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Every year a large amount of toner is produced for copiers and printers by toner manufacturing companies. Toner, the dry ink used in laser printers and copiers, can be blended in to asphalt to improve strength and temperature resistance properties. Some of the toner does not meet quality specifications for use in copiers or printers and consequently becomes a waste product of the manufacturing process. This manufacturing waste, along with the spent toner from copiers and printers, is dumped into landfills for lack of a better way to utilize the material.
In this research project I tested toner modified asphalt at the TX DOT laboratory to check the potential benefits of using waste toner. My procedure included the following steps: First I calculated the amount of toner to add (by weight). Then I heated the asphalt until it was liquid. Afterwards I added the toner to the asphalt and then I mixed it thoroughly. Later I obtained test samples and ran the DRS test. I gathered the data and analyzed it. Result of this lab experiment shows that the toner addition increases the stiffness of asphalt and its resistance to rutting.
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