Study on the effects of organic-inorganic composite inhibitor on fume emissions of rubber modified asphalt

During the construction process, the rubber asphalt (RA) results in the generation of considerable quantities of noxious fumes, endangering the safety of those employed in the field and causing unavoidable environmental damage. The traditional inorganic fume suppressants can reduce fume emissions, but compromise the low-temperature performance of asphalt. This paper addresses this issue by employing a combination of organic inhibitor and inorganic fume suppressant. Mechanical and rheological experiments reveal that the organic-inorganic composite inhibitor simultaneously enhance the rutting resistance of RA at high temperatures and the cracking resistance at low temperatures. The results of gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) show that the types of hydrocarbon derivatives (HYDs) and sulfides substances (SCs) in the volatile organic compounds (VOCs) of inorganic- organic composite inhibitor modified asphalt (INOORA) are reduced by 71.4 % and 76.9 % compared to RA, respectively. Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET), Fourier Transform Infrared Test (FT-IR), and Thermogravimetric analysis (TG-DTG) results suggest that the organic inhibitor reacts chemically with rubber asphalt components, increasing the size of certain small molecular VOCs in rubber asphalt, which is more readily adsorbed by the pores of diatomaceous earth, thereby synergistically reducing the VOCs concentration in rubber asphalt. The results provided a new method for preventing the volatilization of noxious substances from rubber asphalt, without compromising its road performance.