08/30/2018 – Albepav’s R&D project, which is led by the Technical and Innovation unit of COMSA, has created a type of sustainable and high-durability asphalt that dissipates heat of the environment.
The pavement is comprised of recycled glass and a mixture of tempered low-consumption asphalt that allows a greater proportion of the sun’s rays to be reflected, thus limiting its ability to heat the urban air as commonly occurs with traditional asphalt. This pavement is able to absorb up to 95% of the solar radiation.
The new solution has been in the testing phase since May of this year. For the test, a 32 m section has been paved in the town of Menàrguens in Lleida, which temperatures oscillate between 2ºC in the winter and 33ºC in the summer. The purpose of this test is to determine the environmental impact of this new asphalt compared to conventional asphalt in an environment with a changeable weather.
This section is being monitored using temperature and humidity sensors that collect and process the most relevant data. Likewise, the consortium expects to develop a software for estimating the levels of environmental heat reduction provided by the new asphalt. This monitoring, which is conducted by construction company Sorigué and engineering company Progeo, will last approximately between 9 months and one year.
Albepav is part of the FEDER programme of the European Union aimed at promoting R&D projects and is funded by the Centre for Industrial Technological Development (CDTI), which falls under the Spanish Government’s Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities.
Test section of the new asphalt developed by the Albepav project
