Bitumen emulsions for pavement and road construction
GlobeCore manufactures high quality dispersers – colloid mills for preparation of stable water-bitumen emulsions.
Water bitumen emulsion is a dark brown highly dispersed liquid material, produced by dispersion of bitumen in a water solution of an emulsifier. According to market demands, the once popular hot bitumen mastics and organic solutions are now second-tier, while alternative bitumen dilution methods are taking their place. Since bitumen solutions have a pronounced carcinogenic effect, the main reason for this transition is environmental. Many nations already used the environmentally clean high tech materials, while some European nations prohibited the use of hot bitumen solutions and hot mastics altogether.
A perfect replacement is the water-bitumen emulsion, widely used in road construction, as well as for water proofing of various building structures and roofing. The main application of water-bitumen emulsions is pavement and road maintenance. Bitumen emulsion for paving has several obvious advantages:
- environmental (organic emissions reduction);
- technological (increased elasticity and durability);
- economical (reduction of raw material and electricity costs);
- safety (the material is nonflammable and has a much lower carcinogenic effect).
The range of bitumen emulsion application of paving is quite wide, mainly due to its relatively low viscosity, high adhesion and good elasticity. Emulsions are widely used in grave, asphalt and concrete pavements as a binding and film-forming material capable of creation of correct conditions until next treatment. Water-bitumen emulsion in paving is mostly used for tack coating and pavement surface treatment, for patch repairs and saturation of pavement.
Water-bitumen emulsion for road construction is prepared using special devices, such as advanced colloid mills, which can disperse, homogenize and emulsify the raw material. To improve the physical and chemical properties, emulsions can be modified by polymer additives.
Quality of water-bitumen emulsions for paving and their components, as well as application procedures, are regulated by national and international standards.