On the road to sustainable asphalt

In nearly five decades, Vermeulen Group has become the integral specialist in the construction, management and sustainable maintenance of infrastructure within public spaces. This also includes maintenance of the road network. At Vermeulen Groep, sustainability is the common thread running through their operations. Asphalt is a type of material where a lot of steps can still be taken. That is why Vermeulen Groep is working with partners to develop sustainable alternatives, such as Resin Asphalt, Grass Asphalt and Lynpave.

Vermeulen Group has been a regular partner of the Department of Public Works, provinces, municipalities and water boards for many years. "We are a maintenance contractor specializing in markings, greenery, guide rail, traffic engineering, incident management, noise barriers, smoothness control, asphalt and asset management, among others," says commercial director Sophia van Bakel. "We take our responsibility and invest in sustainable solutions to work on Dutch roads in a climate-neutral way by 2030. Making asphalt more sustainable is an important pillar in this."

Resinphalt

Resin asphalt is one of the latest developments in sustainable asphalt that helps reduce the use of fossil resources. "In this type of asphalt, the bitumen from crude oil 100% is replaced by a biological binder," Van Bakel explains. "The binder contains a mix of biological oils, resin and lignin from Elephant Grass." Vermeulen Groep developed Harsfalt together with Mourik Infra, NTP, Versluys Groep and ReintenInfra. Esha and Miscancell supply the raw materials. "With these parties, we are affiliated with the Asphalt Knowledge Center that provides research and monitoring. Indeed, in August 2022, we applied the first two test sections with Resinphalt in the municipalities of Assen and Oude IJsselstreek. These trial sections will be monitored for four years for aging behavior, among other things."

Gravel

In addition to Resinphalt, there is another type of sustainable asphalt called Grassphalt. "Again, this is a joint development with parties associated with the Asphalt Knowledge Center, including Miscancell and NTP," says Van Bakel. "In Grassphalt, 50% of fossil bitumen is replaced by lignin from Elephant Grass. It results in a sustainable and noise-reducing surface layer. Sustainable because of the CO₂-absorption by the Elephant Grass and a lower production temperature of the asphalt. We have now applied a test section of this too, and this is on the Abram van Rijckevorselweg in the municipality of Capelle aan den IJssel. The Asphalt Knowledge Center will once again provide monitoring in the coming years." 

Lynpave

In addition to eliminating fossil bitumen, there are many environmental gains to be made by reducing the temperature at which the asphalt is turned. Vermeulen Groep is also working on this. Van Bakel: "Together with the AKC, we have developed Lynpave, an additive to the asphalt mixture that allows it to be produced at a lower temperature. And that results in a considerable reduction in CO₂-reduction. Commissioned by Province of South Holland, Vermeulen Group was given the task of sustainably putting in the Major Maintenance on the provincial road N207C Gouda-Boskoop. 4,000 tons of Lynpave® asphalt was applied. For now, the route looks neat, but will of course be extensively monitored in the coming years."

Different properties

The fact that Vermeulen Group is committed to developing multiple types of sustainable asphalt has everything to do with its properties. "You can't get by with just one type of asphalt," Van Bakel acknowledges. "The current Dutch road network also consists of many different variants. Depending on the location, situation and traffic intensity, properties such as noise reduction, water permeability or a particular type of crushed stone are required."

With the sustainable asphalts and additives, we are ensuring that the environmental impact of asphalt is significantly reduced, Van Bakel resumes. "The first results are already promising. In addition, of course, in our other specialties we are also focusing on sustainability and circularity. For example, we are now working on the further development of the Groene Hart Hydrogen project. A machine that turns roadside grass and pruning waste into electricity, biochar (a soil improver) and ultimately hydrogen. We are also investing heavily in electrifying our vehicle and machinery fleet. So on all fronts, sustainability is at the top of the agenda."