ASPHALTopics | Fall 2015 | VOL 28 | NO 3
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Taking the<br />
myth and<br />
mystery<br />
out of<br />
Vacuum Tower<br />
Asphalt<br />
Extenders<br />
by Lisa Fattori<br />
Vacuum Tower Asphalt Extenders (VTAE), one of several<br />
products manufactured by used engine oil re-refineries, have<br />
been used for over 30 years as an effective additive to change the<br />
viscosity of asphalt so that it meets required specifications.<br />
Formerly known as Re-refined Engine Oil Bottoms (REOB) and Waste Engine Oil Residue (WEOR), VTAE has<br />
been coined as the industry standard as a name that better describes the multi-stage distillation process<br />
that returns used motor oil to base oils, with VTAE as a co-product of the refining process. Stripped of any<br />
water, antifreeze and fuels, VTAE is essentially the material that doesn’t boil in the refining process and<br />
drops to the bottom of the Vacuum Tower. Non-toxic, consistent, and compatible with most asphalts, VTAE<br />
is a proven binder additive that offers a great deal of flexibility in designing high performing pavements.<br />
Misinformation, confusion and debate surrounding VTAE is a recent occurrence, and is a controversy that threatens<br />
the ongoing use of the product in some jurisdictions. “For almost 30 years, asphalt blenders have been using VTAE<br />
to give asphalt a specified viscosity,” says Al Palmer, Technical Director, Re-fined Specialty Products, Safety-Kleen.<br />
“The material is primarily just another hydrocarbon molecule, so blenders never thought anything of it. When agencies<br />
learned that it was being used in their mixes, they became confused about what VTAE actually is. The names REOB<br />
and Waste Engine Oil Residue carry negative connotations and an image of a truck parking over an asphalt tank and<br />
draining motor oil into the mix. Now that we’ve established the name Vacuum Tower Asphalt Extender, it should help<br />
to dispel some of the myths about VTAE, what it is, how it’s made and how it should be used.”<br />
Safety-Kleen’s East Chicago, Indiana re-refinery is the largest in North America. Together<br />
their three re-refineries process more than 220 million gallons of used oil each year.
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