Red Deer Polytechnic (RDP) is at the centre of a new applied research project aiming to turn asphalt shingle waste into high-value paving stones.
The multi-year initiative, funded in part by a $450,000 grant from Emissions Reduction Alberta, brings together RDP, the Northern Alberta Institute of Technology (NAIT), and the Southern Alberta Institute of Technology (SAIT) in support of industry partner Sustainable Paving Stones (SPS).
RDP’s Centre for Innovation in Manufacturing Technology Access Centre (CIM-TAC) will design and build a commercial unit capable of producing up to 9,000 pavers per hour using recycled asphalt shingles and pavement (RASP).
CIM-TAC engineers will lead the design of the production unit using digital simulations and design-for-manufacturing principles. Their work includes structural calculations, equipment design and creating engineering drawings based on research from SAIT and NAIT.
"We are excited to showcase what Alberta’s polytechnics can achieve when we collaborate on industrial applied research solutions," said Dr. Tonya Wolfe, RDP’s associate vice-president of applied research.
The unit will also include a biomass furnace powered by wood waste to reduce greenhouse gas emissions further. RDP engineers will apply digital simulations, structural calculations, and design-for-manufacturing principles to build the system.
Beyond RDP's contributions, the partnership between RDP, NAIT and SAIT will perform iterative simulation and modeling to optimize heating profiles and investigate anti-stick surface technologies.
Full-scale testing of the unit is expected by 2027. The paving stones will be evaluated both in labs and in the field, with a full lifecycle analysis comparing the emissions of SPS’s asphalt-based pavers to traditional concrete alternatives.
More information is available at rdpolytech.ca/innovation.
** With information from Red Deer Polytechnic.
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