Rowan University inventors win award for sustainability

Asphalt pavement covers an untold number of miles across the state of New Jersey. Thanks to Rowan University inventors, there’s now an award-winning method for increasing the use of old asphalt to make new roads and, potentially, pothole patches.  

A team of researchers led by Yusuf Mehta, Ph.D., director of Rowan University’s Center for Research & Education in Advanced Transportation Engineering Systems (CREATES), received an Edison Patent Award for Sustainability on November 15 from the Research and Development Council of New Jersey. 

A professor of civil and environmental engineering in the Henry M. Rowan College of Engineering, Mehta and his three co-inventors found a way to boost the use of recycled asphalt pavement in new mixes by 35 percent, while preserving the pavement’s durability and performance. The team received the prestigious American Association of State Highway Transportation Officials’ High Research Value Award. 

Additional research weighed the environmental impact of using recycled asphalt pavements for other applications. That work led to the passage of a new state law allowing the use of recycled asphalt in landfills.

“Quantifying the degree of blending between (recycled asphalt pavements) and fresh mix is complex,” Mehta said, because the two materials are indistinguishable once mixed. The team developed a dependable way to determine the degree of blending using laboratory test formulations.   

The new method has the potential to increase the use of recycled materials in asphalt pavements in New Jersey, reducing stockpiles and decreasing the need for fresh aggregates from quarries.

“We are protecting natural resources and making a much greener and more sustainable paving material,” Mehta said. 

The inventors also included civil engineering technician Aaron Nolan and civil engineering graduate students Khyati Sonpal, M’12, and Prashant Shirodkar, M’10.