Skip to main content

PGXpand®: A Specially-Engineered Innovative Polymer

Sripath Technologies LLC develops, manufactures and markets a wide range of innovative additives, such as, rejuvenators, oils, anti-strip agents, and polymers to enhance the performance of bitumen for both paving and roofing applications. Sripath Technologies, located in New Jersey USA since 2006, has affiliates around the world: Sripath Innovations Ltd in London UK, Bitpath Pvt. Ltd. in Mumbai India and Sripath Asia-Pac Pty. Ltd. in Melbourne Australia.
March 7, 2022 Read time: 2 mins

 

A key product offered by Sripath is PGXpand – a specially-engineered innovative polymer used to enhance the high temperature properties of bitumen without impacting the low temperature properties.  PGXpand is a highly bitumen-compatible plastomeric polymer.  It has been specifically designed to interact with bitumen in a very unique and innovative manner, allowing the product to deliver outstanding roadway performance, even though it does not confer any significant elastic recovery properties to the bitumen.

PGXpand polymer easily melts into bitumen, mixes into bitumen using low shear mixers, lowers mixing temperatures and shortens mixing times.  It is easy to incorporate into a mix plant and exhibits excellent storage stability.  PGXpand is highly dosage efficient, it lowers the viscosity of bitumen and aids in lowering the paving temperature.  It helps lower energy consumption and reduces overall costs.

This polymer interacts with bitumen in a unique fashion and tends to provide exceptional properties to the PGXpand Modified Bitumen hot mixes.  PGXpand improves the key performance qualities of Bitumen, such as, softening point, penetration, and true high grade.  It lowers viscosity of the PMB mix, improves its workability and makes the mix easier to compact.  PGXpand delivers roadways with outstanding rutting resistance, fatigue properties and long-term durability.

For Hybrid PMB systems, PGXpand is highly compatible with elastomeric polymers.  It allows engineers to design mixes with lower levels of elastomeric polymers while delivery better or equivalent roadway properties.  Hybrid PMB mixes made using PGXpand have lower viscosity, better workability, and are significantly easier to manufacture and pave.  At the same time, they deliver excellent rutting properties, fatigue performance, and roadway durability.

Bitumen modified with PGXpand can also be used in hot spray seal applications on roadways, allowing for improved workability and better performance.  PGXpand Modified Emulsions are used for repair and maintenance applications in the paving industry to deliver long-term durability and reduce frequency of road repairs.

Sripath’s PGXpand has been tested, evaluated, and vetted by leading experts in academia, industry and transportation agencies from around the world. It has been trusted and effectively used on roadways across the globe since 2015.

For further information on PGXpand or other Sripath products, please visit www.Sripath.com.

Content produced in association with Sripath

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Latest bitumen mixes improve roads, reduce noise
    February 14, 2012
    Special bitumen mixes and machines are capable of improving the service life of roads and reducing noise. Mike Woof and Patrick Smith report. The need to improve traffic flow in an important part of the City of Poznan, Poland, led to the decision to build a new 1.13km long dual carriageway.
  • From rubber to nanotechnology, new additives give longer life
    March 12, 2014
    This month: rubber comes to the rescue for cash-strapped UK authorities and Italian towns plagued by road noise; Japanese nanotechnology fights monsoon damage in India; and a new research programme promises to help define whether ‘sustainable’ bitumen technologies really live up to their billing - Kristina Smith writes A new venture in the UK aims to encourage the use of recycled tyres in road pavements. Billian UK is now manufacturing GTR Pellets which combine bitumen, ground tyre rubber (GTR) and miner
  • Review of the research activities on the behaviour of Iterlene
    November 2, 2012
    The use of reclaimed asphalt pavement (RAP) is common practice in many countries. The aged bitumen from RAP has a lower penetration and is more viscous than it was when first mixed. The reclaimed bitumen is generally balanced by the addition of fresh binder softer than the traditional one used to produce hot mixes. However, balancing penetration and softening point or viscosity does not produce an identical bitumen to the original one. One fundamental option is the regeneration of the aged binder in order t
  • Seal of approval
    August 2, 2012
    Timely maintenance using proven cost-effective methods can extend the life of a highway by many years as Patrick smith reports Highways are expensive assets to construct, and the wear and tear of modern traffic means that regular maintenance will delay costly repairs or in extreme cases reconstruction. There are a number of methods of carrying out such maintenance, and these include the use of slurry seals and micro-surfacing, which are cold mixed asphalt which is a mixture of graded aggregate, asphalt emul