Carbon-based nanomaterials have emerged as a promising strategy for bitumen modification to enhance the mechanical and thermal performance of pavements. This review evaluates the present advancements in the inclusion of coke and carbon nanomaterials (CNMs) such as carbon nanotubes (CNTs) and graphene into bituminous systems. The findings and limitations of recent experiments in synthesis procedures along with dispersion methods are deeply explored to determine their impact on the rheological properties of bitumen as well as aging resistance and durability characteristics. Petroleum coke enhances bitumen softening points by 10–15 °C and causes up to 30% improvement in rutting resistance while simultaneously prolonging material fatigue life and aging resistance. Bitumen modification through petroleum coke faces challenges in addition to mixing difficulties due to its high viscosity. Moreover, the incorporation of CNTs and graphene as CNMs shows significant enhancements in rutting resistance with improved tensile strength, lower additive requirements, and enhanced dispersion. Both the superior mechanical properties of carbon nanomaterials and processing advancements in nano-enhanced bitumen have the capability to solve technical issues including material costs and specialized mixing processes. Combining coke with CNMs to enhance performance is a future research direction, which could result in economic and scalability considerations. This review comprehensively explores insights into physicochemical interactions, performance outcomes, and processing techniques, crucial for the development of sustainable, high-performance bitumen composites tailored for next-generation infrastructure applications.

One of the urgent problems of improving the quality of road surfaces is to improve the properties of bitumen used as binders. For this purpose, various modifiers are used, which are mainly obtained synthetically. Modification of bitumen with natural raw materials is favorable from an economic and...

Improving the physico-mechanical characteristics of bitumen is a constant and pressing problem in road construction. The issue is solved by modifying bitumen with various additives, one of which is a nanostructured modifier. This paper examines the effect of adding a natural mineral, shungite, to bitumen from the Koksu deposit (Kazakhstan) after grinding under different conditions. The mechanochemical activation of shungite made it possible to obtain samples with an average particle diameter of up to 3 μm. Using scanning electron microscopy, nanostructured particles with sizes of up to 100 nm were discovered in their structure. The effect of nanostructured shungite on the rheological characteristics of bitumen—elasticity and loss moduli, and loss tangent at high and low temperatures—was studied. The transition temperatures of bitumen from the viscoelastic to the liquid state were established, and their shift to the region of elevated temperatures when modified with ground shungite are shown. The presence of organic and inorganic components in the composition of shungite—carbon, silica, and metal oxides—has a beneficial effect on the rheological properties of bitumen by forming bonds with resinous asphaltene components of bitumen. The use of bitumen modified with nanostructured shungite makes it possible to replace the polymer modifier with a natural mineral to improve the quality of the road surface.

In the production of sulfuric acid, sulfur cake—a waste product of the sulfur purification process—is formed in large quantities, which requires its disposal and use. For its use in composite materials, modification is necessary to convert sulfur into a polymer form. The aim of the study was to develop a method for modifying sulfur cake—a waste product of sulfuric acid production—for its disposal. Available reagents—styrene, glycerol, and oleic acid—were tested as modifiers in the work. The sample compositions consisted of 100% sulfur cake (no. 1) and its mixtures: 97% sulfur cake + 3% styrene (no. 2), 97% sulfur cake + 3% glycerol (no. 3), 97% sulfur cake + 3% oleic acid (no. 4), 95% sulfur cake + 3% styrene, 1% glycerol, and 1% oleic acid (no. 5). Modification of sulfur cake was carried out at a temperature of 140 °C for 30 min. The composition, crystal structure, and thermal properties of the samples of the original and modified sulfur cake were studied using X-ray phase and X-ray structural analyses, IR spectroscopy, differential scanning calorimetry, differential thermal and thermogravimetric analysis. The optimal modifier for sulfur cake was a mixture of styrene, glycerol, and oleic acid, which led to the formation of acetal (polyoxymethylene) and an improvement in the structure due to a decrease in the content of impurities. Modification of sulfur cake with styrene resulted in the appearance of a C_Ar–S bond band at 571 cm⁻¹, and modification with oleic acid a C–S band in the region of 694 cm⁻¹ in the IR spectra. The results of differential scanning calorimetric analysis showed an increase in the heat of fusion of sulfur by 12.45 J/g in the samples of sulfur cake modified with glycerol and styrene. Modification of sulfur cake with oleic acid and a mixture of reagents resulted in the appearance of a third peak with maxima at 244.2 and 264.0 °C, which demonstrated a significant effect of the indicated additives on the thermal behavior of the sulfur cake. Proposed schemes for modifying sulfur cake with styrene and oleic acid are presented.

The use of household polymer waste in bitumen modification is one of the promising areas that allows providing the road surface with maximum resistance to fatigue failure, resistance to temperature changes in daily and seasonal cycles and a direction in solving environmental problems. In addition, using polymer waste can solve the problem of the increased cost of bitumen modified with polymers. In this research work, the compositions and physical-chemical characteristics of bitumen, polymer-bitumen binders and coal coke are studied. The detailed chemical composition of coal coke was studied using IR spectroscopy and thermogravimetric analysis. Addition of microdispersed coke during bitumen modification shows improvement of the characteristics of the obtained product similar to polymer-bitumen binders. Polymer-bitumen binder with addition of polymer waste and polymer modifier Elvaloy meets the requirements of ST RK 2534-2014 for BMP 50/70 in terms of its main indicators. During the process of bitumen modification with polymer waste, polymer particles physically react with high-molecular components (asphaltenes, resins and polyaromatic compounds), which affects the physical and mechanical properties of the bitumen binder: the softening temperature increases, the penetration and ductility values decreased. Addition of microdispersed granulated coke powders for modification of road bitumen meets the requirement of PBB 40 according to GOST R 52056-2003.

Full compliance with the technology of laying road surfaces does not always show high reliability. Low durability of roads is determined by insufficient quality indicators of the bitumen used. Therefore, the transition to the use of polymer-bitumen binders is a trend in the development of the road industry, which have higher quality characteristics. Most often, thermoplastic elastomers of the styrene-butadiene-styrene type are used to modify bitumen, which are characterized by a relatively high cost. This work experimentally demonstrates the effect of the combined use of plastic waste and ready-made polymer modifiers on the rheological properties and chemical bond of bitumen binders to reduce the cost of polymer-bitumen binders. In the work, secondary polyethylenes of different densities (LDPE and HDPE) were used in an amount of 1 to 2% together with ready-made polymer modifiers (SBS and Elvaloy). The physical-mechanical properties of the obtained bitumen binders were determined by standard methods according to ST RK. The results of the study show that with the increase of plastic waste, the plasticity range of bitumen in the presence of modifiers increases. This indicates that the finished polymers have a significant effect on improving the physical and mechanical properties of modified bitumen. New results were obtained on the effect of plastic waste on the quality of polymer-bitumen binder. According to the results of the work, it was found that the selected plastic waste is compatible with the ready-made polymer modifiers.