-6 hours, was found to
preserve the microscopic polymer network in the residue and
this network was stable at temperatures as high as 180 C [29].
Donald in his study modified the standard distillation test to
obtain residue from SBS polymer modified asphalt emulsion
where the maximum temperature was reduced to 350 F (177
C) to prevent damaging to the polymer [5].
Kadrmas compare the residue recovery methods of 177 C
distillation procedure modified from the ASTM D6997 with
BASF evaporation procedure that utilizes a silicone mat to
hold emulsions at 25 C oven temperature for 24 hours
followed by a 60 C oven cure for another 24 hours [30]. The
reason for comparing these residue recovery methods is the
temperature difference between these methods. The distillation
procedure uses a much higher temperature than the emulsion
applications see during application and use. The BASF
evaporation procedure is much closer to the road temperatures
seen during the curing process for emulsion applications.
From the dynamic shear rheometer (DSR) test result, it
showed that BASF evaporation procedure gives higher overall
values for the G*/sin delta than the distillation procedure,
which may be an indication of less degradation of the polymer
[29]. Salomon and Thompson revealed that the residue
recovery method (distillation (ASTM D6997), evaporation
(ASTM D6934) and moisture analyzer method (ASTM
D7404)) has little affect on the complex shear modulus (G*)
of polymer modified asphalt emulsion [31]. From the
temperature sweep of the G*, the slope of the graph is same
for all three recovery methods which is interpreted to mean
that there is no significant differences in the property of these
binders regardless of the recovery method [31].
Study conducted by Prapaitrakul et al on Recovered
Binder Properties Using Three Asphalt Emulsion Recovery
Methods show that recovered binders from the Hot Oven
(ASTM D6934-08) and Stirred-Can (TXDOT 0-1710)
methods showed no sign of residual water due to their high
recovery temperature (163 C), but small amounts of water
were detected in the Warm Oven (ASTM D7494-09)
recovered samples, which uses only a moderate recovery
temperature of 60 C [32]. Moreover, the Hot Oven recovery
method has the advantages of simple equipment, an inert
recovery environment and a fast recovery time compare to
Warm Oven method [32]. King et al stated that heating can
cause cross-linking and damage to polymer additives.
Therefore, it is generally agreed that recovery should simulate
field curing [33].

VII.

47

CHARACTERIZATION OF POLYMER
MODIFIED ASPHALT EMULSION

A variety of laboratory tests are used by researchers to

characterize asphalt emulsions and their residue. Typical test
that are normally used to characterize emulsified and nonemulsified asphalt are summarized as follows [1]:
1. Conventional Test
a) Penetration to estimate cracking potential
and mixture consistency.
b) Ductility to estimate the potential for
fatigue and thermal cracking and/or raveling.
c) Ring and Ball to determine stiffness failure
at high temperature. Usually used as a
consistency check on polymer modified
asphalt.
d) Elastic Recovery Elastic recovery (or
elasticity) is the degree to which a substance
recovers its original shape following
application and release of stress. A degree of
elastic recovery is desirable in pavement to
avoid permanent deformation.
e) Rotational Viscometry (RV) used to gauge
cracking susceptibility, and raveling
potential through viscosity measurements.
2. SUPERPAVE Specifications
a) DSR (Dynamic Shear Rheometer) to
predict rutting resistance and high
temperature susceptibility. Useful for
polymer modified asphalt emulsions
employed in rut-filling applications.
b) BBR (Bending Beam Rheometer) low
temperature susceptibility and thermal
cracking potential.
c) Rolling Thin Film Oven (RTFO) to
simulate the effects of aging/oxidation.
d) Pressure Aging Vessel (PAV) to simulate
the effects of long term field aging.
3. Others
a) Vialit Plate Shock Test measures stone
retention characteristics.
b) Wheel-Track Test used to simulate wheel
traffic loading and unloading to ascertain
rutting-resistance.
c) Loaded Wheel Test used for slurry seals
and microsurfacings to compact the sample
as a means of assessing the mixtures
susceptibility to flushing.
d) Wet Track Abrasion Loss used to measure
the wearing characteristics of slurry seals
and microsurfacings under wet track
abrasion conditions.
e) Schulze-Breuer-Ruck used to evaluate the
compatibility between bitumen, aggregate,
filler
and
polymer
modifier
in
microsurfacing.
f) Zero Shear Viscosity proposed as an
alternative to G*/sin as a measure of rut
resistance. Also used in highly modified

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mixtures to estimate the degree of polymer
network formation.
g) Infrared Spectroscopy (IR) and Nuclear
Magnetic Resonance (NMR) used to
verify the presence and relative abundance
of polymer modifiers.
h) High
Performance
Gel
Permeation
Chromatography (HPGPC) used to
characterize the molecular weight and
physical size of polymer modifiers.
Nowadays, most studies used rheological properties test
such as DSR and BBR to characterize the residue of polymer
modified asphalt emulsion even though some researchers still
use conventional test. Conventional test methods perform on
asphalt emulsion typically focused on determination of
viscosity, penetration, ductility, elastic recovery and softening
point temperature. However, researchers have found that
rheology is the best way to characterize the performance
properties of polymeric and high float asphalt gel structures,
as well as asphaltic materials. Rheology is the study of
deformation and flow of matter, specifically quantifying the
viscous and elastic components. The dynamic shear rheometer
(DSR) and bending beam rheometer (BBR) are now used for
specifying hot mix asphalt, and with some adaptations, are
recognized as the most potentially valuable tools for
specifying emulsion residues [33]. Takamura and Lubbers
used both of DSR and conventional test such as elastic
recovery, penetration and softening point to characterize the
SBR latex polymer modified asphalt emulsion residue in their
study to compare the emulsion residues recovered by forced
air flow and RTFO drying method [29]. From the study
conducted by Anderson et al, test result of penetration and
bending beam shows that polymer modification had little
effect on the low temperature properties and significantly
increases the temperature of softening point [8]. Salomon and
Thompson use DSR by performing frequency sweep and a
temperature sweep on the recovered residue to characterize
asphalt emulsion [31]. The preliminary rheological
characterization of the binders performed at 60 C and 25 C
show that the Complex Modulus, G* can be used to rank the
recovery procedure for each emulsion type [30]. Timothy et al
also use standard SUPERPAVE test procedure (BBR, DSR
and Direct Tension (DT) Tester) to characterize asphalt
emulsion residue [34].
VIII.

CONCLUSIONS

Overall, the use of polymer modified technology has been

proven that it can improve the physical properties,
performance, and durability of asphalt emulsion. For example,
the used of polymer can improve the temperature
susceptibility and rutting performance of cold mix. Certain
polymer can be added at higher dosage level in asphalt
emulsion compared to hot modified asphalt which means the
improvement of polymer modified asphalt emulsion is better
than hot polymer modified asphalt.
The method to add polymer is depends on the physical
properties of the polymer. Normally, the pre-blended method
will be used for solid polymer and post-blended method will

48

be used for liquid polymer. Even though the pre-blended

method is proven to produce a fine polymer network within
asphalt emulsion, some researchers suggested that postblended method should be used for liquid polymer to produce
polymer modified asphalt emulsion to reduce the energy used
and minimize the effect of heat to the polymer that might be
can alter or damage the polymer.
In terms of residue recovery methods, no consistent
method has been used all over the world. In general, residue
recovery method can be categorized based on two concepts:
distillation and evaporation. Distillation method use high
temperature of heat and evaporation can be considered use
lower temperature than distillation. However, these two
methods have their own advantages compared to each other.
For example, distillation can produce the emulsion residue in
short period of time compare to evaporation method, but the
heat used in distillation method can damage the morphology
of polymer. Evaporation method require a long period of time
to recover the residue and some method can be up to 48 hours
to complete the evaporation process. Some manufacturers
need a quick technique to recover the residue for quality
control test. Research and development (R & D) laboratory
normally prefer the evaporation method which can reduce the
effect of heat on polymer and asphalt emulsion itself.
DSR and BBR commonly are the preferred method choose
by researcher to characterize the residue of polymer modified
asphalt emulsion. However, some conventional test such as
penetration, ductility and softening point are still used by the
researchers and manufacturers to characterize asphalt
emulsion. DSR and BBR test can be considered among the
best methods to characterized polymer modified asphalt
emulsion residue because it can be used to quantify the
viscous and elastic components of asphalt emulsion.
REFERENCES
[1] J. Johnston and K. Gayle, Polymer Modified Asphalt
Emulsions: Composition, Uses and Specifications for
Surface
Treatments,
FHWA
Publication
No.
FHWACFL/TD0800x, April 2009.
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