Research team
Expertise
I am a Marie Skłodowska-Curie Post-Doctoral Fellow, specialised in sustainable alternative pavement materials. My primary focus is on developing and proposing innovative and durable material solutions for various applications, particularly within civil and transport infrastructures, with a specific emphasis on promoting waste and biomass valorisation for sustainable, and safe urban environments and areas. In 2018, I graduated from Sorbonne Université, France, with a Master's degree in Material Chemistry. The same year was awarded a Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions PhD grant at the University of Bologna, Italy as part of the SAFERUP project (Sustainable, Accessible, Safe, Resilient, and Smart Urban Pavement). In 2022, I successfully defended my thesis titled “Vulnerable Users' Protection with Advanced Recycling Paving Materials: Design and Characterisation of rubber-based impact-absorbing pavement materials for bicycle lanes and sidewalks”. My research projects has been addressing numerous Sustainable Development Goals (mainly 3, 9, 11, and 12) and focus on developing and characterising advanced materials to improve urban road sustainability and safety. This involves utilising recycled and/or biomass and by-products resources such as end-of-life tyres, green/waste oils, or lignin. Additionally, I explore various methods to assess and prevent slip and fall-related injuries in urban areas. Furthermore, my expertise extends to surface/interface chemistry and coating production and modification techniques, including wet coating and plasma, as well as material chemistry characterisation methods, all of which I have applied to different projects.
Biobased and Recycled paving materials with Optimised and Advanced Durability for ROAD infrastructures (BioROAD2).
Abstract
Roads are indispensable to our daily lives, promoting mobility and supporting socio-economic interactions. However, the impact caused during their construction (i.e. extraction and transport of raw materials, and production) cannot be disregarded. Moreover, asphalt will be used for the next decades in road infrastructures because of its pragmatic applicability; therefore, it is crucial to identify ways to mitigate their environmental influence and make them more sustainable. The BioROAD2 project seeks to participate in the ongoing research by applying circular economy principles encouraging the reuse/ recycling of asphalt and bio-waste and bio-by-products – often limited due to regulations, performance blockers, and technological challenges – into new paving materials to decrease the use of virgin and fossil resources. It also aims to emphasise the benefits of low-energy-consuming processes fostering the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions and related issues. BioROAD2 will highlight the overall benefits of all phases of pavement development, including its circularity, often neglected during the R&D phase. Therefore, BioROAD2 will adopt an integrated approach ensured by a three-pillar R&I strategy including (1) Requirements definition, (2) Experimental studies through Design and Characterisation combined with (3) Sustainability assessments addressing the technical, environmental and socio-economic compatibility. The objectives are to (i) specify and document the criteria for the materials and suitable use area validation and propose a unique, flexible, and verifiable self-devised method supported by literature; (ii) produce samples, verify their recyclability and identify the best mixtures; and (iii) conduct rigorous sustainability assessments for the selected mixtures and translate the results into knowledge that can be exploited as a generalised approach for biobased and recycled paving materials with optimised and advanced durability for road infrastructures.Researcher(s)
- Promoter: Van den bergh Wim
- Fellow: Makoundou Christina
Research team(s)
Project type(s)
- Research Project
Development and life-cycle of Asphalt for more Sustainable urban pavements using Recycled and Bio resources - AsSuRe Bio.
Abstract
Although roads are indispensable to our daily life and people can benefit from their social and economic role by enabling movement, they have a significant impact on the environment. Therefore, it is crucial to identify ways to mitigate their environmental influence and make them more sustainable. Using pavement engineering knowledge and methods, environmental and sustainability concepts and indicators, the AsSuRe Bio project seeks to integrate into the ongoing research ecosystem for sustainable and resilient roads and to focus on the recyclability, circularity, and – often neglected during the creation phase - environmental compatibility of urban pavements containing both a consequent amount of recycled asphalt and bio-waste or bio-by-products materials from other industries (up to 100%), possibly sourced in regional value chain actors. The project, jointly conducted at the Sustainable Pavements and Asphalt Research group (SuPAR) at the University of Antwerp and the Sustainability of Chemicals and Materials group at the Aachen-Maastricht Institute for Biobased Materials' (AMIBM-SCM) at Maastricht University, aims to address technical, environmental, and socio-economic-related aspects following a holistic and integrated approach. It aims to overcome the obstacles and challenges encountered regarding the use of such innovative materials in urban systems. Another goal is to emphasise the benefits of less and low-energy-consuming processes, the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions and related issues in cities, by highlighting the overall well-being benefits and the inclusion of secondary usage and circularity. It presents the necessary steps to be taken to consider the full implementation of circular economy principles in the urban road to participate in improving the road's environmental impact ensuring safe, resilient, and sustainable infrastructures and more liveable cities.Researcher(s)
- Promoter: Van den bergh Wim
- Fellow: Makoundou Christina
Research team(s)
Project type(s)
- Research Project