In the Netherlands, a test section of road using biobased asphalt has held up well over 6 months—encouraging news for efforts to decarbonize road construction.
The trial section of N987 in Groningen was laid in early June using asphalt that swapped a portion of petroleum-based bitumen, which binds the asphalt together, with lignin. The material was developed by Roelofs and Avantium.
“After constructing a few smaller test sections on bicycle paths in Groningen, it was time for a busy road. The provincial road is heavily used and the asphalt is performing extremely well,” Albertus Steenbergen, Manager of Asphalt and Engineering at Roelofs, tells Innovation Origins. The road will continue to be monitored, and the team will also look at increasing lignin content.