Environmental interactions of Sulphlex pavement

Sulphlex, a mixture of elemental sulfur and plasticizers, has been considered for use as an asphalt substitute in road construction. Because this material contains substantial quantities of elemental sulfur, it is a potential substrate for growth of sulfur-oxidising bacteria. Experiments, performed...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inEnvironmental pollution (1987) Vol. 76; no. 2; pp. 141 - 145
Main Authors Ferenbaugh, Roger W., Gladney, Ernest S., Soholt, Lars F., Lyall, Karen A., Kimber Wallwork-Barber, M., Herman, Larry E.
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Oxford Elsevier Ltd 1992
Elsevier
Subjects
Agronomy. Soil science and plant productions
Biological and medical sciences
Biotechnology
Environment and pollution
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
Industrial applications and implications. Economical aspects
Miscellaneous
Road bitumen
Biodegradation
Monocotyledones
Hordeum vulgare
Mineral amendment
Growth
Agropyron smithii
Cereal crop
Grain legume
Soils
Leguminosae
Thiobacillus thiooxidans
Gramineae
Phaseolus vulgaris
Dicotyledones
Angiospermae
Bacteria
Spermatophyta
Fodder crop
Sulfur
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Summary:Sulphlex, a mixture of elemental sulfur and plasticizers, has been considered for use as an asphalt substitute in road construction. Because this material contains substantial quantities of elemental sulfur, it is a potential substrate for growth of sulfur-oxidising bacteria. Experiments, performed to determine the susceptibility of Sulphlex in Sulphlex-containing media to degradation by Thiobacillus thiooxidans, resulted in breakdown of the Sulphlex material and concomitant production of acid. In concurrent studies, plants were grown in Sulphlex-amended soils. These plants exhibited higher sulfur content and reduced productivity as compared with plants grown in unamended soils, indicating that Sulphlex was being broken down in the soil and that the breakdown products were apparently having a detrimental effect on plant productivity. These experiments indicate that naturally occurring sulfur-oxidising bacteria have the potential to break down Sulphlex paving material, resulting in adverse effects on both the structural integrity of the pavement and the local environment.
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ISSN:0269-7491
1873-6424
DOI:10.1016/0269-7491(92)90101-F