Gipave, the green and hi-tech technology for asphalts, was used for the resurfacing of 4000 square metres in the internal transit areas of A2A‘s Brescia waste-to-energy plant.
It is an innovative product containing graphene and a specific type of recycled hard plastics (derived, for example, from certain types of toys, fruit boxes, CD cases) specifically selected through a patented process. This is the result of a six-years research conducted by Iterchimica in collaboration with A2A, the University of Milan-Bicocca and Directa Plus.
The use of Gipave guarantees greater performance in terms of resistance and durability – up to a 50% increase in the service life of the asphalt pavement compared to the best technologies currently available on the market – and it significantly reduces environmental impacts.
In fact, compared to traditional paving methods, for this surface it was possible to reuse one tonne of hard plastic as well as to save 10 tonnes of bitumen and 215 tonnes of raw materials extracted from the quarries, avoiding land consumption and halving the number of vehicle trips required to transport the materials.
The project also brings numerous benefits, including a reduction in energy consumption of about 47,000 kWh, corresponding to the monthly needs of about 210 families, and a 50% reduction in CO2 emissions.
Federica Giannattasio, Iterchimica’s CEO, said: “Today, we are particularly happy to present, together with A2A, the new road surface of the internal areas of the Brescia waste-to-energy plant. The collaboration with the Group started in 2015 and through several stages of research and development we have developed Gipave, the technology for Green and High-Tech asphalts containing graphene and a specific type of hard plastics. I would like to thank A2A for making it possible to resurface its areas using this patented technology that is the result of a joint collaboration. This is a perfect example of the application of circular economy principles.