B2Last® from BASF Corporation — new chemistry to improve neat asphalt

BATT supplied civil engineering support to help BASF test a modification technology designed to improve adhesion of the asphalt mix by cross-linking the liquid binder. Services included testing, product installation, site evaluations and market development support. The product underwent rigorous testing in a Phase 1 placement in 2020 at the National Center for Asphalt Technology (NCAT) at Auburn University, overseen by Dr. Nam Tran and Dr. Buzz Powell. The BATT Team has monitored multiple installations in Kentucky since the initial Phase 1 study at NCAT and has submitted follow-up reviews on all installations.

The tests will evaluate the field constructability of asphalt mixtures modified with B2Last. Information from the Phase 1 study was used to design a full-scale experiment that was placed on the Pavement Test Track in 2021.

The main challenge in using reactive chemistries is to ensure that the product has sufficient time to react completely within the liquid asphalt and improve its functional characteristics. Paving crews observed that B2Last mixes have significantly less build-up and less need for release agents than traditional polymers. Pavements modified with B2Last also see improved compaction over standard polymer modified asphalts.

B2Last brings a new type of science from an engineering perspective. We are used to dealing with products that are blended. B2Last is fully reacted, which means it becomes one with the asphalt – it’s not a two-part system you have to stir continuously. Once contractors get B2Last-modified asphalt into their tank, it is business as usual.