One objective of the Exploratory Advanced Research (EAR) Program within the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) is to cultivate research projects
that demonstrate the potential of new materials that are less reliant on limited natural resources for highway transportation. This research project at
Washington State University had that same aim.

This fact sheet overviews the efforts of researchers there who developed and tested a method of mixing waste cooking oil with a byproduct of pulp mills. They produced a “glue” that bound the coarse and fine aggregate particles of asphalt. The goal in producing this bio-based binder from cooking oil was to produce a substance that was comparable or superior in performance to petroleum-based asphalt binders to use in constructing roads and other similar projects.