Asphalt modifiers for “warm mix” applications including adhesion promoter

1. An additive package for warm-mix asphalt formulations for the pavement of road surfaces, said additive package comprising

a) from about 20 to about 60 wt %, based on the total weight of the additive package of surfactant component, and

b) about 30 to about 80 wt % of the additive package of an asphalt rheology modifying component,

wherein said asphalt rheology modifying component comprises at least one wax component and at least one resin component,

wherein the surfactant component comprises at least one surfactant selected from the group consisting of amines, diamines, polyamines, ethoxylated amines, ethoxylated alkyl diamines, ethoxylated alkyl polyamines, amido amines, amidopolyamines, imidazolines, any of their corresponding organic or inorganic salts, and mixtures thereof,

wherein the wax component is selected from the group consisting of carnuba wax, beeswax, montan wax from coal, Fischer Tropsch wax from coal, petroleum or gas origin, amide waxes, fatty acids and soaps; fatty alcohols, hydrogenated fats, fatty esters, and mixtures thereof,

wherein the resin component is selected from the group consisting of tall oil pitch, pine tar pitch, tall oil rosins, rosin acids, pine rosins, gum rosins, maleated rosins, fumarated rosins, resinous by-products from tall oil processing or the processing of gum rosins, petroleum resins, phenolic resins, maleated tall oil pitch, tall oil heads, natural rubber, styrene butadiene rubber, polychlorprene, crumb rubber, asphaltenes, uintahite, dried asphalt, Trinidad refined asphalt, by-products from the deasphalting of oils, oxidised asphalts, zero penetration asphalts, and mixtures thereof, and

wherein said resin component has a Drop melt point >60° F. and a Penetration <50 at 25° C.

2. The additive package of claim 1 wherein the surfactant component comprises at least one surfactant selected from the group consisting of

I. Amines

wherein R is a saturated or unsaturated, substituted or unsubstituted, optionally branched or cyclic, hydrocarbon group with 8-24 carbon atoms, R 1 and R 2 can be the same or different and are hydrogen or hydrocarbon chain with 1-24 carbon atoms;

II. Diamines and Polyamines

R—(NH—R 3 ) x —NH 2

where R has the same meaning as above, and R 3 represents a linear or branched hydrocarbon radical with 1-6 carbon atoms, and x represents an integer of less than or equal to six;

III. Ethoxylated and/or Propoxylated Amines

where R has the same meaning as above; and x and y are independently 0, 1 or 2 and each R 4 is independently H or CH 3 ;

IV. Ethoxylated and/or Propoxylated alkyl Diamines and ethoxylated alkyl polyamines

wherein R and R 3 have the same meaning as above; x, y, and z are independently 0, 1 or 2 and x+y+z< or =5, and each R 4 is independently H or CH 3 ;

V. Amido amines

wherein R, R 1 , R 2 and R 3 has the same meaning as above; and

VI. Amidopolyamines and imidazolines

RCO—(NH—R 3 ) x —NH 2

wherein R and R 3 have the same meaning as above, and x=an integer of from 1 to 10.

3. The additive package of claim 1 wherein said surfactant component comprises at least one amine and/or modified amine surfactant selected from the group consisting of ethoxylated tallow amines, fatty amines, fatty amine derivatives, tall oil amidoamines/imidazolines, bis hexamethylene triamine and higher oligomers of hexmethylediamine, alkyl amine surfactants with a hydrocarbon chain consisting of 8 to 22 carbon atoms and mixtures thereof.

4. The additive package of claim 1 wherein said surfactant component is selected from the group consisting of tallow n-propylene diamine, tris-ethoxylated tallow N-propylene diamine, a mixture of imidazolines and amidopolyethylenepolyamines, a mixture of imidazolines and amidoamines, hydrogenated tallow propylene diamine, ethoxylated hydrogenated tallow propylene diamine, tallow dipropylene triamine, tallow tripropylene tetramine and derivatives thereof, and amides resulting from the condensation fatty acids with dimethylaminopropylamine.

5. The additive package of claim 1 wherein said wax component is selected from the group consisting of paraffin wax, polyethylene wax, ethylene bis stearamide, stearyl amide, stearylstearamide; aluminum stearate, calcium stearate, fatty acids; fatty alcohols, hydrogenated fats, fatty esters and mixtures thereof.

6. The additive package of claim 5 wherein the congealing point of said wax is between 60° C. and 150° C. with a Brookfield viscosity at 135° C. in the range of 10-40 cPs.

7. A warm mix asphalt formulation for the pavement of road surfaces, said formulation comprising a mixture of bitumen and aggregates, and from about 0.2 to 10% by weight of the additive package of claim 1 , based on the weight of the asphalt.

8. The formulation of claim 7 wherein the temperature required to compact said asphalt is 15-60° F. lower than conventional hot mix asphalts.

9. The asphalt formulation of claim 7 wherein said asphalt and aggregates are mixed in a mixer, and wherein said additive package a) is blended into said asphalt binder before the aggregates are introduced to the mixer; or b) added to the aggregates, or portion of the aggregates before the asphalt is introduced to the mixer; or c) added to the mixer after the asphalt has been added to the aggregate in said mixer, or combinations of a)-c).

10. A method for lowering the compaction temperature of warm mix asphalt, said method comprising adding to said warm mix asphalt a compaction temperature lowering amount of the additive package of claim 1 .

11. The method of claim 10 wherein from about 0.2 to 10% by weight of the additive package of claim 1 , based on the weight of the asphalt, is added to said warm mix asphalt, and wherein the temperature required to compact said asphalt is at least 15-60° F. lower than conventional hot mix asphalts.

12. The warm mix asphalt of claim 7 wherein said additive package is added as a single package, or the individual components of said package are added separately to the warm mix asphalt.

13. The warm mix asphalt of claim 7 wherein the additive package, or individual components thereof, are added at various stages of the warm mix process.

14. The warm mix asphalt of claim 13 wherein the additive package, or individual components thereof are blended into the asphalt binder before the asphalt is introduced to the aggregate in the hot-mix plant, added to the aggregate, or a portion of the aggregate, before asphalt is added to the mixer, and/or added to the mixer in the hot-mix plant after asphalt has been added to the aggregate.