The recovered hydrocarbons are mainly in the form of extremely difficult to refine very heavy crude. We use our Cavitation and Nano-sponge technology to expand and break some of the hydrocarbon chains of the recovered crude which allows it to be turned into asphaltic cement for use in roadways.
To build the road for the future, we are working to add self-powered sensors into our asphalt. Smart roads of the future will need to communicate to both autonomous vehicles informing the vehicle of the exact location of the road and even lanes, particularly during bad weather and also to the Department of Transportation or other maintenance entities as to road conditions, traffic patterns, temperature and many other pieces of information. The key is to utilize a technology that does not need batteries or wiring, but instead can continuously harvest its own energy. We are developing, in collaboration with TBT Group and Rowan University, a thin piezo-electric sensor that generates energy simply from vibrations created by the roadway.