A review of environmental emissions from asphalt plants and paving

Asphalt is a black, thermoplastic, hydrocarbon material extracted from crude oil and widely used in road construction all over the world. In order to meet the requirements of construction technology, asphalt always needs to be heated to flow state in the process of mixing and paving, during which a large amount of asphalt fume is released. Asphalt fume is a complex mixture of inorganic compound gases, volatile organic compounds and particulate matter, which poses a serious threat to the natural environment and the health of practitioners. This review presents HMA and WMA constituents and the potential health effects of criteria and Hazardous pollutants generated from asphalt pavement construction. Hot mix asphalt (HMA) and warm mix asphalt (WMA)are a major construction materials used for highway roads, building roads, airport runways, parking, and other pavement repairs in the worldwide. During HMA construction, a considerable number of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are generated during asphalt pavement construction, and present negative effects on workers health. Accurate identification, quantification and measurement of emissions during HMA and WMA paving operations were used to identify and quantify VOCs, SVOCs, hazardous air pollutants (HAPs) and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in asphalt fumes during production and paving activities.