Evotherm - Asphalt Additives Pave a Better Way

The Lane Construction Company is paving the way to responsible, eco-friendly road construction. When they embarked on a large-scale paving project, they chose Evotherm™ - a warm mix asphalt by MWV. Evotherm significantly reduces emissions and environmental impact, plus it’s more durable.

Charged with maintaining and building long-lasting roads that reduce environmental impact on surrounding communities, the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) used MWV Evotherm™ Warm Mix in its first large-scale warm-mix asphalt paving project. With environmental and durability advantages over traditional hot-mix asphalt, Evotherm is gaining popularity among communities hoping to reduce their carbon footprint.

Nearly two years after it began using warm-mix asphalt paving in San Antonio, TxDOT began testing the next-generation paving alternative on a longer, more heavily used highway. In April 2008, Lane Construction Company, formerly known as Sunmount Corporation, the general contractor, used Evotherm warm mix asphalt technology on a 5-mile section of highway U.S. 287 near Saginaw in Fort Worth, Texas. Lane crews noticed that they could obtain the necessary densities with fewer roller passes, resulting in a 80 to 97 percent reduction in job site emissions.

MWV Evotherm is a next-generation paving solution that significantly lowers temperatures for asphalt production and application. This means major reductions in fuel consumption and environmental impact.

Benefits of Evotherm

Evotherm technology enables asphalt mixes to be produced at temperatures of 100 degrees Fahrenheit, lower than traditional hot-mix asphalt applications. The lower production temperatures provide numerous benefits, including:

• 40 to 60 percent decreases in fuel consumption and carbon dioxide,
• Greater than 60 percent decrease in greenhouse gasses,
• Nearly 75 percent reduction in photochemical smog emissions, and
• More than 80 percent drop in acid rain causing sulfur dioxide.

Evotherm is also odor free, reducing community response to ongoing road construction and enabling a more pleasant work environment for construction crews. And this new technology can be implemented on existing processing equipment, helping construction companies and transportation departments avoid additional machinery investments.

In addition to the generic benefits of warm-mix asphalt technology, Evotherm addressed a special need of the Fort Worth project. In the past, the TxDOT used a crack sealant on the road, which tended to expand and create bumps when hot-mix was placed atop the sealant.

The low temperatures made possible by Evotherm helped to avoid activating the crack filler from expanding, thereby reducing this reoccurring problem.

The Department was pleased with the results, and city officials expect increased pavement performance and less long-term cracking.

Evotherm performance has been proven in more than 200 projects in 20 states, as well as in France, Spain, United Kingdom, Canada, Mexico, South Africa, and China, and this number continues to grow. Since October 2005, Evotherm has been involved in accelerated testing at the United States National Center for Asphalt Technology’s pavement test track. Results prove Evotherm-paved test sections have held up to the equivalent of more than 10 years of traffic, performing exceptionally with virtually no deformation.