# US 8,772,380 B2 · Performance graded sulfur modified asphalt compositions for super pave compliant pavements > Agents: this data is available as JSON from the patentgrep API and MCP server — see https://patentgrep.com/llms.txt - Number: US 8,772,380 B2 - Document ID: US8772380B2 - Status: Granted - Kind: B2 - Application number: 12/938,812 - Filed: 2010-11-03 - Published: 2012-05-03 - Granted: 2014-07-08 - Earliest claimed: 2010-11-03 - Assignees: Saudi Arabian Oil Company - Applicants: Milind M. Vaidya; Anwar H. Khawajah; Rashid M. Othman; Laurand Lewandowski - Inventors: Milind M. Vaidya; Anwar H. Khawajah; Rashid M. Othman; Laurand Lewandowski - Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US8772380B2 ## CPC - C08L 95/00: Compositions of bituminous materials, e.g. asphalt, tar, pitch - C08L 2555/22: Asphalt produced above 140°C, e.g. hot melt asphalt - C08L 2555/52: Aggregate, e.g. crushed stone, sand, gravel or cement - C08L 2555/54: Sulfur or carbon black - C08L 2555/72: Petrochemical based or extracted waxes, e.g. paraffin, Montan wax or cracked polyethylene wax - C08L 2555/80: Macromolecular constituents - C08L: COMPOSITIONS OF MACROMOLECULAR COMPOUNDS (compositions based on polymerisable monomers C08F, C08G; artificial filaments or fibres D01F; textile treating compositions D06) ## Abstract Disclosed herein are an asphalt concrete mixture, an asphalt binder composition, and methods of preparing the related compositions. The asphalt binder compositions include a polyphosphoric acid, a macromolecular polymer having a saturated backbone with macromolecular modifications, and sulfur. The compositions are capable of being performance graded. ## Claims ### Claim 1 An asphalt concrete composition having high sulfur load with improved properties relative to high temperature rotational viscosity without a reduction in dynamic shear properties, the asphalt concrete composition comprising: a binder comprising: a polyphosphoric acid, the polyphosphoric acid being present in an amount effective to provide high temperature stiffness for the composition; a polymer having a saturated backbone with macromolecular modifications, the polymer being present in an amount effective to provide sufficient lubrication for the composition; sulfur being present in a range of from about 20 wt. % to about 50 wt. % of the binder; and asphalt; and an aggregate selected from the group consisting of coarse filler, fine filler, mineral filler, and combinations thereof. ### Claim 2 (depends on 1) The composition of claim 1, wherein the aggregate and the binder are present in a ratio of about 92 parts by weight of aggregate to about 5 parts by weight binder. ### Claim 3 (depends on 1) The composition of claim 1, wherein the binder is PG graded. ### Claim 4 (depends on 1) The composition of claim 1, wherein the pressure aging residue of the binder has a Dynamic Shear in a range of about 1,500 kPa to about 5,000 kPa at about 25° C. ### Claim 5 (depends on 1) The composition of claim 1, wherein the binder has a SUPERPAVE Performance Grade of 70-28. ### Claim 6 (depends on 1) The composition of claim 1, wherein the binder composition has a rotational viscosity in a range of about 0.150 Pa·s to about 0.700 Pa·s at about 135° C. ### Claim 7 A highly loaded sulfur-modified asphalt binder composition for use with asphalt concrete for improved properties relative to high temperature rotational viscosity without a reduction in dynamic shear properties, the binder comprising: a polyphosphoric acid, the polyphosphoric acid is present in a range of from about 0 wt. % to about 2.0 wt. % of the binder; a polymer having a saturated backbone with macromolecular modifications, the polymer having a saturated backbone with macromolecular modifications being present in a range of from about 0 wt. % to about 5 wt. % of the binder; sulfur, the sulfur being present in a range of from about 20 wt. % to about 50 wt. % of the binder; and asphalt. ### Claim 8 (depends on 7) The composition of claim 7, wherein the polyphosphoric acid is selected from the group consisting of: an acid having a formula of PqHrOs, wherein q, r, and s are positive numbers and q is greater than 2; an acid that is a linear compound having a formula of PqHq+2O3q+1, wherein q is greater than 2; an acid that is a polycondensation product formed from heating metaphosphoric acid; and combinations thereof. ### Claim 9 (depends on 7) The composition of claim 7, wherein the sulfur is selected from the group consisting of elemental sulfur; sulfur in powder form; sulfur in slurry form; sulfur in crystallized orthorhombic form; and combinations thereof. ### Claim 10 (depends on 7) The composition of claim 7, wherein the composition is PG graded. ### Claim 11 (depends on 7) The composition of claim 7, wherein the pressure aging residue of the composition has a Dynamic Shear in a range of about 1,500 kPa to about 5,000 kPa at about 25° C. ### Claim 12 (depends on 7) The composition of claim 7, wherein the composition has a SUPERPAVE Performance Grade of 70-28. ### Claim 13 (depends on 7) The composition of claim 7, wherein the composition has a rotational viscosity in a range of about 0.150 Pa·s to about 0.700 Pa·s at about 135° C. ### Claim 14 A method of preparing an asphalt concrete composition having high sulfur load with improved properties relative to high temperature rotational viscosity without a reduction in dynamic shear properties, the method comprising the steps of: a. preparing a binder comprising a polyphosphoric acid, a polymer having a saturated backbone with macromolecular modifications, asphalt and sulfur, the polyphosphoric acid being present in an amount effective to provide high temperature stiffness for the binder, the polymer being present in an amount effective to increase viscosity of the binder, and the elemental sulfur being present in a range of from about 20 wt. % to about 50 wt. % of the binder; and b. combining the binder with aggregate to produce the asphalt concrete composition. ### Claim 15 (depends on 14) The method of claim 14, wherein the polyphosphoric acid is present in a range of from about 0 wt. % to about 2.0 wt. % of the binder. ### Claim 16 (depends on 14) The method of claim 14, wherein the polymer having a saturated backbone with macromolecular modifications is present in a range of from about 0 wt. % to about 5 wt. % of the binder. ### Claim 17 (depends on 14) The method of claim 14 wherein the aggregate and the binder of the asphalt binder composition are present in a ratio of about 92 parts by weight of aggregate to about 5 parts by weight binder. ### Claim 18 (depends on 14) The method of claim 14, wherein the composition is PG graded. ### Claim 19 (depends on 14) The method of claim 14, wherein the pressure aging residue of the binder has a Dynamic Shear in a range of about 1,500 kPa to about 7,000 kPa at about 25° C. ### Claim 20 (depends on 14) The method of claim 14, wherein the binder has a SUPERPAVE Performance Grade of 70-28. ### Claim 21 (depends on 14) The method of claim 14, wherein the binder has a rotational viscosity in a range of about 0.150 Pa·s to about 0.700 Pa·s at about 135° C. ### Claim 22 (depends on 1) The composition of claim 1 where the binder has a “True” Performance Grade temperature range that is greater than about 100° C. ### Claim 23 (depends on 1) The composition of claim 1 where the binder has a “True” Performance Grade lower temperature value that is less than about −30° C. ### Claim 24 (depends on 7) The composition of claim 7 where the polymer having a saturated backbone with macromolecular modifications has reactive functionality. ### Claim 25 (depends on 24) The composition of claim 24 where the reactive functionality is selected from the group consisting of maleic anhydride, fumarate, maleate esters, (meth)acrylate esters, (meth)acrylic acid, and combinations thereof. ### Claim 26 (depends on 24) The composition of claim 24 where the polymer having a saturated backbone with macromolecular modifications is a polyolefin elastomer containing reactive p-methylstyrene groups. ### Claim 27 (depends on 7) The composition of claim 7 where the polymer having a saturated backbone with macromolecular modifications is formed from at least one monomer from the group consisting of ethylene, propylene, acrylate, butyacrylates, butylenes, hexenes, octenes and combinations thereof. ### Claim 28 (depends on 27) The composition of claim 27 where the polymer having a saturated backbone with macromolecular modifications includes a long chain branched polyolefin formed from octenes. ### Claim 29 (depends on 7) The composition of claim 7 where the polymer having a saturated backbone with macromolecular modifications is selected from the group consisting of a graft polymer, a diblock co-polymer, a triblock co-polymer, and combinations thereof. ### Claim 30 (depends on 7) The composition of claim 7 where the polymer having a saturated backbone with macromolecular modifications is a poly(isobutylene-co-p-methylstyrene)elastomer. ### Claim 31 (depends on 7) The composition of claim 7 where the binder has a “True” Performance Grade temperature range that is greater than about 100° C. ### Claim 32 (depends on 7) The composition of claim 7 where the binder has a “True” Performance Grade lower temperature value that is less than about −30° C. ### Claim 33 (depends on 7) The composition of claim 7 where the sulfur is present in an amount of about 20 wt. % and the composition has a SUPERPAVE Performance Grade of 76-22.