Tag Archives: road bitumen emulsion

GlobeCore’s UBV-1 Bitumen-Emulsion Equipment is the Best Solution to Today’s Road Construction Problems

It is has always been difficult to provide a competely effective road surface pavement because of the wide range of factors such as:

(1) short road construction seasons;

(2) unpredictable and unfavourable weather conditions;

(3) shortage of financial resources;

The situation had remained unchanged for a long period of time, but recent developments with bitumen emulsion products has made it possible to extend the service life of road surface pavements.  This construction material has been used all over the word for the last few decades.  Our experience has shown that bitumen emulsions are much more effective than bitumen for performing road construction projects.  The performance characteristics of bitumen emulsion allow the builders to apply the so-called ‘cold methods’ of roadway construction.

GlоbeCоre has designed universal bitumen-emulsion equipment designated as the UBV-1 line that produces cationic bitomen emuslsion as well as anionic bitumen emulsion with specified performance characteristics.  The final product is characterized by low viscosity and high adhesion that allow the builders to use it at low temperatures.  Additionally, it can be stored for a long period of time.

The process of bitumen emulsion production includes several stages. At the first stage, the water solution is prepared. The blending tank is supplied with hot water, acid, and an emulsifier.  The ready-made solution gets into the colloid mill which blends it with liquid bitumen.  When the process is completed, the final product is placed into the storage tank.

GlоbeCоre equipment fully complies with all international standards and regulations and is designed to meet all customers’ needs involved in the road-building enterprises or at bitumen-concrete production plants.

Road-Building Project Using Bitumen Emulsion

Bitumen is an important adhesive component of mixtures used in road construction projects.  This substance is used only in a liquid form therefore, it must be subjected to heating.

As much as 70% of bitumen emulsion is made of the solid substance called bitumen.  The particles of the bitumen are suspended in water.  Additionally, bitumen emulsion retains all of its binding properties even at room temperature.

When used in paving, bitumen emulsion properly adheres to aggregate surfaces.  The electric charge of the aggragates however, can damage the mixture’s balance.  In order to avoid damage to the mixture’s balance, special additives (bipolar molecules of emulsifier) provide the adhesion qualities of bitumen emulsionand prevent any damage to the mixture’s balance.  The bitumen particles become free from the emulsifier in order to avoid any electrolytic imbalance.  As a result, bitumen emulsion is stabilized and can properly cover the aggregate surface.

The water in the mixture is forced out and evaporates because of different charges between the emulsifier and the aggregate surface.  This method of ‘binding’ the construction material and bitumen (in the bitumen emulsion) improves the quality of road pavement and gives it greater strength and  resilience.

Bitumen emulsion is a homogeneous adhesive liquid consisting of bitumen and water.  There are also other kinds of bitumen emulsion modified by rubber fillers and high tech additives.

Distinctive performance characteristics of bitumen emulsion allows road builders to increase the pavement’s strength and drying rate.  Additionally, the performance characteristics listed above enable equipment operators to use the mixture in poorly ventilated or indoor areas without any risk to human health or risk of fire.

Different bitumen emulsion equipment operates according to the principle of blending bitumen with water, emulsifiers and high tech additives.  This method ensures compliance with local laws and regulations.

Batch and continuous blending machines have similar construction, but there is a difference in the blending process (double-pass or continuous  blending procedures).  Water, bitumen, emulsifiers and other additives are blended in a colloid mill of the batch type unit.  This kind of equipment allows the operator to manage the process manually.  The metering of components however, may require semi-automatic or automatic controls to reduce the risk of operator errors.

In continuous blending unit, emulsion is blended in a container with separate metering pumps for each type of material introduced to the mixture.

Bitumen emulsion is mainly used in the road construction industry, but improved composition of bitumen emulsion gives it the possibility of being used indoors to protect sanitary facilities and waterproof commerical and residential buildings.

GlobeCore GmbH designs and produces modern and efficient equipment for producing bitumen emulsion products for the road and building construction industries.  Learn more about GlobeCore by visiting our website at globecore.com

Innovations in Road Construction: What is the Benefit of Using Bitumen Emulsion?

In the road construction industry, bitumen emulsion is used more often than bitumen.  This cohesive material was invented in the USA and it has been used for over half a century all over the world as one of the chief components of  modern road construction materials.

Bitumen emulsion serves as the cohesive material for the tack coat.  The physical characteristics of bitumen emulsion are as follows:

  • dark;
  • sticky;
  • smelly; and
  • hard when dry.

Substance Matter; this part does not need to be heated before being used, and it is capable of being distributed on the whole aggregate surface in a layer that is smoother than the bitumen itself.  The cost of bitumen emulsion depends directly on the raw materials used in making the emulsion.  In the road construction industry, bitumen emulsion is also used for asphalt coating under conditions of high humidity and low temperature.  Moreover, it is also used for repairing potholes based on modern filling techniques such as cold working (when road repair operations are being performed), road surface treatment, and so on.

Bitumen emulsion is convenient in the servicing of road surfaces with multiple layers of paving materials.   During the processing, this cohesive material is used for texture and structural renovation of the multiple layers, prevention of premature road failure, and for protection and resistence against water.  Additionally, it provides better tire traction and reduces long term surface wear. Overall, using modern bitumen emulsion gives the road surface excellent performance characteristics and increases the service life of the roadway.

Bitumen emulsion consists of bitumen and water in the ratio of 50% bitumen and 40% water. Other products, such as cotton seed, sodium hydroxide and potassim make up the reaming 10% of the finished emulsion product.

There are two steps in the manufacturing of bitumen emulsion; (1) the bitumen stage; and (2) the water stage.

The bitumen stage can be described as the blending of bitumen with different additives known as firestarters.  The water stage is the adding of emulsifiers to the water that is prepared for making the emulsion.  The water stage includes the production of the emulsifier from the part of a pomade mixture.  The pomade  mixture consists of the after-product of cotton seed and flotogudron.  In this part of the process, these two components are blended in the water with a warm solution of sodium hydroxide or potassium hydroxide until the entire mixture becomes disolved.

At this stage of the process, these two components are placed inside the special plant for blending.   The unit is equipped with a colloid mill with rotating velocity of 6,000 turns per minute (6000 RPM).  As a result, the bitumen is reduced to tiny micro particles measured in microns.  These tiny particles form bubbles of emulsion water and are placed in a state of suspension within the liquid.  The final product of this blending process is called “Bitumen Emulsion.”

The main advantage of this emulsion is in the reduction of the amount of resources and power required to create the final product.  The operating costs are reduced, owing to the increased service life of bitumen emulsion under all extreme weather conditions from Spring through late Autumn.  Moreover, the technology of using bitumen emulsion in road construction is very eco-friendly.  There is no discharge from solvents into the air, and the explosion hazard, during processing and transporting of bitumen solvent, has been eliminated.

Bitumen emulsion increases the resilience, durability, and adhesive characteristics of the road surface coat.  It also decreases the road surface’s sensitivity to fluctuations in temperature.  Bitumen emulsion therefore, is one of the highest quality products of the modern chemical industry.

GlobeCore Model VBU-6P

One of the essential pieces of equipment that is being used more and more in modern industrial and developing nations is the “Bitumen Emulsion” production plant.

The use of bitumen emulsion has several advantages over simple bitumen or tar products in most or all applications.  Most important is that bitumen emulsion does not require constant heating thereby increasing the efficiency of industrial operations and lowering operating costs.

Bitumen emulsion has a more complex structure than tar and simple bitumen, and due to its lower costs, it has become more and more popular in the road construction industry.  Bitumen emulsion production equipment is now indispensable to the road construction and related industries.

The bitumen emulsion equipment by produced GlobeCore is the most up to date and efficient bitumen emulsion equipment in the industry today.  GlobeCore engineers remain leaders in their field and are always seeking to improve and upgrade the quality and efficiency of the GlobeCore equipment line.  That is why new GlobeCore equipment will never be outdated versions of yesterday’s models.

The GlobeCore universal bitumen model makes both anionic and cationic bitumen emulsions. Often, this kind of equipment is used by companies that produce asphalt mixes.  Bitumen emulsion of this type is most often used for the priming of old pavement before applying a new layer of asphalt.  It is also used in the preparation of cold asphalt mixes, for the surface treatment of existing road surfaces, for making thin protective coatings, and for patching roads.

One of the latest bituminous equipment developments by GlobeCore is the VBU-6P model designed for the production of bitumen emulsions.  The name of the new model reveals the main differences from the previous models with a production rate of 6.5m3/hr and the ability to work continuously without interruption.

The Globecore VBU6-P consists of two main parts, the  bitumen part and the base part.  The Bitumen part stands vertical and has a pump made ​​in Italy.  The base portion is where the emulsifier, acid and bio chlorine additive are mixed and then fed into the polypropylene container. Each component of the mixture pass through dosing pumps.  The pumps automatically measure the required amount of each component of the mixture.

The  VBU-6P system works by feeding bitumen from a reservoir into the bitumen part through a feed pipe and passes the bitumen through to a set of heating rings.   Water is supplied to the mixing cylinders and the dosing pumps then pump the emulsifier acid according to the product recipe.

The container, in which the mixing occurs, is equipped with volume level sensors.  When the amount of mixed fluid reaches the high-level indicators, the sensor signals the completion of the preparatory phase.  Next, the water valve opens and the unit starts to run the aqueous phase of the process.  The VBU-6P will continue to run unless the water supply is cut off, or until the operator turns it off

The VBU-6P is  fully automated.  The only manual control is for  the adjustment of the ratio of bitumen to water (a mix of 70% bitumen and 30% water will be made at the rate of 6m3 while a mix of 50% to 50% will be made at a rate of 9m3).

It is also possible to manually adjust the amount of emulsifier that needs to be fed into the process. For fast decaying emulsions, emulsifiers of 0.25% are used.  For slow decaying emulsions – 2% are used.  Acid is added automatically through the acid probe found on the dosing pump.  It is responsible for regulating the engine speed and the feed rate and volume of the acid.

The GlobeCore VBU-6P bitumen emulsion processing unit is a high quality product that leads the industry.  It is both durable and highly resistant to delamination and corrosion.  The VBU-6P’s automated process of mixing the various components combined with a versatile design make the GlobeCore VBU-6P unit the most advanced bitumen emulsion processing unit in the industry today.

Dry road bitumen emulsion

Powder emulsions has been known for a long time. I am sure most of us remember powdered milk. What if it is possible to apply this technology to make bitumen emulsion used in road construction then it will revolutionize the bitumen emulsion industry. It will be add convenience bitumen transportation to remote areas and it will add convenience in use.

To make dry road bitumen emulsion you a special polymer must be present. The polymer allows encapsulation and water elimination. Some companies are working to solve this problem since 1995 and have achieved considerable success in areas of agricultural chemistry and pharmacology. The developed technologies and processes may apply to the production of dry road bitumen emulsion.

It is possible to achieve this using a typical bitumen emulsion. A required extra step introduces an aqueous polymer into the mix and then dries the substance until capsule-like particle is formed. The polymer resembles each capsule contains a liquid droplet.

Long-term study of the physicochemical emulsion properties suggests synthesis of a hydrophilic polymer polyacrylate that has a low viscosity. It consists of hydrophobic substances, which do not inhibit the water solubility. Polyacrylate was the material that helped in making dry road bitumen emulsion production.

During the drying process, it is important to maintain minimal ratio of 10 between the granule size and emulsion droplet size.

It should be noted that the drying process has little or no effect on the bitumen emulsion properties in fact in some cases they actually improve. For example, the stability of the dry emulsion increases because the encapsulation process prevents its decay.

Another advantage of these materials is the possibility of mixing two or three emulsions that under normal conditions are not compatible with each other.

The general principle behind obtaining the dry road bitumen emulsion can be described as follows: first, the polymer is added directly to typical emulsion, then it is dried by one of available methods (e.g., dry spay), and the resulting powder is collected and stored. It at any time the powder may be dispersed in water, and restored to the original emulsion condition for later use.