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Paving with Petraviam by the numbers

7/25/2018

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Paving with Petraviam is Better Than Asphalt or Concrete

Just how amazing is paving with Petraviam?  Look into the numbers and discover what we've known for over a decade.
Petraviam paving stands up to a pounding, 128,000 pounds per square inch as tested by a third party engineering firm.  That's double the standard for asphalt and in excess of most county and municipal requirements.

Petraviam's wet skid number is greater than 35, equivelent to concrete and exceeding Department of Transportation safety requirments.

And Petraviam paved surfaces last for years.  The oldest installation is 11-years old and counting.  Let's see asphalt do that.

Even with the superior performance of Petraviam paving, the key question of cost always comes up.  We hired another third party research firm to look at the cost of concrete and asphalt installation in the central Texas market.  Comparing 10,000 square foot projects that included ground preparation and 4-inches of surfacing.  They had some trouble getting enough asphalt projects with 4-inches or overlay, many were only 2-inches.  The concrete projects averaged $5.53/sq.ft, asphalt averaged $2.48 and Petraviam averaged $1.83/sq.ft. Actual pricing may vary depending on the size and scope of the project.  County and municipal work is often priced by the mile.

For 1/3 the cost of concrete, 3/4 the cost of asphalt, Petraviam delivers a rock hard, 128,000 psi surface that lasts for 11-years and counting, is 100% organic and contains 0 carcinogens or volatile organic compounds.   Paving with Petraviam creates a beautiful rock hard surface that is easier on your wallet and
safer for the environment.
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Petraviam outperforms Chipseal

3/9/2018

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Petraviam out performs chip seal

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Chipseals, also known as tar and chip, chip seal or seal coating,  are constructed by evenly distributing a thin base of hot bitumen or asphalt onto an existing pavement and then embedding finely graded aggregate into it. The aggregate is evenly distributed over the seal spray, then rolled into a smooth pavement surface.  On average the chips and asphalt are no thicker than 1/4 inch.

No state Department of Transportation recommends putting chip seal directly on to road-base or flex-base.  Texas, Ohio, Indiana, Montana and even the asphalt institute2 only recommend using chip seal to bind up exisiting asphalt surfaces.

Aside from being a thin layer, chipseal has othe drawbacks:1
  • Loose crushed stone is often left on the surface, owing to underapplication of bitumen or overapplication of stone. If not removed, this can cause safety and environmental problems such as cracked windshields, chipped paint, loss-of-control crashes (especially for motorcyclists, bicyclists and small trucks).
  • Deposition of foreign material into drainage courses.
  • Overapplication of emulsion can lead to bleeding, a condition where the excess asphalt rises to the surface, creating a very smooth surface that is very slippery when wet and bubbling in the hotter summer months. As cars drive over it the tires kick up this tarry substance on to the side of the car. It can only be cleaned off with a solvent remover or diesel fuel.
  • Motorcyclists and bicyclists find the chip seal surfaces uneven and unsafe to ride upon.

The challenge with chip seal starts with the foundation or base layer.  The Asphalt  Institute reports:2 
"Chip seals are not suited for all pavements; the existing structure should be sound with only minor surface defects. They are not appropriate for rutted, potholed, or severely distressed surfaces.
Once structural damage has occurred, preventive maintenance treatments are no longer applicable and more involved corrective strategies are required." 

But all too often cost savings and hasty application practices cause installers to spread asphalt over the defects and loose agregate hoping to bind or hide the defect before putting down the chips.  Those chips then get shaken loose as vehicle traffic moves, damaging windshields and leading to a loss of traction, leading to property damage, injury or even loss of life.  Again, no state or federal agency or even the asphalt institute recommends installing chip seal over road base or any unpaved surface.

Adding fog-seal on top of chip seal further reduces traction ratings by 30% and over time up to 50%.5

Petraviam is up to 10-times stronger than chip seal when applied conventionally, saturating into the sub-base material.  When applied topically, it outperforms chip seal by penetrating the sub-base and creating a bond the sub-base that is 3/4 to 1-1/4 deep.  When infused into a 3 or 4-inch lift, Petraviam creates a rock hard paved surface through out.3

Petraviam is organic and does not contain the Volatile Organic Compounds and carcinogens found in the asphalt used in chip seal.4 

Applying Petraviam topically on properly prepared roads is cost effective compared to chip seal.  Pave naturally, chose Petraviam.

1 Wikipedia, March 1, 2018, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chipseal
2 Asphalt Magazine, February 28, 2018, http://asphaltmagazine.com/improving-chip-seal-performance/
3 Petraviam, February 28, 2018, https://www.petraviam.com/solutions.html

4 Petraviam, February 28, 2018, https://www.petraviam.com/case-studies/asphalt-or-petraviam-for-your-county-road
5 Purdue University,
EVALUATION OF PAVEMENT SURFACE FRICTION TREATMENTS, December 2011,  https://docs.lib.purdue.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?referer=https://www.google.com/&httpsredir=1&article=2992&context=jtrp

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Testing proves Petraviam is Stronger than Asphalt

2/20/2018

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Testing proves Petraviam is stronger than asphalt

Petraviam stands up to a pounding, wet or dry, exceeding asphalt specifications.  Petraviam hired a third party engineering firm to test three of our surfaces, our oldest 11-year old site, and two more.  They told us just how exceptional Petraviam paving was.
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Rain or Shine petraviam paving improves with time

12/13/2017

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Petraviam paving improves with time

For research purposes, we continue to test Petraviam for durability and performance.  During rain or shine, Petraviam maintains a hard and impervious surface.
 
Following a Brinell hardness methodology, we measured wet compacted road base, dry compacted road base and a county road against Petraviam roads for hardness.  Wet Petraviam roads were 300 percent harder than wet road base that had been compacted.  Over time, as the solution oxidizes, the Petraviam
paved surface continues to get harder.
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What does it mean for counties and municipalities? Safer roads, happier citizens, reduced road and bridge expenditures. The county road below was paved 2-months ago with an asphalt seal coat, when it rained it turned to mud with a relative hardness of 0.114 compared to the adjacent Petraviam paved ranch road with a hardness of 3.39.  The photo below tells the tale; ruts and mud that will turn to dust and erosion over time.
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What does it mean for facilities operators and logistics companies?  Petraviam stands up to 80,000 pound trucks running all day, every day, rain or shine. 
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Asphalt or petraviam for your county road?

10/26/2017

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Watching a road runner cross this section of road recently sprayed with asphalt and the question comes; how is this different from the ecological disaster of an oil spill?  Granted asphalt is refined crude oil but what can be learned when you look at the Material Safety Data Sheet?

Examining the Material Safety Data Sheets, asphalt’s  MSDS is chock full of serious notations and warnings.  Compare this to Petraviam sheet and it’s obvious just how different Petraviam is.
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When environmental safety is a key decision criteria, Petraviam emerges as the clear winner.
 
And the road didn’t hold together very well either.  In the photo below you can see the aggregate breaking loose at the surface only three days after the asphalt was sprayed.  What does that mean?  This road treatment will need to be repeated, putting more toxins into the environment.

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Ranch Road Case Study

7/28/2017

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Over a month ago, Petraviam was applied to this ranch road leaving the surface smooth and dust free.  Watch the video as the driver takes you on 3-minute journey out the ranch road and down the county road.  The ranch road is smooth at speeds of 45-miles per hour.  The untreated county road is dusty, rough and at 40-miles per hour, uncomfortable to drive on. 
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UNpaving Roads makes dollars and sense

3/31/2017

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States and municipalities are moving to unpaved roads to contain costs and improve the environment.  As reported in Wired Magazine1, 27 states have made the move. 

By un-paving instead of repaving, the city of Montpelier, Vermont, saved about $120,000—a big chunk for a city whose annual budget for street building and repairs was $1.3 million.

Plus, using materials like cement are expensive and environmentally unfriendly, the cement industry is a huge producer of the green house gas, carbon dioxide — responsible for about 5 percent of all global emissions. 2

Asphalt is harmful as well as it contains Volatile Organic Compounds such as benzene, and other known carcinogens.  Coal tar, used in many surfacing applications is actually even more hazardous to the environment and ultimately our health.

1 https://www.wired.com/2016/07/cash-strapped-towns-un-paving-roads-cant-afford-fix/ 
2
http://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/2012/05/09/emissions-from-the-cement-industry/
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