Only a small fraction of the crude oils currently accessible are regarded as acceptable for making bitumen of the requisite grade in commercial volumes. These are typically heavy crude oils with a high sulfur concentration.
Blending various crude oils to generate consistent quality high grade bitumen that fulfills exact technical criteria is routine practice in modern, integrated bitumen emulsion manufacturing companies.
Manufacturing procedures:
The basic ingredients for bitumen manufacturing are residues from the refining of carefully selected crude oils. The lighter portions of bitumen are separated from the leftovers during refining by the bitumen emulsion manufacturing company.
Depending on the crude source and processing capabilities available, several production processes are utilized to manufacture specific bitumens. A mix of procedures is frequently chosen.
Distillation
Straight reduction from crude or a crude mix using atmospheric and vacuum refining is the most prevalent refining procedure. Atmospheric distillation is employed in the figure to extract lighter petrochemical and fuel fractions from the non-boiling component at the bottom, known as an atmospheric residue.
Other refinery units get the lighter fractions, such as gas oil and fuel oils. Bitumen is extracted from the atmospheric remnant by the bitumen emulsion manufacturing company. The air residue is put into a vacuum distillation unit to remove the remaining vestiges of the lighter fractions and avoid heat transformation of the molecules. The pressure drop reduces boiling temperatures and avoids undesirable thermal breaking of the molecules.
De-asphalting using a solvent
Specific solvents can also be employed to separate the lubricant and bitumen components of crude without affecting the chemical structure of the components. Bitumen emulsion producing companies can manufacture different types of bitumen depending on the solvent employed.
These techniques, in conjunction with precisely regulated modifications in the vacuum distillation process, enable the formation of bitumens with different levels of penetration. This quality, together with the softening point, is the primary distinguishing feature of bitumens manufactured to engineering requirements. Other important physical qualities include temperature and age sensitivity, cohesiveness, and elasticity, all of which are measured precisely.
Oxidation
Bitumen can be further treated by blowing air through it at high temperatures (about 280°C) to change its physical qualities for commercial purposes by the bitumen emulsion manufacturing company.
Oxidized bitumen is classified into two categories based on the degree of oxidation:
- air rectified and
- oxidized.
At normal temperature, oxidized bitumen has a particular consistency and a rubbery character, which influences how it responds to traffic load. The oxidation process raises the stiffness and softening point of bitumen and significantly affects essential physical characteristics.
The length of the oxidation or air blowing process affects the extent of the reaction and results in diverse end products.
- Oxidized bitumen is utilized in roofing, whereas
- air rectified bitumen is used in pavement and some roofing applications.
Blending
The final bitumen product manufactured by the bitumen emulsion manufacturing company can be tailored to technical specifications either directly in the refining process or by combining different physical qualities of bitumens.
Blending in the needed proportions can occur at the refinery, terminals, or a third-party facility where blend components and final products can be conveniently transported and dispersed for use.
About Us:
Bedrock Infra is one of Mumbai’s leading bitumen emulsion manufacturing companies, offering bitumen emulsion and other bitumen-based products for road building. Many road contractors prefer our high-quality road building products, such as bitumen emulsion. As one of the most reputable bitumen emulsion manufacturing company in Mumbai, we aim to provide our customers with high-quality goods.
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