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Cracked and deteriorated asphalt are common problems on our roads, leading to safety concerns and requiring significant resources for rehabilitation and reconstruction. This study investigates bio-fog seals, a promising eco-friendly solution utilizing bio-based rejuvenators. These treatments penetrate aged asphalt, restoring its flexibility and resistance to cracking. We assessed the effectiveness of two bio-fog seal formulations—one containing sub-epoxidized soybean oil (SESO) and the other combining SESO with a biopolymer (BioMag). Applied to real pavement sections, the research evaluated how these bio-seals impacted key performance factors, such as stiffness, permeability, and drying time, and safety factors, including skid resistance and pavement marking visibility. The results indicate the bio-seals did not compromise skid resistance and the reflectivity of the markings, eliminating the need for repainting stripes. Additionally, they successfully reduced pavement stiffness, making the asphalt more flexible and crack-resistant. Remarkably, with rapid setting times, under 30 min, these treatments minimize traffic disruption and do not require a blotter material. Overall, this research demonstrates the potential of bio-fog seals as a sustainable solution for extending pavement lifespan and lowering long-term maintenance costs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Through recent work at Iowa State University, great potential was seen from epoxidized plant oil materials, epoxidized benzyl soyate (EBS), and epoxidized methyl soyate (EMS) as fluxes/rejuvenators. This work found that improvement in low-temperature performance was greater than improvement in high-temperature performance for solvent de-asphalting (SDA) and residuum oil super critical extraction (ROSE) unit bottoms when using either EBS or EMS as compared to results from modified vacuum distillation tower bottoms with EBS and EMS. Based on these results, analytical chemistry was done using Fourier transformed infrared with attenuated total reflection and ion mobility mass spectrometry (IM-MS) equipment. Chemical analysis showed that there is indeed something in the SDA and ROSE binders that is interacting with both EBS and EMS, making them perform aggressively. The region of interest was identified from IM-MS to be between m/z 250 and m/z 400 for the SDA and ROSE binders, of which there were 35 common components where 29 of them had similar abundances in the SDA and ROSE binders. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]