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Bitumen Emulsion
Bitumen emulsion is a liquefied type of bitumen with a low viscosity.
By dispersing bitumen in water and adding an emulsifier, ordinary bitumen turns into a low viscosity liquid that can easily be used in a variety of applications, including repairing and maintaining roads, waterproofing, spraying, etc.
Emulsions make it easy to handle, store, transport, and apply bitumen at a lower temperature.
Since this type of bitumen is liquid, there is no need to heat it before application.
Moreover, applying bitumen emulsions using cold techniques reduces the consumption of energy and makes road construction environmentally friendlier.
How is bitumen emulsion manufactured?
Bitumen Emulation Manufacture
Bitumen emulsion is usually made using a colloid mill, which mixes bitumen with water and emulsifier. In this process, bitumen is milled into very small droplets that can easily suspend in the water.
With the addition of emulsifiers, bitumen droplets become more water friendly. Water droplets as well move closer to the tiny droplets of bitumen, making sure that the final bituminous product is stable enough.
In the manufacturing process, many factors such as droplets’ size, chemical addition, and the temperature of various components are accurately controlled.
The resulting bitumen has a consistent structure that makes it unique for various applications.
What factors are important in grading bitumen emulsion?
Viscosity
The first vital factor for grading bitumen emulsion is the viscosity value. It is obtained by performing a viscosity test.
The viscosity of bitumen emulsion is determined by its bitumen content.
For dense graded aggregates, a lower viscosity of bitumen emulsion is needed; however, for open graded aggregates, a higher viscosity of bitumen emulsion should be used.
An emulsion with small droplet size and a narrow distribution will give a higher viscosity.
Ductility
To indicate the bitumen resistance to breaking, a ductility test is done.
This testing system measures the extent to which a sample of bitumen can stretch before breaking.
A bitumen emulsion that has a ductility of more than 40 cm makes the surface of a road safe and strong to heavy traffic and do not break easily. In cold weather bitumen with low ductility value may get cracked.
Penetration
The softness level of bitumen is indicated by entering a standard needle into it.
The harder the bitumen, the better it is for use in hot temperatures.
The standard range of penetration can vary among different grades of bitumen emulsion.
What is bitumen emulsion composition?
Bitumen emulsion is a combination of water and bitumen.
As the mixture of water and oily products quickly separate, a third component, known as emulsifier, is normally added to the mixture, in order to make it more stable.
Generally speaking, the amount of bitumen in the bitumen emulsion is 55 to 65%, the amount of water 35 to 45 % and the amount of emulsifiers should be a maximum 0.5% of bitumen emulsion’s weight.
Emulsifiers are used for making a mixture of water and oil dispersed in each other.
In addition to their ability to reduce the tension between oil and water molecules, emulsifiers have an electronic charge that affects the molecules of bitumen emulsion and lead to the categorization of it into Cationic and Anionic.
Cationic emulsifiers, for example, form a layer of positive charge around the bitumen droplets that prevent them from joining each other.
This makes bitumen dispersion in water more durable.
The electronic charge of bitumen emulsion decides on what kind of surface it should be used.
Some aggregates (such as marble aggregates) mix well with anionic bitumen emulsion and some others are a better solution to cationic bitumen emulsion (such as granite aggregates).