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.

Method and apparatus to facilitate recycling of at least one fraction of bitumen-containing materials. This can be accomplished by dissolving the at least one fraction, for example, maltenes or asphaltenes in roofing shingles, into at least one solvent. In one aspect, the apparatus comprises a dissolution vessel, a tumbler positioned therein, and at least one solvent distributor. The tumbler is configured to facilitate wetting the bitumen-containing materials with solvent. In a second aspect, a system comprises the apparatus, a solid-liquid separator, for example, a vibratory screen, and at least one solvent-fraction separator, for example, a flash drum. The at least one solvent can comprise one or more solvents useful to extract the at least one fraction. In a third aspect, a first fraction is extracted from the bitumen-containing materials with a first solvent composition, then a second fraction is extracted from the remaining bitumen-containing materials with a second solvent composition.

A method for recycling or processing asphalt waste held in a vessel that extracts oil from the waste and cleans the remaining solids includes the steps of adding a reaction solvent into the vessel and into contact with the asphalt waste, adding a bioremediation product into the vessel, adding a quantity of water into the vessel sufficient to effectively stop activity of the bioremediation product, and then removing any oil present in the water from the water. The resulting free oil collected from the process is similar to No. 4 fuel oil.

Techniques are described for producing a bitumen product and recovering solvent from a solvent-diluted heavy hydrocarbon stream, which can have configurations and operation of an indirect heat exchanger to enhance performance. The system can have three solvent recovery stages. The indirect heat exchanger can have a location and operation to mitigate risks associated with exchanger failures. The solvent-diluted hydrocarbon stream can be preheated with a downstream solvent-depleted stream, and the pressure of the latter can be higher than that of the former to avoid solvent leaking into the hydrocarbon-enriched stream. The heat exchanger can be located in between the second and third stages, so that solvent leaked into the second stage output can be removed in the third stage so that the final product hydrocarbon stream can remain at low solvent contents.

A method for recycling or processing asphalt waste held in a vessel that extracts oil from the waste and cleans the remaining solids includes the steps of adding a reaction solvent into the vessel and into contact with the asphalt waste, adding a bioremediation product into the vessel, adding a quantity of water into the vessel sufficient to effectively stop activity of the bioremediation product, and then removing any oil present in the water from the water. The resulting free oil collected from the process is similar to No. 4 fuel oil.

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.

This invention relates to manufacturing briquettes, pellets and shapes from recycled asphaltic limestone powder derived from waste residential roofing products. Briquettes and pellets are manufactured through a densification process at varying temperatures, creating recycled asphalt pellets, asphalt limestone pellets and bio mass and coal fines briquettes. Various shapes, including curbs and posts, are manufactured through heat and pressure in molds. Seawalls, walkways and wall panels are manufactured by blending asphaltic limestone powders with polymer resins and extruded or pultruded into shapes.

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.

Method and apparatus to facilitate recycling of at least one fraction of bitumen-containing materials. This can be accomplished by dissolving the at least one fraction, for example, maltenes or asphaltenes in roofing shingles, into at least one solvent. In one aspect, the apparatus comprises a dissolution vessel, a tumbler positioned therein, and at least one solvent distributor. The tumbler is configured to facilitate wetting the bitumen-containing materials with solvent. In a second aspect, a system comprises the apparatus, a solid-liquid separator, for example, a vibratory screen, and at least one solvent-fraction separator, for example, a flash drum. The at least one solvent can comprise one or more solvents useful to extract the at least one fraction. In a third aspect, a first fraction is extracted from the bitumen-containing materials with a first solvent composition, then a second fraction is extracted from the remaining bitumen-containing materials with a second solvent composition.

Method and apparatus to facilitate recycling of at least one fraction of bitumen-containing materials. This can be accomplished by dissolving the at least one fraction, for example, maltenes or asphaltenes in roofing shingles, into at least one solvent. In one aspect, the apparatus comprises a dissolution vessel, a tumbler positioned therein, and at least one solvent distributor. The tumbler is configured to facilitate wetting the bitumen-containing materials with solvent. In a second aspect, a system comprises the apparatus, a solid-liquid separator, for example, a vibratory screen, and at least one solvent-fraction separator, for example, a flash drum. The at least one solvent can comprise one or more solvents useful to extract the at least one fraction. In a third aspect, a first fraction is extracted from the bitumen-containing materials with a first solvent composition, then a second fraction is extracted from the remaining bitumen-containing materials with a second solvent composition.