The use of recycled materials can have significant economic value. With the increasing quantity of recycled material used in viscoelastic materials, especially asphalt mixture, understanding how they interact with original materials to produce a mixture that performs successfully, becomes critical. Currently, the technology to determine the effect of additives on the performance of asphalt mixture is lacking. The present invention relates to a new unified methodology for mechanical testing of asphalt mixture and other viscoelastic materials that improves the current practice in speed, convenience, and accuracy. A new improved specimen mounting method on Dynamic Shear Rheometer (DSR), a new recovery method for fine portion of asphalt mixture, and three new tests for the performance of recovered material using DSR is disclosed. The new methods provide performance grading of asphalt mixtures that is new to the industry and provide necessary tools for determining the effect of recycled materials on performance.

The invention relates to a surfactant composition comprising an ionic liquid prepared from an unsubsituted or substituted primary, secondary or tertiary amine, or from an unsubstituted or substituted pyridine, amidine or guanidine with at least one fatty acid and/or resin acid. The invention also relates to a method for treating bitumen froth from a separation process, where bitumen is separated from mineral solids. The method comprises addition of said surfactant composition to the diluent and/or to the froth before phase separation.

Disclosed is method that involves subjecting a base material to an extraction process to extract hydrocarbon fractions having molecular weights within a desired range from the base material to generate a resultant extraction material comprising mostly if not entirely of hydrocarbon fractions having molecular weights within the desired range. In some embodiments, the extraction process can involve performing the extraction in iterations.

Apparatus and method for recycling asphalt millings containing bitumen and stone. A milling tube is provided having an outer tube and an inner tube axially aligned with and substantially contained within the outer tube, the inner tube having a diameter less that a diameter of the outer tube to thus define a mixing space between the inner and outer tubes. At least one of the inner and outer tubes is adapted to rotate relative to the other. An inlet is provided to the mixing space to receive the asphalt millings. A plurality of inner tube projections project radially outward from a surface of the inner tube toward the outer tube, and a plurality of outer tube projections project radially inward from a surface of the outer tube toward the inner tube. The milling tube facilitates the separation of the asphalt millings into bitumen and stone as one of the inner and outer tubes rotates relative to the other. Preferably, at least one of the outer and inner tubes contains an abrasive coating on a surface thereof, the inner tube projections and outer tube projections are comprised of wire rope, and an inlet is provided in the outer tube through which cold air can be applied to the mixing space.

A method for manufacturing a processed asphalt suspension is provided. The method includes dry grinding shingle waste material to a particle size of less than 1 cm, forming ground recycled shingle material, introducing virgin asphalt into a heated slurry tank and mixing the ground recycled shingle material with the virgin asphalt in the heated slurry tank, forming a mixed asphalt slurry, introducing the mixed asphalt slurry into a wet grinding machine, and recovering a processed asphalt suspension comprising particles having a size no greater than about 200 microns. Roofing and paving products manufactured from the processed asphalt suspension are also provided.

A hybrid crude oil and methods of making the same using man-made or natural petroleum-based waste stream products. The hybrid crude oil is composed of an oil-based solution and petroleum-based coatings that were extracted from a petroleum-containing material. This hybrid crude oil is created by elevating the temperature of the oil-based solution to or above an elevated temperature, i.e., the melting or phase-change temperature of the petroleum-based coating so that it can become liquified and dissolve into the oil-based solution and create the hybrid crude oil. The petroleum-containing material is submerged into the heated oil-based solution to cause the petroleum-based coatings to dissolve into the heated oil-based solution at the elevated temperature. The liquid oil-based solution at the elevated temperature creates an environmental seal to the petroleum-based coatings to protect them from burning, carburizing, or degrading, until the liquid oil-based solution is capable of providing the necessary thermal energy for the phase change of the petroleum-based coating from a solid state to a liquid state. At which time, the petroleum-based coatings safely phase-changes into a liquid and dissolves into the oil-based solution, creating the hybrid crude oil.

Disclosed is method that involves subjecting a base material to an extraction process to extract hydrocarbon fractions having molecular weights within a desired range from the base material to generate a resultant extraction material comprising mostly if not entirely of hydrocarbon fractions having molecular weights within the desired range. In some embodiments, the extraction process can involve performing the extraction in iterations.

The present invention is directed to a method, apparatus and system that are configured to process asphalt roofing shingles so that solid constituent components of such asphalt roofing shingles may be used in asphalt mixtures. The present invention may include pyrolysis of asphalt binder present in the asphalt roofing shingles in order to develop a layer of coke on the solid constituent components, so that the solid constituent components may be suitable for use in the asphalt mixtures in quantities of 5 to 30% by weight of the total weight of the asphalt mixtures. The present invention is also directed to the asphalt mixtures that include 5 to 30% by weight of the solid constituent components of the asphalt roofing shingles that have been processed in accordance with the method, apparatus and/or system of the present invention.

A method for manufacturing a processed asphalt suspension is provided. The method includes dry grinding shingle waste material to a particle size of less than 1 cm, forming ground recycled shingle material, introducing virgin asphalt into a heated slurry tank and mixing the ground recycled shingle material with the virgin asphalt in the heated slurry tank, forming a mixed asphalt slurry, introducing the mixed asphalt slurry into a wet grinding machine, and recovering a processed asphalt suspension comprising particles having a size no greater than about 200 microns. Roofing and paving products manufactured from the processed asphalt suspension are also provided.

A method is disclosed for the retrieval and recovery of organic-based or organic-containing materials, including naturally occurring substances such as crude oil, and other petroleum-based or containing materials, natural gas, and the like, from environments where they are entrained within or otherwise admixed or complexed with other organic or inorganic materials, such as rock, sand, shale and the like. The method comprises: retrieving a quantity of the petroleum-containing mixture, treating the petroleum-containing mixture with a solvent for the petroleum material to separate the petroleum material from the mixture, and recovering the separated petroleum-containing material. The solvent may be at approximately ambient temperature and may be, for instance, heptane, hexane, naphtha, kerosene, gasoline or a petroleum based solvent or any other suitable solvent in which the asphalt binder is soluble.