Portrait of Bitumen
Bitumen is a highly viscous, petroleum-based hydrocarbon that can be found in pitch lakes and oil sands. Nearly ninety percent of all the bitumen is used in road construction and it has gone from being a material to being a specialty. Paving bitumen is usually produced by refining crude oil. Different qualities of bitumen can be manufactured for different applications. Most refined bitumen is used in paving asphalt and roofing tiles. The flexibility of bitumen makes it multifunctional. It is also durable, hard-wearing, safe to use, fast to install, easy to maintain and reusable.
Paving bitumens are categorised according to their specific physical qualities, including consistency, adhesion, viscosity, hardness and brittleness at a specified temperature. Selecting the right paving bitumen also depends on the surrounding conditions, such as the climate and the amount of traffic.
Become familiar with different bitumen mixes, bitumen as subgrade sealant and bitumen modification by downloading our article. >>