Overview

• Researchers from the University of Granada and the University of Bologna, with Chinese government co-funding, processed de-ashed cigarette filters into wax-bound pellets combining crushed cellulose fibers and PLA plastic.
• In laboratory trials, asphalt mixtures with 40% reclaimed pavement and filter pellets released reinforcement fibers that improved stiffness, tensile strength, fatigue resistance, and reduced thermal shrinkage.
• The Fischer-Tropsch-type wax binder lowers bitumen viscosity, enabling lower manufacturing temperatures and cutting energy consumption and pollutant emissions.
• Findings published July 11 in Construction and Building Materials mark the first peer-reviewed validation of this circular economy approach to road engineering.
• The research team plans to refine pellet formulations and scale pilot applications to support sustainable, large-scale infrastructure deployment.