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AnonTechie writes:
"Haifang Wen is professor in civil and environmental engineering at Washington State University where he uses his education to research new ways of making asphalt better and cheaper.
'The asphalt used in roads has traditionally been made from aggregate small particles of rock and products made from crude oil. When crude oil is refined, it produces a variety of products including light fuels like gasoline, heavier plastics and also dense asphalt. But the price of asphalt made from crude oil is pretty high, about $700 to $800 per ton', Wen said. 'That really adds up. One lane of a highway, paved for one mile, costs about $1 million. Now you know where your taxes go !'
One alternative to traditional asphalt that Wen and the people in his lab are looking into is bioasphalt. Instead of using petroleum, waste cooking oil is processed into asphalt.
http://news.wsu.edu/2014/02/18/rock-doc-designing- better-asphalt-at-wsu/"
(Score: 5, Informative) by Covalent on Saturday March 01 2014, @12:06AM
...has highlighted a major problem with biodiesel - it has a much higher cloud point than petroleum diesel. This property of biodiesel to solidify at higher temperatures works against its use as a fuel in cold weather climates. But that same property might work in its favor as an asphalt substitute.
As someone dealing with terrible road conditions, anything that helps improve road conditions at a lower cost is great with me.
You can't rationally argue somebody out of a position they didn't rationally get into.