ASPHALTopics | Summer 2014 | VOL 27 | NO3

preferred additive. We have to
protect and defend the right of
these companies to use VTAE.”
NORA credits some of the misunderstanding
about VTAE to the multiple
names used to describe the product,
some of which carry connotations of
used oil being poured into asphalt
cement. The Association recently
coined the term VTAE as a new
reference to be used industry-wide.
The Association is also in the process
of developing the first specification for
VTAE, which will give operators greater
confidence about the composition of
the material that they are purchasing.
new industry standards to provide greater assurances about the effect
of VTAE on pavement performance.
“The key thing we need is a national forum to show data and make
recommendations to the standard setting agencies,” Huber says. “The
role of expert task groups – Binder ETG and Mix ETG – is to help define
standards and specifications that are based upon a collective opinion.”
Lisa Fattori is a freelance writer, specializing in the construction industry.
“We brought together all of our VTAE
producers in the U.S., and some in
Canada, to create a standardized term,
and we came up with this definition,”
Parker says. “Part of the problem was
calling the product by so many names
and we’ve fixed that. Our second
objective is to develop a specification
by NORA, which we will then present
to ASTM to have the specification
become standard.”
Bans on the use of VTAE not only
negatively impact the bottom line of
re-refiners, but also compromise the
environmental benefits of recycling
used motor oil to create the product.
“If the markets are damaged because
of irrational regulations, that affects
the economies that drive the collection
of used motor oil,” Parker says. “If the
value of recycled products decreases,
then there will be reduced collection
of the material. The used oil will be
disposed of, which would be very
harmful to the environment.”
In the U.S., the FHWA Turner Fairbanks
labs recently tested more than 1,000
asphalt samples from various parts of
the U.S., and found that approximately
20 per cent of the samples contained
VTAEs. More widespread use of the
product as an additive to binders will
require continued testing, the dissemination
of accurate information, and
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