Russian company to join EU?s noiseless asphalt RandD effort

Unicom, a portfolio company of Russia?s Rusnano, has joined the winners of an open EU tender for the development and production of noiseless asphalt for highways

Unicom, a portfolio company of Russia?s Rusnano, has joined the winners of an open European Union tender for the development and production of noiseless asphalt for highways, Rusnano announced. The Semenov Institute of Chemical Physics, a Moscow-based think-tank, provides scientific support for the Russian tender winner. It was the Netherlands Ministry of Infrastructure and Environment that initiated the international effort. The tender winners are now expected to collaborate in developing a brand new type of noise-absorbing road carpet that would enable a 10dB noise reduction on highways. A reported 18 companies from all over the world took part in the tender. Unicom was the only Russian participant. Unicom?s solution that has won the Russian company a place among the chosen calls for the modification of asphalt-concrete using active powder of discretely devulcanized rubber. Such a powder is produced from used car tires by a high-temperature shear milling technique. When added to hot bitumen, the powder is said to help create 30-300 nanometer structures that increase the strength and durability of a road carpet, making it crack-proof, stable at high temperatures, and moisture-resistant...