For a smaller ecological footprint

Reflective glass beads in road markings fulfill two main tasks: Firstly, they ensure the visibility of the markings in adverse lighting conditions and secondly, they protect the colour layer from abrasion. To fulfill these two tasks perfectly, SWARCO SOLIDPLUS & SWARCO DURALUX micro glass beads feature a special glass composition. This enables excellent retroreflection values and makes the micro glass beads especially durable.

This durability results in measurable advantages for road marking systems with SWARCO SOLIDPLUS & SWARCO DURALUX beads. This is the conclusion of a recent analysis by the SWARCO Road Marking Systems Centre of Competence. Various marking systems (including solvent- and water-based paints, cold- and thermoplastics, cold spray plastics) with standard and premium reflective glass beads were put to the test.

The ecological footprint - how big is it?

"We carry out life cycle assessments of standard and high-performance systems - from cradle to grave. This means from resource extraction to recycling or final disposal. We specifically want to determine the ecological footprint of the individual systems over the service life of the road surface, for example asphalt or concrete," explains Friedrich Wiesinger, Team Leader Product Development at SWARCO Road Marking Systems. "A key aspect here is the functional service life of the marking systems. This is ensured until the retroreflectivity falls below the required minimum value."

The robustness of SWARCO SOLIDPLUS & SWARCO DURALUX offers great advantages: The premium reflective glass beads can perform their protective function for the marking in the high-performance marking systems for a longer period of time. As a result, the colour layer remains protected from abrasion by traffic and the excellent reflection values are maintained over an extended period of time. Friedrich Wiesinger adds: "This makes a big difference, especially in cold regions where the snow and ice is cleared from the roads by the winter road clearance service."

Cutting the use of resources

With their longer functional service life, high-performance markings require less frequent renewal. This reduces the use of resources in production, transport and application. These are all key aspects that are also taken into account in the life cycle assessment - and therefore have an impact on the respective ecological footprint. "Compared to road marking systems with standard beads, the systems with SWARCO SOLIDPLUS & SWARCO DURALUX consistently have a lower ecological footprint," reports Friedrich Wiesinger. "We achieved the best values in our test series with a premium cold spray plastic in combination with SWARCO SOLIDPLUS. Savings in CO2 emissions of up to 50 per cent are possible. We will continue our research to further improve the environmental footprint of our marking systems in the future."