Hacking the Asphalt Economy, an Infographic

Asphalt, also referred to as bitumen, is a material similar to petroleum that is composed of five crucial elements, including carbon, nitrogen, and sulfur.  It is valued for its structural strength, resistance to temperature changes, and binding power, which are why it is widely used for roof shingles and roadways.  In fact, the U.S. has made over 400 million tons of asphalt in 2019 alone.

Asphalt is considered a 100% renewable resource for construction which can be attributed to its ability to be recycled once its life has ended.  A recycling company obtains the usable asphalt from the unusable parts through an extraction process.  The recovered materials are then reused for waterproof surfaces, parking lots, and more.  Most of the asphalt pavement in the U.S. is successfully recovered yearly. 

Asphalt recovery, which is now considered a $7.1 billion dollar industry, positively impacts both people and the environment.  For example, asphalt recycling discourages greenhouse gases from polluting the air while reducing the amount of asphalt being sent to landfills each year.  Recycled asphalt also decreases asphalt manufacturing costs and saves Americans almost $2 billion on taxes.  

The shingle recovery market has also been on the rise.  As asphalt demands continue to rise, there have been an increasing number of roofing recovery sites in at least 20 states as well as more recycling and sustainable programs aimed at providing cold and hot mix asphalt and lower costs for binder manufacturing.  The state of Vermont has even passed an act that requires shingle recycling, but how exactly is it done?

Recycling asphalt shingles is a closed-loop process that extracts bitumen from the shingles using a particular solvent.  The asphalt shingle is initially broken into smaller pieces before being mixed with a solvent to create a sludge used to dissolve the bitumen.  The heavier waste drops to the bottom of the container while the solvents and bitumen end up at the surface.  The solution is exposed to heat in the final step so that the solvents and the oil are divided, preparing them to be saved and packaged individually.  

Asphalt, shingles made from asphalt, and bitumen oil can be recovered and resold effectively, making asphalt a very versatile material.