High construction costs, when combined with awareness regarding environmental stewardship have encouraged the use of waste and renewable resources in asphalt modification. Increasing energy costs and the strong worldwide demand for petroleum have encouraged the development of alternative binders to modify or replace asphalt binders. The benefits of using alternative binders are that they can help save natural resources and reduce energy consumption while maintaining and in some cases improving asphalt performance. Common alternative binders include engine oil residue, bio-binder, soybean oil, palm oil, fossil fuel, swine waste, and materials from pyrolysis. Chemical compositions of the majority of these alternative binders are similar to those of unmodified asphalt binders (e.g. Resin, saturates, aromatics, and asphaltene). On the other hand, tests indicate the wide variability in the properties of alternative binders. Also, the chemical modification mechanism for asphalt with alternative binders depends clearly on the unmodified asphalt and is consequently not well understood. For energy sustainability, environment-friendly materials and an urgent need for infrastructure rehabilitation that more research is needed to evaluate the alternative binders for use in asphalt modification. The alternative binders should have moisture resistance and good aging characteristics.

Asphalt modification is an important area in the development of new road and pavement materials. There is an urgent demand for road materials that can minimize fracture at low temperatures and increase resistance to deformation at high temperatures. The function of asphalt is to bind aggregate to protect it from water and other harmful agents. In the beginning asphalt was ideal for this purpose, but recently traffic loads have increased and environmental factors have deteriorated more rapidly than before. Asphalt is a byproduct of crude oil in the refining process, and it is considered a complex heterogeneous mixture of hydrocarbons. Asphalt modification has become an important research area, using several methods and new materials as modifiers.

Green and Intelligent Technologies for Sustainable and Smart Asphalt Pavements contains 124 papers from 14 different countries which were presented at the 5th International Symposium on Frontiers of Road and Airport Engineering (IFRAE 2021, Delft, the Netherlands, 12-14 July 2021). The contributions focus on research in the areas of "Circular, Sustainable and Smart Airport and Highway Pavement" and collects the state-of-the-art and state-of-practice areas of long-life and circular materials for sustainable, cost-effective smart airport and highway pavement design and construction. The main areas covered by the book include: • Green and sustainable pavement materials • Recycling technology • Warm & cold mix asphalt materials • Functional pavement design • Self-healing pavement materials • Eco-efficiency pavement materials • Pavement preservation, maintenance and rehabilitation • Smart pavement materials and structures • Safety technology for smart roads • Pavement monitoring and big data analysis • Role of transportation engineering in future pavements Green and Intelligent Technologies for Sustainable and Smart Asphalt Pavements aims at researchers, practitioners, and administrators interested in new materials and innovative technologies for achieving sustainable and renewable pavement materials and design methods, and for those involved or working in the broader field of pavement engineering.

Asphalt modification is an important area in the development of new road and pavement materials. There is an urgent demand for road materials that can minimize fracture at low temperatures and increase resistance to deformation at high temperatures. The function of asphalt is to bind aggregate to protect it from water and other harmful agents. In the beginning asphalt was ideal for this purpose, but recently traffic loads have increased and environmental factors have deteriorated more rapidly than before. Asphalt is a byproduct of crude oil in the refining process, and it is considered a complex heterogeneous mixture of hydrocarbons. Asphalt modification has become an important research area, using several methods and new materials as modifiers.

"Green and Intelligent Technologies for Sustainable and Smart Asphalt Pavements contains 124 papers from 14 different countries which were presented at the 5th International Symposium on Frontiers of Road and Airport Engineering (IFRAE 2021, Delft, the Netherlands, 12-14 July 2021). The contributions focus on research in the areas of 'Circular, Sustainable and Smart Airport and Highway Pavement' and collects the state-of-the-art and state-of-practice areas of long-life and circular materials for sustainable, cost-effective smart airport and highway pavement design and construction. The main areas covered by the book include: green and sustainable pavement materials; recycling technology; warm & cold mix asphalt materials; functional pavement design; self-healing pavement materials; eco-efficiency pavement materials; pavement preservation, maintenance and rehabilitation; smart pavement materials and structures; safety technology for smart roads; pavement monitoring and big data analysis; role of transportation engineering in future pavements. Green and Intelligent Technologies for Sustainable and Smart Asphalt Pavements aims at researchers, practitioners, and administrators interested in new materials and innovative technologies for achieving sustainable and renewable pavement materials and design methods, and for those involved or working in the broader field of pavement engineering."--

This book shows how the use of biodegradable plastics in agriculture can have a profound positive impact on plasticulture. Starting with an organic chemistry approach to biodegradable and compostable plastics, both natural and synthetic, it then analyzes the technological and agronomic aspects of existing bioplastics for protected cultivation (mulching, direct cover, low tunnels). It describes the new sprayable biodegradable mulching method, which is based on the use of waterborne polysaccharides and cellulosic fibers. A further chapter describes the research and technology of biodegradable plastics for different agricultural practices. It also includes chapters on life cycle assessment (LCA) of biodegradable plastics for agriculture, and existing and developing standards in the field. It is a valuable resource for agronomists, chemical and materials engineers, polymer technologists and scientists, as well as for a more general readership interested in the application of green chemistry principles to the vast world of crop production. Mario Malinconico is Research Director at the Institute of Polymers, Composites and Biomaterials, National Research Council, Italy. /p

Construction materials are the most widely used materials for civil infrastructure in our daily lives. However, from an environmental point of view, they consume a huge amount of natural resources and generate the majority of greenhouse gasses. Therefore, many new and novel technologies for designing environmentally friendly construction materials have been developed recently. This Special Issue, “Environment-Friendly Construction Materials”, has been proposed and organized as a means to present recent developments in the field of construction materials. It covers a wide range of selected topics on construction materials.