Restaurant fryer oil, usually collected for recycling or discarded after repeated use, offered an unexpected possibility for road construction in 2014. Researchers at Washington State University developed a bio-based asphalt binder using waste cooking oil, aiming to reduce reliance on petroleum while finding a productive use for a common commercial waste product. The team estimated that the alternative binder could cost as little as $200 per ton, compared with the $700 to $800 per ton then quoted for conventional asphalt binder.
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