ORIGINAL RESEARCH
Critical Analysis of the Sustainable Consumption
of Bitumen in Asphalt Concrete Mixtures
Made with Recycled Concrete Aggregates
from Construction and Demolition Debris
Ignacio Pérez1, Ana Rodríguez Pasandín1, Nuria Calvo2, Jacobo Feás3
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1School of Civil Engineering, Campus de Elviña, University of A Coruña,
15071 A Coruña, Spain
2Faculty of Economics and Business, Campus de Elviña, University of A Coruña,
15071 A Coruña, Spain
3Faculty of Business Administration and Management, University of Santiago de Compostela, Alfonso X “O Sabio”,
S/N. 27002 Lugo, Spain
Pol. J. Environ. Stud. 2015;24(4):1757-1763
KEYWORDS
ABSTRACT
The frequent construction and demolition of buildings and civil works causes excessive waste of energy
and natural resources. It is generally accepted that asphalt concrete (AC) mixtures made with recycled concrete
aggregate (RCA) promotes sustainable construction. However, our analysis identifies an environmental
downside: increased consumption of bitumen from these mixtures and therefore increased consumption
of fossil fuels. Technical solutions to limit RCA content in mixtures, control their impurities, control the
fraction in which it is used, and the application of pretreatments are emerging as potential tools to limit the
consumption of bitumen by AC made with RCA. From the management point of view, we also propose as
policy a revision of the technical specifications to adapt the technical standards to the particularities of RCA.
This paper makes a contribution in joining both engineering and economic approaches in order to make
proposals for construction management only using recycled materials economically feasible.