The research works carried out by the Chair of Sustainable Asphalt Bitafal - Um begin to bear fruit. The project, carried out by the Faculty of Engineering of the University of Montevideo together with Bitafal, aims to train future engineers in the concepts of sustainability applied to the road construction of our country.

Within that framework, days ago the first three research works developed by students were presented during 2024. Before a classroom full of authorities and students of the FIUM, the students presented the projects, which address the theme from different perspectives: the reduction of the application temperatures of the asphalt mixtures known as warm mixtures; The incorporation of ground glass into the production of conventional asphalt mixtures (Glassphalt) and the advantages of using aqueous emulsions compared to the use of diluted based on oil -derived solvents.

The general director of Bitafal Santiago Kröger highlighted the work of the CAS throughout 2024, which brings together the academy with the road industry in the search for innovative solutions for this industry, indicating that “these first works, with excellent academic level and much dedication by students and teachers, mark us that we are on the right path”. In that sense, the manager announced that the three projects will be presented at the next Latin American Ibero Congress of the Asphalt (CILA), which will be held this year in Paraguay.

The event was conducive to launching the inscriptions for the 2025 season of the Chair, the presence of students of the fique who already joined the initiative in this school year being very important. CAS David Fontans stressed that there are several projects in execution for this year, highlighting those for the use of biomass ashes in construction materials, use of recovered asphalt materials (rap) in new pavements, analysis of other typologies of asphalt mixtures with glass addition, and the development of an application for collection of material testing information. All of them, like the members of generation 2024, will be able to develop their initiatives with the possibility of experiencing them in practice, together with the Bitafal team and other companies in the road construction industry.

The chair of sustainable asphalt Bitafal - UM emerged from a company joint initiative and the University of Montevideo aimed at training the new generations of engineering professionals, which contribute to thinking about the roads of the future, minimizing the environmental impact of its production process, reducing costs and benefiting the entire community.