Preparation and characterization of liquid natural rubber modified asphalt by using wet mixing method

Polymer modified asphalt based on liquid natural rubber has been successfully prepared using a simple wet mixing method. Natural rubber SIR 20 was degraded using the brosse method to reduce its viscosity so as to produce liquid natural rubber that was easily mixed with the asphalt matrix. Physical characteristics such as hardness, ductility, specific gravity and softening point of modified asphalt are carried out with a predetermined standard reference. Surface morphology of modified asphalt were observed using scanning electron microscope (SEM). The characterization results show that the addition of 4 grams of liquid natural rubber in 200 grams of asphalt pen 60-70 can improve the physical quality of modified asphalt, while the subsequent addition of up to 6 grams of liquid natural rubber reduces its quality relatively. Based on the morphological observations of modified asphalt, it is seen that sample A4 has a fairly strong agglomeration level, this indicates a strong particle bond between the asphalt granules as a result of liquid natural rubber acting as a reinforcement for the bond between modified asphalt. However, further research needs to be addressed in order to obtain a more optimal modified asphalt.