A RESEARCH student has seen her idea to use waste chip fat in the construction of roads implemented for the first time.
Helen Bailey of the University of East London (UEL) designed Vegetex, a concoction which uses vegetable oil an ingredient for asphalt.
The environmentally-friendly technique was trialled by Bedfordshire Highways on a project in a residential street in Bedford and it is now hoped the agency will use Vegetex in few road construction schemes.
The project saw 145 tonnes of surface material laid, of which 40 tonnes was Vegetex.
The innovation earned Ms Bailey, who works as a research manager for building material supplier Aggregate Industries, the prestigious Fiona and Nicholas Hawley Excellence in Environmental Engineering Award earlier this year.
She said: “Using chip fat is a great means of recycling, reducing the need for landfill for waste oil and reducing the CO2 emissions which take place in creating and working with bitumen.”
UEL Professor Chitral Wijasekeera, Helen’s research supervisor said: “Helen really is an outstanding young researcher.
"I am delighted to supervise her work and I take a keen interest in the outcome of these road building trial.”
Vegetex has also been shortlisted for an Institution of Engineering and Technology Innovation Award (sustainability category).
For more information about research in our School of Computing Information Technology and Engineering, visit: www.uel.ac.uk/cite
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