Asphalt Pro - August/September 2010

Missouri Contractor Exemplifies Environmental Excellence

Heat Recovery Protects LAM’s Baghouse New Tech for Crumb Rubber How-to for Heater Uptime

Green Specs August/September 2010

18

20

Maintaining the baghouse is vital for dust control, fire prevention and saving on fuel costs.

See related article on page 18. Photo courtesy of Asphalt Drum Mixers, Huntertown, Ind.

NB West uses RAP, RAS, PMA and WMA on Route 47 for the greenest project you’ve seen this year.

Here crews create butt joints on the night paving project. See related article on page 20. Photo courtesy of AsphaltPro’s Chris Harrison.

Aug / Sept 2010

Departments

Articles

Letter From the Editor 5 Give Us Something We Can Rely On

9 Trucks Deliver a Sustainable Future

by Bill Graves

Around the Globe 6

20 NB West Mixes the Recycle Options for Missouri From warm mix additives to RAP, RAS & PMA, this producer/contractor offers DOT more than smooth pavement results

by Sandy Lender

People You Should Know 8 Spotlight on: ATA President and CEO Bill Graves Safety Spotlight 10 Instant Behind Haul Truck Spells Tragedy Fatality Assessment and Control Evaluation division of NIOSH

by AsphaltPro Staff Mix It Up 12 Certify Your WMA Technology NCAT puts certification process in motion

by NCAT and AsphaltPro Staff

28 Tracking Environmental Specifications

by AsphaltPro Staff 30 Kansas Plant Takes Recycling Beyond the Baghouse

by Sandy Lender

32 Phoenix Industries uses new technology to turn PG64-22 oil and crumb rubber into asphalt pellets. See related article on page 32. Photo courtesy of Phoenix Industries, Dallas.

32 Green Asphalt Pellets

by Sandy Lender 41 Roadtec Provides More Room for Training

Equipment Maintenance 16 Ensure Heater Uptime

by Ron Henry 34 Keep up with Baghouse Maintenance

by Greg Bullis

36

Equipment Gallery 36 Crumb Rubber Contributes to Entech’s Environmental Excellence

Crumb Rubber is the name of the game in an environmentally responsible arena. See related article on page 36. Photo courtesy of Entech, Inc., White Pigeon, Mich.

Here’s How It Works 40 KTP Enterprise’s FastMeasure DMI 42 Reliable Asphalt Products’ RTR Last Cut 44 Refinery Capacity Falls

by AsphaltPro Staff Resource Directory 46

30

On the cover: Leavenworth Asphalt Materials uses the Maxam Heat Recovery System to control baghouse temperatures when running warm mix asphalt (WMA). See related story on page 30. Photo courtesy of Maxam Equipment, Kansas City, Mo. ASPHALT PRO 3

Aug/Sept 2010 • Vol. 3 No. 9

Give Us Something We Can Rely On editor’s note

2001 Corporate Place Columbia, MO 65202 573-499-1830 • 573-499-1831 www.theasphaltpro.com

publisher Chris Harrison associate publisher Sally Shoemaker

sally@theasphaltpro.com (660) 248-2258

editor Sandy Lender sandy@theasphaltpro.com (239) 272-8613

operations/circulation manager Cindy Sheridan business manager Renea Sapp graphic design Alisha Moreland Kristin Branscom creative services Betsy Bell

AsphaltPro is published nine times per year: January, February, March, April/May, June/July, August/ September, October, November and December by The Business Times Company, 2001 Corporate Place, Columbia, MO 65202 Subscription Policy: Individual subscriptions are available without charge in the United Sates, Canada and Mexico to qualified individuals.

One year subscription to non-qualifying Individuals: United States $90, Canada and Mexico $125.00 and $175.00 all other countries (payable in U.S. funds, drawn on U.S. bank). Single copies available $17 each.

For quite some time now I’ve suggested that raising the gasoline user fee to supplement the Highway Trust Fund would be problematic. I’ve encouraged members of the asphalt industry to write in with their ideas for funding; I’ve offered some painful ideas of my own. Now, I’m disappointed to say, the secretary of transportation has made what I consider an irresponsible announcement for someone in his position by stating “raising the gas tax is not an option.”

How dare he slam that door?

He’s falling back on the already disproved concept of toll roads and the not-yet-disproved Obama plan for highway funding. I cringe. I assume I don’t have to explain to the AsphaltPro audience the problems with relying on tolls for funding—or the sudden detriment to parallel corridors and those corridors’ pavement maintenance plans when tolls are set in place.

We can all agree the current gasoline user fee doesn’t cover Highway Trust Fund needs. You don’t need me to tell you it’s been losing “currency” for years due to inflation and, more recently, due to fewer miles driven and ethanol additives, etc.

What the trust fund needs is a good shot in the arm with a cost-of-living tax hike. Whether or not such a beast can be conjured during this economy is for the pundits to debate. Although I have an opinion on the matter that’s south of positive, I’m not ready to go down without a fight.

There are people who can read a graph, if you present it to them logically. There are people who will understand that the gasoline user fee is a deficit-neutral item that is truly a user fee. If you don’t use the road today, you don’t pay the fee on gasoline today. It’s pretty simple.

Unfortunately, the loss of the gasoline user fee’s effectiveness coupled with Congress’s inaction on a long-term reauthorization bill has gutted infrastructure planning and expenditures.

Jay Hansen of NAPA pointed out during a transportation coalition webinar at the end of July that this means highway jobs and conditions are at risk. Jobs are at risk to the tune of 870,000 people over the next two years. That’s something your representatives need to know. They have a chance to save their constituents’ jobs if they’ll just get on the ball and get a user fee increase and a reauthorization bill taken care of.

While we’re on the topic, Congress has bandied about a new transportation bill that throws another $4 billion on top of the expired SAFETEA-LU’s allotted monies. Again, where does the funding come from? We love to see Congress finally give attention to an industry that can rescue the economy and create lasting jobs from one end of the construction spectrum to the other, but we must enforce the idea that this industry of superheroes deserves to have a strong, reliable, lasting bank account behind it. Congress needs to put in place not just the rosy idea of planned projects that make a safe, positive transportation infrastructure, but also the resources that make the building of those very real and solid projects possible.

We must enforce the idea that long-term planning at the state level happens when agencies and owners can rely on the money promised in a transportation bill. The bill must be lasting, it must be stable, it must be adequate for the times. Otherwise, a soft and mushy set of half-plans and half-promises leaves unsteady work orders on tap. What Congress must do is deliver a strong and reliable bill backed by a strong and reliable funding stream so we, as an industry, can deliver a strong and reliable work force with strong and reliable infrastructure for the future.

Have you shared this message with your representatives? Do they know how important their actions are when it comes to transportation funding legislation? I encourage you to fill them in.

Please visit www.hotmix.org/highwaybill to download toolkits for contacting your representatives. Also, be sure to take advantage of the brief window you have with your representatives while they’re in their home districts as this issue of AsphaltPro hits your desk. They return to Washington soon and you can reach them in their offices there after Sept. 13.

Stay safe,

Sandy Lender ASPHALT PRO 5

AROUND THE GLOBE Industry News and Happenings from Around the World Canada Producers who screen aggregate, sand and gravel, recycle, asphalt, coal, slag, green waste or other related materials will find a new resource at www.majorwire.cc. Major Wire Industries, Ltd., Candiac, Quebec, has launched the site with the ability to answer producer screening inquiries through multiple avenues, including a Q&A submissions section, a live chat feature and a dealer locator.

France If your native language is French, navigating the Astec Industries Web site is easier now. Officials at Astec, Inc., Chattanooga, had the site at www.astecinc.com translated so visitors can select the Francais option to read easily.

Portugal The vice president of the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO), Susan Martinovich, stressed the importance of “a new and enhanced national highway policy and funding plan” for the United States at the 16th annual International Road Federation World Meeting in Lisbon, Portugal. Jack Basso, AASHTO’s director of program finance and management, presented to the audience the federal government’s future role when it comes to transportation financing and how the nation can best generate the needed revenue for highway investment. Representatives from 82 nations participated in this year’s meeting. Source: AASHTO

United Kingdom Brookfield Engineering, Middleboro, Mass., announces the expansion and relocation of their United Kingdom headquarters, the new Brookfield Technical Centre, to Stadium Way in Harlow, Essex. The new facility is twice the size of the previous office and features expanded office space for international sales, increased service and repair center space, room for storage of instruments and spare parts, and an area designed for on-site training and seminars.

This space includes a lab where customers can apply the theory they learn in the classroom. Visit www.brookfield. co.uk or call (44) 1279/451774.

United States • As reported before, remember that the asphalt industry has new Life Cycle Cost Software available for accurate lifecycle cost analysis (LCCA) of pavements from the Asphalt Pavement Alliance (APA) at www.asphaltroads.org/whyasphalt/economics.html. LCCAExpress uses the principles recommended by the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) to compare the real economics of alternative designs for a given road project. It’s designed to be a quick, 6 August/SEptember 2010

easy-to-use, unbiased, and simplified version of APA’s original LCCA software geared to less-complex projects.

• For updates, opinion and links concerning funding legislation, be sure to check the blog at www.TheAsphaltForum. blogspot.com.

Alabama

• The Superpave Binder Technician Training and Certification Course held at the National Center for Asphalt Technology (NCAT), Auburn, Ala., Oct. 4 through 7, provides 2.5 Continuing Education Units (CEUs). Registration and payment deadline is Sept. 24. Contact Linda Kerr at (334) 844-7308 or visit www.ncat.us.

• The 2009, third edition of Hot Mix Asphalt Materials, Mixture Design and Construction is now available at http://store.hotmix.org.

Colorado

Gregg Rippy and Tom Johnson join the Colorado Asphalt Pavement Association (CAPA) board of directors. Rippy, president of the second-generation Grand River Construction, Inc., Glenwood Springs, is a former state representative and past president of the Colorado Contractors Association (CCA). Johnson is the asphalt sales manager for Frontier Oil Corp. and brings more than 20 years of experience in the asphalt industry to his position. Source: CAPA

Florida

The Asphalt Contractors Association of Florida, Tallahassee, announces its 34th annual asphalt conference, Sept.

13 through 14, 2010, in Orlando. Visit www.FloridaRidesOnUs.org to look for more information.

Idaho

Officials at ECCO, Boise, Idaho, announce Bret Blakley has been promoted to divisional manager of the Northeastern United States. Bret has been with ECCO since 2008 and will be based out of Columbus, Ohio. For safety needs, contact him at bblakley@eccogroup.com

Illinois

Electrical safety has a new and improved portal at www.

SafeElectricity.org, hosted by the Energy Education Council, Springfield, Ill.

Maryland

Nomination forms for the National Asphalt Pavement Association (NAPA) 2010 awards program are now available for download at www.hotmix.org. Note that all awards have a postmark deadline of Sept. 17, except the Quality in Construction paving awards, which have a postmark deadline of Oct. 1. Good luck to all AsphaltPro readers!

Massachusetts

Brookfield Engineering Laboratories, Middleboro, Mass, announces the appointment of Thomas Babington to the position of senior product development engineer.

Michigan When producers look for ways to add recycle to the mix, they can consider something global with the 2010 World Trader of the Year. The West Michigan World Trade Association (WMWTA) presented the award to Bandit Industries, Inc., Grand Rapids, Mich., for their commitment to international trade. Bandit is the OEM of the Beast recyclers for shingles. To read more, visit www.banditchippers.com.

Ohio The Ohio Department of Transportation now allows the use of warm mix asphalt (WMA) in its heavy traffic surface mixes. Foaming appears to be the method of choice, but contractors are able to offer alternatives under ODOT Construction & Materials Specifications (Section 100). Source: Spring/ Summer 2010 Ohio Asphalt

Tennessee To be a part of this year's Wirtgen America Charity Golf Classic, Oct. 3 and 4, contact Sandy Draper at (615) 5010600 or sandy@wirtgenamerica.com. The Sunday evening live-music party and auction will feature country music legend Charlie Daniels. Tee time is 10 a.m. Monday at the Gaylord Springs Golf Links with all proceeds benefitting the national non-profit T.J. Martell Foundation.

Washington, D.C. Progressive Railroading reported on its site in early June that four congressmen introduced legislation to offer a 25 percent tax credit for companies rebuilding old or building new rail cars in 2010 and 2011. H.R. 5478, also known as the Green Railcar Enhancement Act of 2010, would require the rebuilt cars have an 8 percent increase in either capacity or fuel efficiency. The act is designed to get cars up and ready for a market rebound now, as opposed to waiting until future years and using less fuel-efficient cars on the nation’s tracks. There was no word on how many miles of track need asphalt beds under them.

Correction We apologize for misinformation in the June/July issue of AsphaltPro. The paver that CDOT maintenance crews used for the placement of EZ Street Hybrid mix and HMA on the Mt. Evans Rd. project in Colorado (page 14), is a Caterpillar paver with a VIP screed.

people you should know Spotlight on:

ATA President and CEO Bill Graves Name: Bill Graves Title and organization: President and CEO, American Trucking Associations, the national trade and safety organization of the U.S. trucking industry Job description: Gov. Graves leads the ATA, which is the largest national trade association for the trucking industry. Through a federation of other trucking groups, industry-related conferences, and its 50 affiliated state trucking associations, ATA represents more than 37,000 members covering every type of motor carrier in the United States.

Education: Gov. Graves earned a degree in Business Administration from Kansas Wesleyan University, Salina, Kan., and attended graduate school at the University of Kansas.

Community involvement: “Prior to living in the Washington area, I was very involved in the Jayhawk Area Council of the Boy Scouts of America.”

A businessperson I admire: “Always my father. He taught me how to be successful while still being humble, considerate and generous to others less fortunate.”

If I weren’t doing this for a living, I would: “Certainly consider another role in public service or working in the operational side of trucking.”

We won’t leave your site without

100%

Biggest career or personal obstacle I’ve overcome: “When my father sold the family business in 1980, I mistakenly viewed it as the end of my opportunity to follow in his footsteps running the family trucking company. While disappointing, it actually created the opportunity that allowed me to serve two terms as Kansas Secretary of State and two terms as Governor of Kansas.”

WE KEEP YOU RUNNING

What’s currently on my iPod: “Episodes from The Office and music you expect from a 57-year-old: Rolling Stones, Sting, Phil Collins and ZZ Top.”

customer satisfaction

30 years experience in the asphalt industry • Setups and Teardowns • Retro-Fit and Rebuilds • All Parts for Asphalt Plant • Maintenance Packages • Operator Training at your facility • New & Used Equipment

ASK

how Bullis Fabrications Maintenance package program will keep you going all year long while saving you 20 - 30% on your maintenance budget.

866-981-8965 www.bullisfabrication.com 8 August/SEptember 2010

A favorite recent project: “I’m in the process of having my 1964 Chevy Impala Super Sport 409 restored.”

Favorite movie: Forrest Gump, The Natural, Gladiator, Walk The Line Most well-worn book in my library: Anything by Ken Follett My pets: “Buster the Golden Retriever and Chase, a Boykin Spaniel from South Carolina.”

What I do for fun: “Golf. I didn’t play when I was younger, but after my public service career ended in 2003, I’ve taken it up with a passion.”

Favorite place in my hometown: “The Cozy Inn. If you ever get to Salina, Kansas, you’ve got to eat hamburgers at the Cozy!”

Accomplishment I’m most proud of: “Being the father of my daughter Katie.”

Most people don’t know that I: “Gave the race command, ‘Gentlemen, Start Your Engines’ at the 1998 Daytona 500—Dale Earnhardt’s only year to win.”

Trucks Deliver a Sustainable Future

by Bill Graves

T

he trucking industry is the lifeblood of our nation’s economy, hauling virtually all of the consumer goods we use daily. More than any other mode of transportation, trucking offers shippers an unparalleled combination of speed and reliability at a competitive price.

Trucks make it possible for businesses to operate precise just-in-time inventory systems that ensure food, clothing and medicine are always on the shelves.

Legislative and regulatory approaches to reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from the transportation sector should distinguish between automobiles, which are usually discretionary drivers, and commercial trucks, which drive only when and where the market demands.

The American Trucking Associations (ATA) has six practical recommendations to mitigate GHGs from commercial trucks, which account for about 6 percent of GHG in this country. These proposals together can reduce diesel and gasoline fuel consumption by 86 billion gallons and CO2 emissions of all vehicles by nearly a billion tons over the next decade. The initiatives include policies that improve access and expand highway capacity around the nation’s worst traffic bottlenecks, use technologies to reduce discretionary idling, reduce speed on our highways to 65 mph, promote more productive trucks, advocate expansion of programs such as the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s SmartWaySM Transport Program, and improve diesel engine efficiency.

Population growth and increasing freight tonnage over the next 10 years necessitate the expansion and repair of our national highway system. ATA estimates that freight tonnage will increase by more than 25 percent during that time period, with the modal share of freight moved by truck increasing from 68 to 71 percent. Repairing and expanding capacity at the nation’s worst congestion points would have the greatest impact for highway

users, improving commute times and reducing emissions caused by nondiscretionary idling.

In addition, ATA recommends pursuing a federal solution that reduces discretionary idling through incentives for new technologies. Discretionary idling is when drivers idle their engines during rest periods to provide heat or air conditioning for the sleeper compartment, keep the engine warm during cold weather and provide electrical power for their appliances. The marketplace has options available to fleets to minimize discretionary idling, and providing tax incentives to purchase this equipment will help increase its use with fleets.

ATA’s Environmental Sustainability Plan also calls for reducing speeds on highways by setting the national speed limit for all vehicles at 65 mph. Reducing speed conserves fuel, lowers GHG emissions and improves highway safety. ATA estimates that a truck traveling at 75 mph consumes 27 percent more fuel than one traveling at 65 mph.

Another recommendation promotes the use of more productive truck combinations as a way to relieve congestion, reduce emissions and conserve fuel by reducing the number of trucks needed. Moreover, the EPA identified the use of more productive trucks as an effective strategy to reduce vehicle emissions as part of its SmartWaySM program. ATA recommends that shippers and carriers join the program, the goal of which is to look beyond the fuel economy of individual vehicles and use new management techniques and technologies to increase the amount of cargo moved per gallon of fuel for a whole fleet.

Finally, ATA supports setting cost-effective, technologically feasible national fuel economy standards for medium- and heavy-duty trucks that reduce fuel consumption and maintain vehicle performance.

Improvements in fuel economy will lead to lower emissions.

ATA’s Environmental Sustainability policies provide the trucking industry with realistic ways of reducing greenhouse gas emissions without impeding the freedom of movement essential to the economy.

Bill Graves is the president and CEO of the American Trucking Associations.

ASPHALT PRO 9

SAFETY SPOTLIGHT Instant Behind Haul Truck Spells Tragedy Fatality Assessment and Control Evaluation division of NIOSH

by AsphaltPro Staff

H

ow many times do industry professionals hear of an accident involving a haul truck backing over a worker in a construction zone? Each time is one time too many. What makes each one more horrible than the last is the feeling of preventability.

National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) officers visit the scene. Investigators for the Fatality Assessment and Control Evaluation (FACE) Program recommend ways to prevent similar accidents in the future. Yet a worker is gone. His or her family mourns.

The company in which the tragedy unfolded suffers losses in spirit, moral, confidence, insurance costs, work time and more.

In the example discussed in this month’s Safety Spotlight, it appears at first glance that personnel followed safety protocol. Readers will notice that drivers looked out for each other. It was the quick, simple act of reaching back to grab a dropped newspaper that put a worker in harm’s way at just the wrong moment.

How does a safety officer ensure that such an accident doesn’t happen at his company? NIOSH officers have some recommendations that will be outlined here, but it comes down to the safety culture in a company. Every decision that every worker makes must be couched in an aura of safety. Building that culture takes constant diligence to prevent the one quick, simple act that puts a worker in harm’s way.

Accident

The language barrier is not always the culprit. On May 22, 2008, a 55-year-old Hispanic municipal worker fell victim to the work zone’s most common accident, but not due to the most common reason. His primary language was English, thus he could understand safety regulations as they were taught to him.

He was critically injured when a 3-ton backing dump truck hit him, dragging him several feet along the pavement. The reason he was out of his truck to begin with points to problems. His lack of driving skill made it necessary for a driver (Driver B) with 25 years of holding a commercial driver’s license (CDL) to take over his duties on the curve of road where the trucks were backing up, according to the FACE report on the accident. While Driver B exchanged trucks with him, the decedent carried his personal belongings from his cab to Truck B. On the way, he dropped his newspaper behind Truck A. Driver B, who had seen him walking toward Truck B, no longer saw him in the mirrors. So he began to back toward the work area.

10 August/SEptember 2010

SAFETY SPOTLIGHT The backup alarm began to sound. Workers nearby began shouting in warning. But the decendent merely acknowledged the running, waving, shouting co-workers; he didn’t jump out of the way. Truck B hit him and he succumbed to his injuries two weeks later in the hospital. The death certificate listed the cause of death as “crush and complications from the injury.”

Recommendations

Investigators from the Michigan Occupational Safety and Health Administration (MIOSHA) Construction Safety and Health Division issued a citation when they finished their investigation. According to MIOSHA, “[e]mployees were working without the knowledge and training received from a construction site safety and health accident prevention program developed and administered by the employer” and “[e] mployees were not provided with formal training on hazard recognition associated with walking behind heavy equipment used on a construction site.”

FACE workers who investigated the accident suggested, first and foremost that employers have adequate, written backing protocol in place for workers. They also recommend spotters for all backing vehicles in construction zones. The type of protocol they recommend include: • assign a trained spotter • position the spotter in a logical place that gives him/her clear view of the vehicle’s path • no backing begins until the spotter gives an agreedupon signal • if the vehicle operator loses contact with the spotter, he or she must stop backing immediately; don’t resume movement until contact is reacquired Don’t forget to give your spotters tools to help them.

Whistles, lights and flags are devices to help make the spotter stand out from the rest of the congestion in a work zone.

Another recommendation from FACE investigators was ensuring workers on foot stay out of the work area where heavy equipment is in motion/in use. If workers on foot can stay in clear view of equipment operators, they have a better chance of staying out of harm’s way.

FACE investigators reiterated their desire to see equipment owners install aftermarket devices to improve safety.

“Daily exposure to the noise and warning devices of backing equipment can desensitize workers to the presence of such vehicles,” they reported. “Other warning devices, such as a strobe light, are available. Also available are detection systems employing electromagnetic, infrared, or ultrasonic signaling systems, and video cameras for use on vehicles to identify and alert operators to the presence of objects or individuals in the blind spots behind a vehicle.”

Finally, refer to the NIOSH Safety and Health topic Highway Work Zone Safety topic page. This offers equipment owners a “view” of the blind spots around equipment.

Caterpillar Inc., under contract to NIOSH, developed detailed diagrams to assist in the visualization of the blind areas around various construction vehicles and equipment. For

each construction vehicle tested, three different diagrams were developed to represent the ability of the vehicle operator to see an object at three different elevations. You can access this at http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/topics/ highwayworkzones/.

Staying safe around backing haul trucks is a common topic for safety directors and safety departments because it is a difficult task. By developing a safety culture in which employees constantly have safe practices on their minds, officers and managers come that much closer to accident-free work zones and the prevention of tragedies like the one discussed here. At AsphaltPro Magazine, we send our sympathies to the family that lost a loved one in May 2008, and we hope the recommendations NIOSH and FACE officials offered can help avert such an accident in your work force.

MIX IT UP Certify Your WMA Technology

NCAT puts certification process in motion

by NCAT and AsphaltPro Staff

A

s warm mix asphalt (WMA) gains acceptance across the United States, state agencies require verification of its performance to approve its new technologies.

However, trial projects can be challenging and costly for WMA technology manufacturers to set up in many different states.

To address this industry need, researchers at the National Center for Asphalt Technology (NCAT), Auburn, Ala., have begun a WMA certification program that will involve detailed evaluation of well-controlled test sections on the NCAT Test Track and a comprehensive lab testing program. The field evaluation and lab testing plan are based on feedback from states across the union.

According to the National Warm Mix Asphalt Certification Proposal by Andrea Kvasnak, Buzz Powell and Randy West, NCAT surveyed state agencies to discover what type of evaluation and documentation they would prefer be included in a national certification program.

The results showed, first, that state agencies welcome this process.

12 August/SEptember 2010

“Ten of the [31] respondents stated that performance data collected from the NCAT test track would be used for approving a WMA technology in their state. Twenty-one respondents stated that their state might accept the results.

The comments from many of the respondents that selected ‘maybe,’ stated that it would be dependent upon the type of testing, data collection, and materials selected for the national certification program.”

The aggregate properties that state agencies would like to see a national test focus on include stripping potential as the top priority, followed by durability. The mix properties that state agencies would like to evaluate in a national certification program include moisture sensitivity first and foremost, with rutting potential a secondary consideration.

State agencies would like to see a variety of performance characteristics documented in a national certification, starting with density measurements and rutting measurements.

Respondents also wrote in performance characteristics such as moisture damage, raveling, coating and tenderness in addition to the typical performance characteristics the NCAT Test Track researchers test for.

For lab testing, a majority of the agencies responding “think that AASHTO T 283 should be included in a national certification program.”

Respondents seemed to have much input for the lab evaluation section of a national certification. “Sixty-seven percent of the respondents felt that recovered asphalt binder performance grade (PG) classifications should also be conducted. … One respondent commented that the mix testing listed along with standard aggregate properties should be evaluated.

Several respondents thought that a fatigue test should be included in the evaluation. Numerous respondents stated that volumetric properties should be documented. One respondent felt that simple shear testing should be included and another respondent was interested in stability and flow testing.” (See Table 1.)

Certification cycles will occur annually and consist of three phases—mix design, field evaluation and lab evaluation.

Mix Design

The Superpave mix design will incorporate all virgin materials, including an aggregate that is historically susceptible to moisture damage.

This will help determine if using a particular WMA technology increases the propensity for moisture damage. Each WMA technology will be incorporated into the mix design using recommendations from NCHRP 09-43: Mix Design Practices for Warm Mix Asphalt.

Field Evaluation

Each WMA section will be a 1.5-inch overlay placed in the curve of the NCAT Test Track and will be trafficked for one year, receiving approximately 5-million equivalent single axle loads (ESALs). Each section will be evaluated weekly for rutting, roughness, macrotexture and cracking.

Additionally, cores will be taken quarterly to inspect for signs of moisture damage. A control hot mix asphalt (HMA) section of identical thickness will be constructed for each certification cycle, allowing NCAT to compare constructability and performance of each participating WMA technology with the control HMA section. The control HMA will have the same gradation as the WMA; the only difference in the mixes will be the WMA technology and mixing temperature.

Laboratory Evaluation

During construction, plant-produced WMA and HMA will be sampled for standard quality control testing, as well as further lab evaluation. Testing will include moisture sensitivity (tensile strength ratio, Hamburg wheel tracking test and the boil test), rutting (Asphalt Pavement Analyzer), permanent deformation (flow number), thermal cracking resistance, bond strength, stiffness (dynamic modulus), cracking potential (Texas Overlay Test), and recovered binder performance grade.

If comparisons between a given WMA section and the HMA control section are favorable, the WMA product will be added to the certified list, which will be maintained on the NCAT Web site.

Construction for the first WMA certification cycle took place in the beginning of May 2010. NCAT is in the process of planning the second cycle, which will be constructed in August.

14 August/SEptember 2010

EQUIPMENT MAINTENANCE Ensure Heater Uptime

by Ron Henry

M

odern heaters at HMA plants are built to be reliable. Consequently, unexplained heater shutdowns do not happen often. When they do, the operator is under pressure to get the heater back in operation. He immediately calls the factory and talks to a service technician. He asks, “What caused my heater to shut down?”

Before the technician can answer, he must ask the operator some questions. His first question is, “What message do you see on the burner management display?” (See photo.) Or, “Which one of the status lights on the control panel went out first?” After getting answers to a few more questions they usually identify the problem and solve it quickly.

The time may come when an operator needs to get a heater back up and running before he can get help. So let’s talk about why heaters shut down and how to fix the problem.

Virtually all shutdowns are caused by a device on the heater that has sensed an abnormal or unsafe operating condition. (Every Heatec heater has about 10 of these devices.) Each device reacts to a different condition. Each device has preset limits for a particular operating condition that it is designed to sense. All of these devices are wired into a series electrical circuit widely known as the 3-to-P interlock circuit. If any one of these devices detects an abnormal operating condition, it will open that circuit and cause an abnormal heater shutdown known as a lockout.

The first step in fixing a problem is to identify which device sensed a problem and shut down the heater.

This is not always easy because it could be any one of the 10. Once the device is identified, the next step is to correct the condition that triggered the device.

On Heatec heaters manufactured since 2010, a message will appear on the Fireye burner display identifying when the lockout happened and which of the 10 conditions/devices caused the lockout. On earlier Heatec heaters, the first line of the message identifies when the lockout happened. The second line of the message reads “3-P INTLK OPEN,” but does not identify which one of the 10 conditions/devices caused the shutdown. To determine which one opened, it is necessary to check status lights on the control panel.

The status lights are typically arranged in order from top to bottom and in columns from left to right. That sequence corresponds to the sequence of the limit devices in the 3-to-P circuit. Each light indicates the status of one of the interlock devices. When one of the

16 August/SEptember 2010

Editor’s Note: Although some of the author’s discussion focuses on one brand of equipment, the technique for troubleshooting a “down” heater applies to other brands as well. Most direct-fired heaters have similar circuits to protect them from abnormal operating conditions. The information here could help you regardless of what company made your heater.

Status lights offer the first clues when the heater shuts down.

EQUIPMENT MAINTENANCE

Check and adjust the thermal fluid level and differential pressure switches as necessary.

Troubleshoot a Down Heater 1. Identify which device sensed a problem.

2. Correct the condition that triggered the device.

18 August/SEptember 2010

The burner management display will spell out messages for the operator.

devices opens, its light goes out. All status lights in order after that light will also go out. Thus, the first status light (in the order of lights) to go out typically indicates which device triggered the shutdown.

Sometimes the status lights may not provide a totally reliable way to determine which device caused the shutdown. An example is when certain devices automatically reset themselves after a shutdown. If a device has reset itself you won’t know it caused the shutdown unless you were watching the lights and saw its light go out and then come back on.

Another concern is status lights that could have burned-out bulbs (previously unnoticed). In that case, use a voltmeter to determine whether there is still voltage present at the bulb.

Once you have identified the limit device that caused the shutdown, you must find out why it caused the shutdown.

The first suspect is often the limit device itself. You may want to make sure the limit device is working properly before exploring other possible causes. It may not be set properly and you may need to consult factory information provided with your heater for its recommended settings.

It may simply be defective. Again, factory information should provide instructions on how to check the device.

In most cases it makes sense to try the easiest thing first. For example, if the low media level switch caused the shutdown, the easiest thing to do is to check the level of thermal fluid (the media) in the expansion tank to see if it is really too low. If it is really too low, add thermal fluid. But if its level is not too low, check to make sure there are no loose wire connections in the switch circuit.

If the connections are okay, it may be time to check the switch itself.

Some shutdowns can have any one of numerous causes, including some not-soobvious ones. Finding the problem often requires using the process of elimination.

Again, do the easy things first. For example, if the differential pressure switch shuts down the heater, the cause could be any one of about nine things, described in factory instructions. The most common cause is a clogged hot oil filter. Check that first.

You get the idea.

It pays to learn all you can about your heater before you encounter an emergency.

At the very least learn the purpose of every interlock device on your heater and where it is. The manufacturer of your heater should provide you with this information.

Ron Henry is a service manager at Heatec, Inc., Chattanooga. For more information, contact (800) 235-5200 or visit www.heatec.com.

NB West Mixes the Recycle Options for Missouri

NB West Contractors uses a variety of recycling methods in its push for green mix design and paving methods in the asphalt industry.

From warm mix additive to RAP, RAS & PMA, this producer/ contractor offers DOT more than smooth pavement results 20 August/SEptember 2010

by Sandy Lender

What an Absorptive Rock You Are A rock’s formation, porosity and temperature affect how much liquid asphalt cement or additive it’ll take on. MeadWestvaco’s Everett Crews gives a summary of how a piece of aggregate’s past interplays with Evotherm’s present, and how a producer can influence that interaction with a little temperature control.

“A number of benefits arise from the lower mix production and pavement construction temperatures that Evotherm technology enables. One of these benefits is decreased asphalt absorption into the pore structure of the mineral aggregate.

“At normal hot mix temperatures, too much asphalt may be absorbed by the aggregate, and effective binder content may decrease to a point that the mix is rendered susceptible to premature aging problems like embrittlement, cracking and ravelling. By using Evotherm at lower production and construction temperatures, we reduce the degree of absorption.

“This is extremely important because many abundant, readily-available aggregate sources tend to be absorbent. Some limestone seams, for example, may yield stone of high porosity, if the limestone is young in geological terms or if the seam was not subjected to high compressive forces as it formed beneath the Earth’s surface. Rhyolitic stones are igneous rocks, but they too can be porous, because they are formed from extrusion of magma above ground where it cools very quickly leaving it more porous than igneous rocks like granite, which form as magma cools very slowly beneath the Earth’s surface.”

I

n the state of Missouri, recycling is a hot topic. The Missouri Department of Transportation (MoDOT) is one of the leading states to perform research and fund projects that will get recycled asphalt shingle (RAS) material into pavements in a sound manner. For Earth Day 2010, MoDOT officials went to the site of NB West Contractors, Sullivan, Mo., to film two videos that educate the general public about the importance of recycling methods in asphalt paving.

One of those methods, the use of RAS, factors into project number J6P2139 that NB West crews performed for MoDOT this summer. Not only did NB West smooth out Route 47 from the Washington City limit to Highway 50 in Franklin County, the contractor saved the state $42,697.00 on a shoulder mix for the project and provided additional performance information for the use of RAS with polymer modified asphalts (PMAs).

Steve Jackson, manager for NB West, explained the importance of the mix designs used on the project.

Quality assurance personnel for NB West used the AP-1B falling-head permeameter from Gilson to test the new pavement non-destructively.

ASPHALT PRO 21

The Mixes NB West’s lab and quality assurance team members took extra samples to get plenty of data for the mixes on the Route 47 project.

The first mix that was used was a 9.5 mm nominal maximum aggregate size Superpave mix with PG70-22 PMA. This mix was placed ¾ inch thick as a leveling course. This mix uses 4 percent recycled tear-off shingles and 11 percent RAP. The second mix was a 12.5 mm nominal maximum aggregate size Superpave mix designated as SP125CLP. This mix contains 5 percent recycled tear-off shingles and 10 percent RAP with PG70-22 PMA and Evotherm 3G warm mix additive.

Also, a revised value-engineering proposal from NB West, approved in March, downgraded the mix on the shoulders from the SP125CLP to a BP-1, saving MoDOT $42,697.00.

“Currently MoDOT specifications do not allow shingles to be used in mixes with polymer modified asphalt cement,” Jackson said. “This job is being done as a research project to gather performance information.”

Producing mixes for the Route 47 project took time and effort from the quality control crew.

22 August/SEptember 2010

“This mix is the first time that RAS is being allowed by MoDOT in conjunction with polymer modified asphalt. Up ’til now RAS could only be used with neat asphalts. This project is a trial for RAS and PMA in the state of Missouri. MoDOT and Dr. Chris Williams are doing considerable testing on this mix as part of the evaluation process. This research may be part of the pooled fund study for shingles in asphalt in which MoDOT is the lead state. Joe Schroer from MoDOT approached me about doing a warm mix research study with the FHWA. Unfortunately the FHWA was not able to join us on this project.”

Joe Schroer, MoDOT field materials engineer, also worked with Jackson on the video MoDOT produced concerning RAS. In that piece, his remarks show the state’s commitment to RAS use. “We use shingles in most of our general asphalt paving mixtures, which comprises about 80 percent of our mixtures right now.”

The video reports that MoDOT saved more than $20 million on resurfacing projects in which recycled asphalt and shingles were used and that more than a dozen Missouri contractors use shingles as a standard part of their business. Out of those contractors, NB West was selected as the spokesman for the method.

“Instead of all these shingles being pushed into a landfill, we’re capturing them,” Jackson said for the camera. He explained the process in layman’s terms for the general public to understand. First, roofing contractors bring the shingles to the contractor; the contractor grinds them to a useable size to get the most oil out of them; and then the contractor puts that product back into the roads.

For the Route 47 project, NB West used 5 percent RAS in the mix. The Missouri limit is 7 percent, but Jackson explained their volume.

“Missouri has a limit of 7 percent RAS that can be used in a mix design.

If you have more than 30 percent virgin asphalt cement replacement you have to start developing blending charts and use a softer grade of asphalt.

Typically 7 percent shingles is about a 30 percent asphalt cement replacement. Most of our mix designs use 3 percent RAS. We decided to use more shingles on this mix design to learn more about RAS, warm mix, and polymer modified asphalt.”

The RAS is only one aspect of the process NB West used on the Route 47 project in late June. The lab techs knew the crew would have a long haul time of approximately one hour for the job and they had an aggregate with a low absorption rate to think about when it came to mix design.

So they turned to a known additive for help.

“The aggregate for this project has a very low absorption ~1.0 percent,” Jackson said. “The surface mix is a SP 125CLP. The LP stands for Limestone Porphyry. We are using a Rhyolite from Iron Mountain Trap Rock. The other coarse aggregates are Dolomite with very low absorption.

“We are using a warm mix additive to reduce emissions, aid in compaction and maintain workability after a long haul,” he continued. “We decided to use Evotherm 3G on this project because of the long haul (approximately 1 hour), as an aid to achieving density, and to achieve a bonus on our tensile strength ratios (TSRs). We have also had more problems with our tires on the drum cracking since we started using RAP and RAS. Our theory is that superheating the aggregate to dry out the RAP and RAS is creating more stress on the drum. By using the Evotherm 3G M1 we are able to reduce our drying temperature and reduce our plant maintenance.

The Evotherm product works with any residual moisture in the RAP and RAS to achieve better coating and allow us to drop our mix temperatures.”

Everett Crews, the technology development director for MeadWestvaco Asphalt Innovations, North Charleston, S.C., explained the process for readers.

“The Evotherm surfactant package does not act by modifying only the viscosity of the binder. Rather it modifies the overall rheological

response of the binder to high shear events like rolling under a multi-ton vibratory compactor. The specially-formulated surfactants enable the binder to behave as if it were at much higher temperature, so that the Evotherm mix can be discharged from the transport truck, processed through the paver and screed, and finally compacted to target densities, even when the Evotherm mix is 35 to 55 degrees Centigrade below the normal compaction temperature of hot mix.”

When adding RAS to the mix, Jackson didn’t see any impact to the ratio of additive needed.

“The absorption of the liquid AC does not seem to be impacted. Our AC content testing was very consistent for this project. The Evotherm 3G M1 dosage rate is calculated at 0.5 percent of the total asphalt content, not just the virgin asphalt content. We have to add 0.65 percent Evotherm to the virgin asphalt cement to achieve 0.5 percent dosage in the mix.”

Again, Crews agreed with Jackson’s assessment. “A number of projects using mixes containing RAP and up to 5 percent RAS have been completed successfully

Shingle waste is delivered to the plant site.

After grinding, the waste shingles are stockpiled as RAP would be.

A loader feeds RAS to the bins.

The burner uses #4 recycled fuel oil to heat materials.

Steve Jackson explained that the joints on the project were built without a wedge maker due to the changes in mix design. “The joints are being built as a butt joint. The mainline is a Superpave 12.5mm mix and the shoulders are a 35 blow Marshall mix design so we can’t use a joint maker. The centerline joint is also a standard joint.”

The final mix is loaded for its one-hour haul to the Route 47 project site.

ASPHALT PRO 23

The NB West crew uses an SB2500 from Roadtec, Chattanooga, to feed the polymer-modified warm mix asphalt to an AP1055D from Caterpillar Paving Products to produce a smooth, gorgeous mat.

using the standard dosage of 0.5 percent Evotherm by weight of total binder…(D)osage is based on total binder content.”

When work started, the NB West crew was only required to mill the transitions and side streets prior to placing the SP095C mix. As Jackson explained, “This mix was used as a leveling course to improve smoothness.” The millings have been stockpiled at the NB West plant for use on other projects.

The plant itself is a Stansteel BD400P, rated at 400 tons per hour (TPH). To get smooth and steady production, the crew ran at 200 TPH for the duration of the project.

“200 TPH is our typical production rate for Superpave,” Jackson said.

“We like to stay at a constant production rate throughout the project to maintain the volumetric properties of the mix.”

The weather also influenced the properties of the mix. Jackson explained how.

“The first night on the job we had an excessive amount of dust in the mix,” he lamented. “The dust closed in our air voids and caused us problems. We had above average rainfall right before the project started. The aggregate was produced during that time and may not have screened as well as if it was drier. We checked our stockpiles and developed a map of the stockpile based on the gradations that we ran. During mix production we had the loader operator load out of the ‘cleaner’ part of the pile. Our volumetric properties remained steady for the remainder of the job.”

Part of quality control and quality assurance (QC/QA) for NB West involved trying out the mix before taking it to the field. “We ran a test strip at our plant site,” Jackson said. “We have been using our test strips to pave our aggregate stockpile area to allow the aggregate to dry quicker and reduce our fuel consumption. We also ran this mix on another maintenance project to give us an opportunity to check plant produced mix.”

Another aspect of quality assurance for the NB West crew involved the AP-1B Field Permeameter from Gilson Company, Inc., Lewis Center, 24 August/SEptember 2010

Ohio. This piece of testing equipment allowed the team to take measurements in the field without compromising the integrity of the newly placed mat. For about $530+, the crew has a tool weighing about 25 pounds that eliminates coring, patching and lab testing.

The falling-head permeameter uses Darcy’s Law1 to determine the rate of water-flow through an asphalt pavement. According to Gilson’s website, researchers at the National Center for Asphalt Technology (NCAT) selected this design for its “close correlation with laboratory test results.”

The concept is that some Superpave mixes can still be permeable to water, even when crews compact them to their acceptable air void ratio. When QA techs field test permeability on the spot with the AP-1B, pavement destruction is taken out of the picture. As the Gilson website states, “Corrections to mix and placement procedures can be implemented right away. Testing and subsequent calculations can usually be completed in 10 to 15 minutes by one technician. The simple procedure means no extensive training is required.”

Management at NB West incorporates environmentally sound practices whenever it can, whether it’s for a MoDOT research-heavy project or for a private customer. As Jackson pointed out, the company has paved the aggregate stockpile area to reduce fuel consumption and uses recycled #4 fuel in the plant for burner fuel. For the Route 47 job, they used 10 percent RAP and 5 percent RAS in the main mix design, and used the Evotherm 3G M1 additive to reduce the mix production temperature from 350 degrees F to 270 degrees F, offering fewer emissions and reduced heating resources.

In the end, the recycling efforts NB West exhibits daily, and in MoDOT video productions, offer good lessons for others seeking environmentally friendly ways to reduce costs and natural resource consumption.

Darcy’s Law: Q = KIA (where Q = discharge; K = hydraulic conductivity; I = hydraulic gradient; and A = area of flow) Used to determine the ability of a particular material to allow water to pass through it (Source: Environmental Geology)

1

Tracking Environmental Specifications

by AsphaltPro Staff

M

ost states have adopted specifications to include the use of recycled asphalt pavement (RAP) in not only base and intermediate course mix designs by now, but also to include percentages of RAP in surface course mix designs (see the article “What’s the RAP” in the January 2010 issue of AsphaltPro). Each asphalt pavement association meeting allows a member of the National Center for Asphalt Technology (NCAT) or another technical organization to share the good news that more agencies have increased the allowed percentages of RAP in their various mixes. These decisions on allowances aren’t made lightly.

State Departments of Transportation (DOTs) require proof that the products their field materials engineers approve for mix designs will produce a long-lasting, well-performing roadway for the users. This isn’t news to asphalt producers and contractors. What may be news to the industry are the steps under way with a couple of environmentally friendly production methods with which asphalt contractors wish to move ahead. As always, slow and steady “wins the race” with new processes. Taking a look at the design concepts under scrutiny in Colorado and Nebraska, we can see what kind of issues DOTs consider when adding a new process to their mix design arsenal.

First, let’s look at the state of Nebraska and their view of recycled asphalt shingles (RAS). Their specification for using RAS in an asphalt mix is short and clear. A contractor may use up to 10 percent RAS in a mix (by total weight). The stipulations begin to add up from there, but are consistent with what’s been reported in many of the aforementioned APA meetings.

“All RAS shall consist of organic felt shingles or fiberglass shingles, obtained from a shingle manufacturing facility or tear offs. Scrap shingles shall not contain any objectionable materials (less than 0.5 percent by weight), including but not limited to: road tar, metal, glass, wood, plastic, brick, rubber, fabric, or any other material having similar characteristics. The RAS shall not contain harmful quantities of asbestos in accordance with guidelines provided by the Environmental Protection Agency and shall conform to all state and local regulations.”

The spec clearly states that 100 percent of the RAS material (by weight) must pass through a 3/4-inch sieve, and at least 98 percent must pass through a 1/2-inch sieve, and the contractor will have to provide a 5-pound sample to the DOT for review prior to mix design approval.

As with other states, Nebraska pays close attention to stockpiling methods. “RAS shall be stockpiled separate from other salvaged material. Blending of scrap material in a stockpile with other salvage material is prohibited.”

RAS isn’t the only environmentally friendly product that producers are introducing to agencies right now. Warm mix asphalt (WMA) has been on everyone’s mind for several years now, with many states testing mix designs based on modified hot mix asphalt (HMA) designs (see this month’s Mix It Up department on page 12).

In Colorado, for example, contractors are working with CDOT to prepare a spec that will make moving forward with WMA smoother.

In a document the Colorado Asphalt Pavement Association (CAPA) released June 4 of this year, it’s obvious that crews will use established HMA protocol as the basis for design.

28 AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2010

“Warm Mix Asphalt (WMA) may be produced by one or a combination of several technologies involving hot mix asphalt plant foaming processes and equipment, mineral additives, or chemicals that allow the reduction of mix production temperatures by as much as 100°F. Apply all mix design requirements for hot mix asphalt to the development of the WMA mix design. A Warm Mix Asphalt (WMA) mixture design shall identify the technology to be used. The producer shall comply with the manufacturer’s recommendations for incorporating additives and WMA technologies into the mix. Comply with the manufacturer’s recommendations regarding receiving, storage, and delivery of additives. Maintain supplier recommendations on file at the asphalt mixing plant and make available for reference while producing WMA.” The CAPA document allows the producer/contractor to select the method of achieving WMA. He/she can choose to modify the existing HMA plant to produce foamed WMA, or he/she can choose to inject additives to produce the mix. Either way, CAPA’s suggested specification is allowing room for the producer/contractor to be in control of the method and outcome.

The document from CAPA also gives room for construction decisions, while offering best practices guidelines to agencies and contractors. Under a section called “Construction Requirements,” the document states: Asphalt Mixing Plant: Modify the asphalt mixing plant as required by the manufacturer to introduce the WMA technology. Plant modifications may include additional plant instrumentation, the installation of asphalt binder foaming systems and/or WMA additive delivery systems, tuning the plant burner and adjusting the flights in order to operate at lower production temperatures and/or reduced tonnage.

Equipment: Use equipment and WMA technology capable of producing an asphalt mixture that meets specification requirements and is workable at the minimum placement and compaction temperature desired, regardless of storage or haul distance considerations.

Placement: Place WMA only on dry, unfrozen surfaces and only when weather conditions allow for proper production, placement, handling and compacting. The minimum delivery, placement, and compaction temperatures should be reviewed to accommodate the WMA reduced temperature and achieve workability and density requirements. Documentation that demonstrates a proven history of the WMA technology’s ability to be placed and compacted at the reduced temperatures may be required. A test strip or initial production verification requirement can be used to demonstrate placement and compaction at the reduced temperature. Minimum ambient paving temperature requirements may be lowed by 10oF to 20oF. Do not lower ambient paving temperatures to below freezing.

Compaction Test Section (CTS): WMA technologies may provide ability to achieve compaction at mix temperatures lower than desired, or lower than the minimum compaction temperature for HMA. As a result, a minimum 500 ton CTS shall be constructed to verify field compaction mixtemperatures.

Overall, state agencies and producer/contractors have an excellent opportunity at this time to influence mix design specifications for a variety of environmentally excellent asphalt paving choices. These examples may help foster your ideas.

Kansas Plant Takes Recycling Beyond the Baghouse

by Sandy Lender

L

eavenworth Asphalt Materials (LAM), Leavenworth, Kan., offers more than environmentally prepared mixes to colleagues in the industry. Its green practices provide insight for a productive and cost-effective operation, no matter what neck of the woods you work in. Anyone running warm mix asphalt (WMA) knows the decrease in temperatures offers myriad benefits in terms of fuel cost savings, emissions reductions, aggregate coating efficiency, etc., but it also offers a unique challenge when it comes to baghouse performance. Management at LAM and experts at Maxam Equipment, Kansas City, Mo., teamed up to stave off problems in this area, and have information to help other producers.

LAM was formed in 2008 as a joint venture on a plant to meet the growing demand for asphalt in the Leavenworth area. The company now boasts four fulltime employees, and a 350 ton per hour counterflow plant with SOLO drum, RAPTOR® Recycle and MAXAMizer® Heat Recovery System. Its baghouse contains polyester bags that withstand a maximum 30 AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2010

temperature of 275 degrees Fahrenheit. While that temperature might send up a red flag for some producers, it suits LAM just fine.

They run WMA and use the Maxam heat recovery system in front of the baghouse. General Manager Terry Helton explained that the operator fires up the heat recovery burner and pre-heats the baghouse to about 230 degrees F. It rests at that temperature to within +/-2 to 3 degrees. He spoke about the system’s efficiency.

“In a sense, you can over-flight your drum and get a cooler baghouse inlet temperature. Then moisture and dust will mud up the bags. With the heat recovery system, it aids in drying, but it also keeps the baghouse above dewpoint. It heats the air.”

Andy Welch of Maxam described the heat recovery system’s operation and flighting. He pointed out that for an operation such as LAM’s with high percentage recycle mixes requiring the most heat input into the virgin aggregate, the Maxamizer HR will be flighted for that type of mix. Welch reported that to keep baghouse temperatures down when

running high percentage recycling requires “over-flighting” in the drying zone.

The over-flighting will cause a lowtemperature situation in a non-recycle mix, so Welch recommends the MAXAMizer Heat Recovery for best fuel efficiency and baghouse protection. For a 300-tph plant, the burner is a 5 million BTU/hour unit. As the temperature entering the baghouse drops below a desired operating temperature (usually 215 to 225 degrees F, he suggested), the temperature controls modulate automatically to maintain the temperature set point.

It’s designed to maintain within 5 degrees F. For the warm mixes at LAM, operators keep the temperature set at 230 degrees to keep the baghouse at 230 degrees. “With that, you have drum exhaust temperatures as low as 156 degrees,” Helton said.

Another note about the polyester bags in the Leavenworth baghouse is their cleaning characteristics. Helton pointed out that the differential pressure in the baghouse doesn’t seem to be as high with the polyester bags as with other bags he’s used. While a Nomex® bag can take a temperature spike better, he said, his operation doesn’t experience temperature spikes.

“It doesn’t take as much air pressure on your pulse to clean them [polyester],” he pointed out. “We need about 60 pounds of pressure on the pulse and it knocks the fines off the bags. It cleans more easily. It doesn’t take as much of that jar from your pulse to get the bags clean.”

The end result is a system that allows LAM to run a variety of recycled mixes any time they wish.

“We run recycle 15 to 30 percent, depending on the job requirements,” Helton said.

Even for mixes not specified as WMA, LAM uses their AQUABlack Solutions Warm Mix System from Maxam. “We run it in every mix we run, regardless of the temperature,” Helton said. “It aids in coating the aggregate.”

While he hasn’t experienced paving with the product, he said others have told him that it aids in compaction. “It gives them good handwork, unless they let it sit too long. You’ve got to work it quicker, but you get away from smoke and fumes. You have a product at the 265 to 270 degree warm mix temperatures. You wouldn’t think 30 degrees would make that much difference, but when you switch the paving crew back to hot mix, they complain.”

Overall, LAM will elect the recycling option anytime it can. Even their main burner, a Hauck burner and controls, uses the recycled RFO #5 oil.

“Anything we can recycle we do,” Helton said. “We try to be environmentally friendly.”

In today’s marketplace, he said, it’s a bit easier for a producer to opt for the green method of doing business. “Most plant owners have taken that attitude. The industry is more environmentally friendly than it was even 15 years ago. The technology on the plants is so much better.”

LAM was formed in 2008 to meet the growing demand for asphalt in the Leavenworth area. The company now boasts four fulltime employees and a 350 TPH counterflow plant.

The heat recovery system from Maxam Equipment modulates automatically depending on the plenum temperature to maintain the temperature within the baghouse to within 5 degrees F of optimum, which for LAM’s purposes is 230 degrees F.

ASPHALT PRO 31

Green Asphalt Pellets

N

ew on the green scene for asphalt producers and contractors, PelletPAVE from Phoenix Industries, LLC., offers another way to save natural resources. Kelly Sockwell, the director of operations for Phoenix Industries explained there are test results waiting in the wings now that a new 2-acre PelletPAVE production plant is up and running in the Las Vegas area, but has breaking news concerning this environmentally friendly technology.

“At this time we have only done field testing with a few small batches produced in our pilot plant,” Sockwell reported. “When we complete our first production facility in August we will provide some bulk material to several agencies that have requested material for further testing. We will also be working with Clemson University to further our performance data.”

The performance data they’re putting together is on a product that starts with a PG64-22 base oil and crumb rubber.

“The process begins with a base oil, such as a 64-22, being blended with crumb rubber made from waste tires,” Sockwell explained. “This Asphalt Rubber binder then goes through a disk type pelleting system where hydrated lime and other proprietary ingredients are added to create a pellet form. The pellets then go through several more steps such as cooling, screening and coating to produce the finished product which is a ½-inch, hard shell rubberized pellet. The pellets are then packaged in one-ton super sacks or shipped out in trucks or rail for bulk delivery. Some of the pellets are also packaged in 50-pound bags for use in pothole hot mix patching.”

The pelleted product is about a ½ inch gradation and specs out at a higher performance grade than it starts, according to Sockwell. He said it’s currently outperforming a PG76-22. He explained that they start with the ASTM “wet process” AR binder as the base for the pellets, thus they know from previous AR projects how the pellets should perform in similar projects, particularly open graded friction courses.

At the plant, pellets should be stored under cover with typical best stockpiling practices. Then pellets are fed straight into a RAP collar to replace the virgin AC supply, effectively eliminating the inline injection of AC. “In a continuous drum mix plant the pellets are fed directly into the RAP collar; in a batch plant they go into the pug mill as an additive,” Sockwell said. “And yes, we will be producing three different formulas: PelletPAVE 100, which is a direct replacement to a binder supply; PelletPAVE Plus, which is a concentrate that augments a base oil binder supply; and PelletPAVE WM for warm mix applications.”

PelletPAVE is designed to provide more environmental benefits than just replacing some natural resources. Sockwell started with the obvious.

“When you build a road that lasts longer you save the energy and natural resources that do not need to be expended on re-paving…” He also commented on the products’ green effort before it hits the road.

“One of the biggest direct benefits is that our material is transported and stored at ambient temperature so an enormous amount of energy that is normally used to keep the asphalt liquid is saved. And, of course we provide an excellent use for waste tires.”

After testing and production are going full tilt in August, Phoenix Industries “will be doing some type of franchising as well as owning several of our own pelletizing plants,” Sockwell said. “Regarding franchising we are looking at a model where we would sell a plant to someone and provide them a protected geographical area. They would also be required to pay a small royalty fee for tonnage produced each year.”

For an environmentally friendly paving material, it’s another option for contractors and producers to consider for the green arsenal.

32 AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2010

by Sandy Lender

Then pellets are fed straight into a RAP collar to replace the virgin AC supply, effectively eliminating the inline injection of AC.

These four orange modules, along with the control house, are part of the proprietary equipment that Phoenix Industries has manufactured. The first module is the asphalt rubber blending unit; the second pelletizes the product; the third is a cooling unit; and the fourth is the screening and coating unit.

EQUIPMENT maintainAnce Keep up with Baghouse Maintenance

by Greg Bullis

W

ithout a baghouse maintenance program, a producer is the auger. If these two things look good, then personnel can continue throwing money down the drain. It may be a dirty job that outside the baghouse to see where the motor is and to make sure the even Mike Rowe said was “disgusting” on his show, but let’s talk v-belts are still on. about making it an easier job.

Next, they double-check to make sure everything is still connected There are several components to a baghouse and they all need outside. If so, the problem might be a backup in the other auger. regular maintenance. The systems to clean the bags have different mainThe reason for backups could be that the producer is getting wet tenance needs. dust in the augers, which will indicate one of two things. The producThe different systems are reverse air, shaker or pulse clean. For maintion system is either not getting all the moisture out of the material, tenance on these systems, a visual check inside the baghouse once a which will then indicate that there are problems in the drum. The other week will indicate if dust is excessive on the bags. The inspector will be problem with wetness is that the system is letting rain in somewhere, able to see if it’s working correctly. which means the system is not weather-tight.

An operator should be able to see this also on his magnahelic gauge There are daily checks that either the plant operator or loader (which reads in inches of water) and he should be able to see when his operator can take care of to keep the baghouse properly maintained. bags might be blinding. A higher reading on his gauge probably means One thing they can do is look at what’s coming out of the stack. This will he has problems in the baghouse and should tell the owner if maintegive everyone a read on how the bags are doing. If there’s a hole in a bag, nance is needed. dust coming out of the exhaust fan will be visible.

During a visual inspection, if he sees buildup of dust on a row or rows If a producer sees dust this way he will want to get the problem fixed of bags, this means something isn’t working. The type of problem he has as soon as he shuts down at the end of the shift or it can bring consedepends on which system he has. quences that he may not be ready for. Nobody wants an environmental A pulser might not be working or maybe a limit switch went out fine. If the problem puts dust on exhaust fan blades, it will cause an on a reverse air. Whatever the case, he needs to find out where the out-of-balance fan, which will vibrate the whole fan assembly. If the problem is and repair it. If he is having air pressure trouble, this means crew doesn’t take care of a wobbling fan, it will result in failure of the he has a problem with a goyen exhaust fan system, which will valve—or equivalent—and the be an unnecessary shutdown or valve needs to be rebuilt. breakdown.

If the producer uses waste oil Another way to check for to fire the burner, but the burner dust is to open the top covers isn’t adjusted perfectly, loose after running for the day and seals allow fuel oil to get on the look for dust on the tubesheet. bags. That will take life out of Personnel might be able to tell the bags. The maintenance crew where a problem is this way. will want to make sure that the If they see visible emission tip for the burner is clean and and cannot find a problem or that it’s burning correctly. They cannot find which bag is the want to learn how to tune up the culprit, they can invest in some burner and they’ll want to check Photo courtesy of Asphalt Drum Mixers, Huntertown, Ind. visualite, which all the bag this monthly to make sure it hasn’t gone out of tune. This is one problem companies stock. First, they feed this into the air suction going to the that will take years off the bags. When visually inspected, bags will have baghouse. Then they shut down and get a black light to see where the a light black color to them if there are problems with the burner. When problem is. This will usually show which bag is bad because with the they have this color, it means they have fuel embedded in their fibers. black light, they will see a florescent color (depending on what color At least once a month, the maintenance crew should open the visualite they have). baghouse and look for dust buildup, which will indicate whether or not As producers know, the baghouse is a vital part of the asphalt plant the auger system is still working properly. Some plants will have an auger and must be maintained in order to help the bottom line and keep system that will take dust to a blower where it is blown into the drum. surprises at bay. Some surprises can cost thousands of dollars. Anything Other plants will have an auger that takes dust out of the baghouse into the maintenance personnel can do to make sure there are no surprises another auger. From there it goes to the drum. will make the asphalt producer that much more successful.

Greg Bullis is a co-founder of Bullis Fabrication, LLC, Orlando. For more If the maintenance personnel find dust in the baghouse, they will information on baghouse or other plant parts, call (321) 439-0359 or visit want to look at the hanger bearings on the auger to make sure they are www.BullisFabrication.com. okay. These hanger bearings sit with bolts on replaceable shafts that are in the augers. The bolts sometimes will break due to pressure on 34 AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2010

EQUIPMENT gallery Crumb Rubber Contributes to Entech’s

Environmental Excellence Coming up with an environmentally responsible use of waste tires is no problem for the asphalt industry. Crumb rubber is our answer.

Industry professionals make the crumb rubber through a simple process of grinding waste tires into tiny particles. Take out the tire wire and extra fiber and you can sieve the product into the size distribution you want. For the asphalt industry, you add this crumb rubber to asphalt cement (AC) and the additives you desire to create asphalt rubber (A-R).

According to the Rubber Pavements Association (RPA), Tempe, Ariz., “In the age of conservation of natural resources and recycling, the reduced thickness of A-R can save on the amount of aggregate required to resurface a road. That means less material will be mined from diminishing reserves and transported to the job site. Another benefit is the reduction of traffic noise. International studies have shown that A-R pavements can reduce traffic noise up to 85 percent in some cases. Generally, A-R will provide a 50 percent reduction in noise.”

RPA also lists the obvious environmental benefit of using A-R: fewer waste tires in landfills. “The most notable side benefit of using A-R rubber is that it consumes scrap tires. If 5 percent of the nation’s roads were surfaced with A-R annually nearly all the nation’s discarded tires could be completely removed from the waste stream….A 2-inch thick overlay of A-R hot mix will use about 2,000 tires per lane mile. In a spray applied method (seal coats), about 500 tires will be used each lane mile. About 10 million tires are recycled each year in paving applications.”

The tire reclamation company, Entech, Inc., White Pigeon, Mich., produces crumb rubber for use as an asphalt modifier. “Entech’s purpose is to ultimately improve the final asphalt road quality,” Neal Frey said. He’s the manager of business development for Entech and he described the end result of the manufacturing process as a consistently sized, clean crumb rubber that blends with AC and aggregate to produce a longer surface life and quieter, safer road surface than competing modifiers.

36 AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2010

Entech’s position is that using it’s A-R reduces the amount of aggregate required in a mix, as well as reducing the road’s maintenance costs. According to the manufacturer, flexible recycled rubber retards aging and oxidation in the asphalt, thus increasing its overall life by preventing it from becoming brittle and cracking. This resilience benefits pavement performance in both hot and cold climates.

“Asphalt rubber knocks down traffic noise by over 50 percent, reduces vehicle splash and hydroplaning, and, overall, is less expensive,” Frey said.

Entech, Inc., has taken a leadership role in the design and manufacture of all things related to tire recycling and is a member of RPA. “It is a non-profit industry association comprised of crumb rubber producers, A-R contractors, equipment manufacturers, engineering consulting firms, testing laboratories … and asphalt suppliers. Member companies are international with offices in Australia, Austria, Canada, England, Germany, Mexico, Saudi Arabia and the USA. The RPA promotes the greater usage of high quality, cost effective asphalt pavements containing recycled tire rubber.”

For more information, contact Neal Frey at (574) 612-5031 or visit www.entechcrumbrubber.com.

ABOVE: Best practices come in handy whether paving with a modified mix or not. Don’t overcharge the hopper or you’ll have extra mix to lute and compact. Using a mix with A-R means an environmentally friendly project with less traffic noise and less pavement maintenance in the long run.

BELOW: Asphalt rubber is bagged at the Entech plant in White Pigeon, Mich. Photos courtesy of Entech, Inc.

ASPHALT PRO 37

EQUIPMENT gallery ADM’s Cold Feeds

Offered in both stationary and portable designs, cold feed bins from Asphalt Drum Mixers, Inc. (ADM), are engineered and constructed for maximum durability. Built to withstand abrasive aggregates and other jobsite abuse, the bins are manufactured with all welded painted steel, industrial strength columns and end bracing.

ADM’s Cold Feeds

ADM cold feed bins are equipped with tapered sidewalls and a specially designed belt feeder to virtually eliminate plugging and bridging problems, whether the bin is heaped or low. Material flow is further enhanced by a fully adjustable radial gate system with selfrelieving tapered discharge opening.

Available in single and multi-bin configurations, ADM cold feed bins are designed to be compatible with any control system and can be retrofitted to add extra tonnage capacity to existing cold feed systems, regardless of brand.

The bins are offered with bolt-on or hinged extensions, and minimal on-site assembly is required.

For more information, contact ADM at (260) 637-5729 or sales@admasphaltplants.com, or visit www.admasphaltplants.com.

Cummins Website Launched, Updating

Cummins, Inc., Columbus, Ind., launched a Tier 4 website at www.tier4.info to provide equipment users with an early insight into the performance and operation of field test installations ahead of the January 2011 effect date for EPA Tier 4 Interim and EU Stage IIIB low emissions engines above 173-hp (129-kW).

The website content is based on more than 40,000 hours accumulated experience of Tier 4 powered equipment on customer field tests and evaluation tests by equipment manufacturers. It will continue to be populated with additional information as Cummins researchers approach a significant milestone of 100 completed Tier 4 installations, varying from wheeled loaders and excavators to a rock drill.

38 AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2010

The website is expected to provide a useful educational resource for OEM dealers, rental companies and equipment operators. Visitors to the website can learn about the next generation technology, including details about Cummins exhaust aftertreatment and Direct Flow air cleaner. The www.tier4.info website features a customer testimonial video, the latest product brochures, regulatory details and a Tier 4 fuel saver calculator.

Roadtec’s RT500

Goblin’s Safety System

In response to a rash of backover fatalities this spring, the officials at Neuwaukum Industries, Inc., (NII) Seattle, Wash., have lowered the price on the Goblin® Peripheral Vision SystemTM. The system is a mirror attachment for hardhats that gives the wearer a visual warning of danger approaching him or her from behind and meets the new ANSI A10.47 Standard as a best practice for backover prevention.

Common elements of backover accidents in work zones include: the victim not hearing back-up alarms and Goblin’s Safety System beepers, the victim working in the blind spot of the equipment/ vehicle that backs over them, and the victim being struck from behind giving them no warning to get out of harm’s way. If a dump truck is moving toward a worker at 5 miles per hour, it only takes a second for him or her to jump out of the way. If he doesn’t see the dump truck coming and can’t hear it approaching from behind, the result is usually death or serious injury. The Goblin Peripheral Vision System is designed to put safety in the hands of the worker by expanding his peripheral vision and giving him valuable time to get out of harm’s way.

Runover/backover fatalities are a common occurrence in work zones with at least one worker each month being killed by a slow moving piece of equipment, according to NII. Company officials want workers, employers, safety inspectors, training institutions and the entire industry to know its answer to the issue of runovers/backovers is the Goblin® Peripheral Vision System.

For more information or to find a distributor near you visit www.hardhatmirror.com or call (360) 825-1505.

Roadtec’s RT500

Environmental excellence in the asphalt industry takes place at every step of the road-building—and road-repair—process. For cold-in-place recycling projects that use the recycling train concept, engineers at Roadtec, Chattanooga, offer a cold recycler.

The RT-500 cold recycler from Roadtec is designed to handle up to 600 tons per hour (TPH) of material. It is designed to crush and screen the recycled asphalt pavement (RAP) produced by the RX-900 cold planer—also from Roadtec—and its on-board pugmill mixes emulsion into the recycled material.

The RT-500’s JCI brand double deck screen receives the milled up material from the RX-900 conveyor. Any oversized material goes through the RT-500’s Telsmith 3048 impact crusher and back to the screen via a two-conveyor return circuit. The conveyors are outfitted with cleated belts for maximum production. A water spray system prevents dust build-up on rollers and the conveyors are covered for safety and to prevent roll-off.

Material that passes the screen drops onto a 48-inch weigh belt. The belt’s electronic scale, which the manufacturer states is accurate to +/- 1 percent, communicates with the blending computer, which in turn adjusts the flow of additives that go into the RT-500’s JCI/ KPI Model 52 pugmill mixer. This twin shaft mixer is rated at a capacity of 600 TPH. After a thorough mixing in the pugmill the material is discharged in a windrow onto the roadway. The whole RT-500 system is run by electric motors powered by a Caterpillar C-9 generator set.

The Roadtec 950-horsepower RX-900 cold planer is the recycling train’s sole source of

propulsion. It tows the RT-500 cold recycler and a nurse tank for the emulsions. It also pushes a water truck and a slurry tanker that are always with the train. The RX-900 also pushes another emulsion tanker and slurry tank, when they are present, to replenish the tankers hooked to the train. Those two replenishing tankers are attached to the train just long enough to pump off their products and then go to a staging area where they are refilled to return to the train. A windrow loader follows the train to pick up the material and feed it to a conventional paver to be spread on the roadway.

For more information on the RT-500 or any of Roatec’s cold planing or recycling machines, contact the company at (423) 265-0600 or sales@ roadtec.com, or visit www.roadtec.com.

load or zero speed will quickly inform the plant personnel of the problem.

The Master Start button will start all motors that are associated to it in the order of interlock scheme. This helps with the power spike on startup. Also, any time a motor does not have an interlock condition met, the press of the button will highlight differently, letting the operator know that there is a reason why the motor will not start.

For more information, contact Systems Equipment at (563) 568-6387 or visit

Systems’ Model Win-MC

Automating plant controls takes guesswork out of your production flow. A new tool in your automation arsenal comes from Systems Systems’ Model Win-MC Equipment, Waukon, Iowa. The Model Win-MC is a Windows®-based plant motor control with ammeter display that can be used to start, stop and monitor motors.

The software can be run on the same personal computer as the ADP-100 graphical interface, or on a separate PC, depending on the operator’s needs. Input/output is provided through simple field input/output devices (Terminal I/O) with Ethernet communications.

The easily modified configuration file allows for adding, removing, and relocating buttons.

Being field programmable means, when there is a change in the plant, there is no expensive program change. Your company’s electrical technician can make the changes, add or move the wires, and you are making mix again.

Custom button types have specific properties, including English language programming for interlocks and safeties for motors. Buttons for controlling a feeder vibrator, a multi-level screen deck, a forward and reversing motor, and other “motor panel” operators are included.

The motor operators have the option of showing amperage, being tied to the master start or stop buttons, and having a zero speed input. Visual and audible indications for over-

Vögele’s Vision Pavers

www.systemsequipment.com.

Vögele’s Vision Pavers

The 8-foot tracked Vision 5100-2 and 8-foot wheeled Vision 5103-2 pavers from Vögele America, Antioch, Tenn., gives contractors the ability to tackle large highway jobs, suburban streets or heavy commercial projects. The tracked Vision 5100-2 asphalt paver is 18 feet, 2 inches long, and with the standard E-Z IV screed, permits 8 to 15 feet of paving width, at a weight of 34,050 pounds. The wheeled Vision 5103-2 asphalt paver, similarly equipped with E-Z IV screed, is 19 feet, 9 inches long, at a weight of 32,849 pounds. Fuel tank capacities are larger for greater daily productivity. Both 8-foot machines are powered by a Cummins 170-horsepower, Tier III emissions-controlled engine.

The feeder system and hoppers are critical to high performance; the Vision 5100-2’s independent auger and conveyor drive are equipped with four sensors. The outer center conveyor drive has narrow center chain guards. There is better feeding under the auger box for reduced center line segregation, and the pavers have standard hopper wall thicknesses and functional hydraulic apron.

For more information, contact Brodie Hutchins at (717) 264-3200, bhutchins@vogeleamerica.com or visit www.wirtgenamerica.com.

here's how it works

KTP Enterprise’s FastMeasure DMI

K

TP Enterprises, Inc., Riverwoods, Ill., offers a variety of distance measuring instruments (DMI) including the vehicleinstalled FastMeasure. This product is designed to make distance measuring a fast and easy high-tech operation. Here’s how it works.

First, the operator installs the FastMeasure in a few steps. 1) He mounts a set of magnets on the driveshaft of a car, truck, paver, grinder, crack router or whatever “vehicle” will roll and measure distance while moving. 2) Next, he mounts a stainless steel sensor within a half to ¾ of an inch of the magnets. 3) He runs the sensor’s wire lead up to the electrical terminal block where it is connected to power. 4) The

40 AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2010

meter is connected to the terminal block and placed in the cab/dashboard of the vehicle.

Next, the operator programs or sets the FastMeasure in a few steps. 1) He paints a hash-line start line on the road and a stop line 400 feet away. 2) He sets the meter to zero with the H-RST button. 3) He drives the 400 feet. 4) Once there, he presses and holds both buttons on the meter for 10 seconds. This puts the meter in programming mode. 5) With the right button, he scrolls over to the “100.0” digit and presses the left button until it reads 400.0. 6) The second screen on the meter sets the speed.

Pressing the right button sets the appropriate

option—miles per hour, kilometer per hour, feet per minute.

Lastly, the FastMeasure Distance Measuring Device measures the distance the vehicle drives by sending a signal from the steel sensor to the meter in the cab each time the magnets pass the sensor. The meter translates this, with the speed the operator has selected, into a readout on the display for the operator.

For more information about the FastMeasure products from KTP Enterprises, contact Ernie Kaplan at (888) 876-6050 or visit www.Fast-Measure.com.

Roadtec Provides More Room for Training

R

oadtec, Chattanooga, began construction in June 2010 on a new 11,500 square foot (1,070 sq m) training center. The new facility will have a large auditorium with state-ofthe-art projection equipment, a dining facility able to accommodate more than 100 people, and separate class rooms for specific courses in the Roadtec training curriculum.

Roadtec holds customer trainings each winter. Due to the company’s growth, the courses had to be held off-site during the 2009/2010 training season because there was a lack of space in the existing Roadtec building.

The new, two-story complex is scheduled to be completed in late fall of this year in time for the next round of customer training sessions.

Jeff Richmond, Roadtec president said, “Everyone at Roadtec is thrilled about this new facility. We look forward to seeing it through to completion and to welcoming our customers here.”

Above: The shovelers at the official groundbreaking for Roadtec’s new training center were (from left to right): Harvey Black, manufacturing; Tom Campbell, group vice president; and Jeff Richmond, Roadtec president.

Left: The new training facility at Roadtec is expected to look like this.

here's how it works

Reliable Asphalt Products’ RTR

T

o thermally pre-condition recycled asphalt pavement (RAP) and other materials before final treatment in dryers, drum mixers, batch plants, etc., the patented Rotary Thermal Recycling (RTR) Booster and RTR 100% Recycler from Reliable Asphalt Products, Shelbyville, Ky., and Augering Technologies, Inc., Carrollton, Ohio, offers producers a way to increase the percentages of RAP they recycle while increasing their efficiency of total output production. Here’s how it works.

First, cold wet RAP enters the RTR drum through an inlet to the RAP auger feeder. This feeds material into the main chamber. Lifting paddles along the walls of the oven heated, insulated drum help churn and carry material down the chamber to the RAP outlet chute.

42 AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2010

A hot oil heated hollow flight auger and tube rotates the heated hollow auger flights to move the material along the chamber. The drum and auger rotate in the same direction, allowing materials to tumble forward with the heated flighting, reducing wear and horsepower requirements, according to the manufacturer.

A Burke combination hot oil heater/ thermal oxidizer supplies the hot oil to the hollow auger tube and flights through the auger rotary joint heat inlet. No flame enters the chamber to jeopardize the integrity of the RAP at any time.

With independent variable speed control of the rotary drum and auger, the material dwells in the standard size RTR from 6 to 12 minutes, depending on moisture changes,

pre-conditioning approximately 120 to 150 tons per hour at 185 degrees F. A conveyor carries the warm, dry RAP from the RTR outlet chute to the RAP inlet collar on the drum mixer, or the batch tower inlet, far from the burner flame.

For operations processing 100 percent RAP recycling, the heated RAP goes straight from the RTR/100% Recycler to a pugmill for injection and mixing additional asphalt and/or rejuvenator at a maximum production rate of 80 to 100 TPH of hot mix. In this configuration, the standard size RTR produces 100 TPH HMA at 290 degrees F. For more information about the RTR, contact Charles Grote at (866) 647-1782 or visit www. reliableasphalt.com.

the last cut Refinery Capacity Falls

by AsphaltPro Staff

C

onsumers have seen crude oil prices all over the board so far this calendar year, although prices have stayed in what the Energy Information Administration (EIA) described as “a range similar to 2007” this summer. If you’ve been watching AsphaltPro’s Last Cut department, you’ll see the slight upward trend since late May. The latest ShortTerm Energy Outlook (STEO) that EIA released showed a continuation of that trend. The researchers expect “modest upward pressure on crude oil prices over the remainder of the year, but…

The other piece of the puzzle for asphalt industry members is what refiners do with crude pricing information. EIA also reported that refiners’ earnings were negative for the first quarter of 2010 (Q110).

While oil and natural gas producers’ earnings had increased “signifi-

Diesel Fuel Retail Price (per gallon) Jun 7 2.946

cantly” over a year previous, refiners’ earnings had fallen. So had refiners’ capacity.

Historically, EIA pointed out that in the middle and late 1990s, refineries averaged more than 92 percent capacity use for several years because of demand for petroleum products. This lead to expansions.

Things changed.

“From late 2007 through the first half of 2009, petroleum demand declined, reflecting the combined effect of the economic downturn, increasing petroleum prices through mid-2008, and the increased use of ethanol blended into gasoline, resulting in excess refining capacity and a refinery utilization rate of only about 83 percent in 2009….Influenced by both recent market developments and the market outlook, refinery capacity fell during 2009 for the first time since 2003.”

Liquid Asphalt Cement Prices

Company, State

May 1, ’10 Avg/ton

Jun 1, ’10 Avg/ton

Jul 1, ’10 Avg/ton

Jun 14

2.928

Jun 21

2.961

ConocoPhillips, Tenn.

$505.00

480.00

467.50

Jun 28

2.956

NuStar Energy, Ga.

510.00

485.00

485.00

Jul 5

2.924

NuStar Energy, N.C.

510.00

485.00

485.00

Jul 12

2.903

NuStar Energy, S.C.

510.00

485.00

485.00

Jul 19 2.899 Source: Energy Information Administration

NuStar Energy, Va.

500.00

485.00

475.00

Associated Asphalt Inman, N.C.

510.00

490.00

480.00

Associated Asphalt Inman, S.C.

510.00

490.00

480.00

Associated Asphalt Inman, Va.

510.00

490.00

480.00

Marathon Petroleum, Tenn.

505.00

490.00

470.00

Marathon Petroleum, N.C.

480.00

480.00

470.00

Valero Petroleum, Va.

505.00

495.00

485.00

Massachusetts Average

542.50

532.50

505.00

California Average

436.90

360.80

372.30

Missouri Average

510.00

496.25

482.50

Data for Southeast region, Source: ncdot.org Data for Massachusetts, Source: mass.gov Oil Price Report—June, July 2010 Jun 4, ’10

Early Jun ’09

Jun 18, ’10

Mid Jun ’09

Jul 16, ’10

Mid Jul ’09

Crude Oil (WTI)

$71.43/bbl

$68.43/bbl

$77.18/bbl

$84.76/bbl

$75.96/bbl

$63.56/bbl

Spot Price Gasoline (NY)

1.921/gal

1.913/gal

2.104/gal

2.335/gal

1.972/gal

1.720/gal

Spot Price Diesel Fuel (NY)

1.972/gal

2.197/gal

2.154/gal

2.540/gal

2.040/gal

1.961/gal

Spot Price Heating Oil (NY)

1.942/gal

2.137/gal

2.127/gal

2.506/gal

1.983/gal

1.619/gal

Spot Price Propane (GC)

1.063/gal

1.282/gal

1.018/gal

1.181/gal

0.990/gal

0.760/gal

Data for Oil Price Report June and July 2010 and 2009, Source: Energy Information Administration 44 AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2010

resource directory ACE Group............................................. 46 Contact: Carl McKenzie Tel: 888 878 0898 sales.enquiries@ashaltacesales.com www.asphaltace.com Asphalt Drum Mixers.................26-27, 39 Contact: Steve Shawd or Jeff Dunne Tel: 260-637-5729 sales@admasphaltplants.com www.admasphaltplants.com B & S Light............................................. 17 Contact: Mike Young Tel: 918-342-1160 Sales@bslight.com www.bslight.com Bullis Fabrication…................................ 8 Contact: Greg Bullis Tel: 321-439-0349 gregbullis@bullisfabrication.com www.bullisfabrication.com CEI............................................................ 4 Contact: Andy Guth Tel: 800-545-4034 info@ceienterprises.com www.ceienterprises.com

ConExpo................................................ 29 Tel: (800) 867-6060 www.Retoolandwin/asphalt.com EZ Street................................................ 13 Tel: 800-734-1476 Info@ezstreet-miami.com www.ezstreetasphalt.com Heatec, Inc. ...............................................

Inside Front Cover Contact: Sharlene Burney Tel: 800-235-5200 sburney@heatec.com www.heatec.com Hotmix Parts/Stansteel.......................... 7 Contact: Dawn Kochert Tel: 800-826-0223 dkochert@hotmixparts.com www.hotmixparts.com Maxam Equipment....................14-15, 25 Contact: Lonnie Greene Tel: 800-292-6070 lgreene@maxamequipment.com www.maxamequipment.com Meadwestvaco...................................... 35 800-458-4034

www.evotherm.com www.mwv.com

tmccune@stansteel.com www.stansteel.com

NAPA...................................................... 37 2011 Annual Meeting…..17 www.hotmix.org

Systems Equipment.............................. 41 Contact: Dave Enyart Sr. Tel: 563-568-6387 Dlenyart@systemsequipment.com www.systemsequipment.com

Process Heating.................................... 11 Contact: Ron Jay or Rick Jay Tel: 866-682-1582 Ron@processheating.com Rick@ processheating.com www. processheating.com Reliable Asphalt Products........................ ................................................ Back Cover Contact: Charles Grote Tel: 502-647-1782 cgrote@reliableasphalt.com www.reliableasphalt.com Rotochopper, Inc.................................. 19 Tel: 320-548-3586 Info@rotochopper.com www.rotochopper.com Stansteel Asphalt Plant Products...................................... 43 Contact: Tom McCune Tel: 800-826-0223

Tarmac International, Inc........................... 33, 47 Contact: Ron Heap Tel 816-220-0700 info@tarmacinc.com www.tarmacinc.com

AsphaltPro’s Resource Directory is designed for you to have quick access to the manufacturers that can get you the information you need to run your business efficiently. Please support the advertisers that support this magazine and tell them you saw them in AsphaltPro magazine.

Inc.

30,000 Gallon Vertical Liquid Asphalt Storage Tank Tank constructed of ¼” thick A-36 plate throughout 4” high density insulation on sidewalls 4” high density insulation on top Covered by .032 aluminum jacket 5 banks of 2” heating coils 1” sample port 24” hinged inspection man hole on top 24” bolted inspection man hole on side 3” flanged fill, draw, and return connections Pre-piped suction, drain and overflow OSHA compliant handrails and kick plate around top OSHA compliant caged ladder Side mounted liquid level board gauge Flanged port on top for agitator Primed and painted

71,950.00

$

OPTION7.5 hp top mounted agitator

9,875.00

$

P.O. Box 519 Shelbyville, KY 40066 Call Us Toll Free 866.647.1782 Check out our New & Used Equipment listings at www.reliableasphalt.com