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Circuit Boards Pulverized for Use in Roads

by Caleb Johnson on July 8, 2009 at 09:24 AM


Researchers in China may have found a way to cut down on waste created by old electronics and give drivers a smoother ride. For cities plagued with cracked highways or anyone who is constantly realigning their wheels, this news could herald smooth roads ahead.

According to the Scientific American, Xu Zhenming and other researchers at Jiao Tong University discovered a way to crush discarded circuit boards into a fine powder, which can be used as a binding agent in asphalt. The powder, stripped of harmful metals, reduces rutting by improving the asphalt's stiffness when exposed to high temperatures. Low temperatures also seem to prevent cracking by improving pliability. The researchers discovered that these qualities improved even more the finer the boards were crushed.

Researchers are testing the asphalt to see how it fares when exposed to outdoor conditions over a period of time, so don't go trashing your hard drive for the driveway just yet. Besides, even if this process becomes common practice, there'll still be plenty of traffic delays and road closings due to paving. Improve those, and that'd be a real breakthrough. [From Scientific American]

Tags: china, circuit board, CircuitBoard, computer, electronics, recycle, top

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