Emission reduction agents: A solution to inhibit the emission of harmful volatile organic compounds from crumb rubber modified bitumen

Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in bitumen fumes pose health risks to workers. Adding end-of-life tire crumb rubber (CR) to bitumen increases VOC emissions. To promote cleaner asphalt production, recycled materials like cementitious materials, activated carbon, zeolite, and geopolymers were incorporated into crumb rubber modified bitumen and explored as emission reduction agents (ERAs). Proton-transfer-reaction time-of-flight mass spectrometry was used to compare VOC emissions across blends. ERAs reduced emissions by at least 33%, with Portland cement, activated carbon, and geopolymer-based fly ash achieving up to 58%, 49%, and 48% reduction, respectively. Multivariable regression analyses showed that the BET surface area, BJH adsorption cumulative surface area, BJH desorption cumulative surface area, and average pore diameter of the ERAs were the predominant factors contributing to the reduction of VOC emissions. [Display omitted] •PTR-TOF-MS reveals toluene as the most abundant VOC of CRMB.•Organic and inorganic ERAs reduce total VOC emissions from CRMB.•Physical characteristics of ERAs are correlated to the VOC emissions from CRMB.•ERAs can successfully reduce health hazardous VOCs from CRMB.•Portland cement paste, activated carbon and geopolymer-based fly ash reduced VOC emission from CRMB the most.