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bitumen manufacturing process

Processes of Manufacturing Bitumen

Posted on November 5, 2022July 19, 2023 By Civil Vedant

There are  four different  ways  to  produce  bitumen  from  crude    oil. Bitumen production processes vary depending on feed  conditions and product specifications. 

Distillation  (Straight   Run),   Air Blowing ,   Blending ,  and   Solvent De-asphalting are bitumen production methods. 

In  this   article,  we   are going  to introduce   bitumen   production  methods to you.

1. Distillation (Straight  Run)

Bitumen   is   primarily   obtained   by   the   distillation   of   crude   oil. Atmospheric and vacuum distillation towers are used  in  this  process. 

First, crude oil is heated to a temperature of  350  degrees  Celsius. As the temperature  rises, light  components  with  low  boiling  points  are removed from the  upper  parts  of  the  atmospheric  distillation  tower. 

The residual  of  the  end   of  the  tower  is known  as  Atmospheric Residue. To remove the last trace of  the light  fractions and also to  prevent  the thermal   cracking   of   the   molecules , the   atmospheric   residue  is  transferred into a vacuum distillation tower.

In vacuum conditions, the  pressure  is  reduced  and  this  causes the boiling temperature to  decrease and  separate  any  light  component.

The residue of this tower is called the vacuum bottom. Vacuum bottom is usually a hard material that can be  used directly. For this  reason, it is called straight run bitumen. 

But sometimes  the  bitumen  coming out  of the  vacuum  tower  does not  have  proper   physical  properties  and   its   properties  must   be modified., which is called straight-run bitumen.

2. Air Blowing

The main way to produce bitumen is  the  air  blowing  method.  In this process, the air  is  blown  into  bitumen  feedstock with a  certain  flow  rate in bitumen at a   high temperature  (280°C  on average).

The main purpose  of blowing air is to harden the  bitumen. Air blowing also causes changes in some physical properties of the final products.

Infinity  Galaxy,  as  an   international  bitumen  supplier  and   bitumen analyst, has prepared the  following  infographic for you to learn  more about the air blowing process. It is recommended to read the following  infographic before reading further.

bitumen manufacturing process

 Blowing air is done in two ways, Air Rectification and Fully  Air.

2.1 Air Rectification

In  the  air   rectification  method, the  air  is  blown  to  a  mild  degree.  Usually,  this  method  is  used  to  adjust  the  physical  properties  of bitumen, such as reducing penetration and increasing viscosity.

Air rectification is performed in two ways :  Batch Blowing and Continuous Blowing.

The difference between the two batch and  continuous  methods  is  in the way of blowing air.  

In  the  continuous  process, the vacuum   bottom  enters  the  blowing tower with a constant flow  rate. After  blowing  the  air, the  bitumen is continuously discharged from the air blowing tower.

Meanwhile, in  the  batch  blowing  method, the  blowing tower is  filled with a certain volume of  feedstock. Blowing air  occurs  under  certain  conditions. When  the  product  reaches  the  desired  specifications, the tower  is  discharged.

In   a  continuous  process, more   bitumen  is  produced   per  unit   of  time than in the batch method.

2.2 Fully Air Blowing

In the  fully  air  blowing  method, also known as oxidation, more air  is  passed through the feedstock than in the air  rectification method. By increasing oxidation, final  products  with different  penetration  and viscosity is produced.

In   this    process, by   controlling   the   reaction    variables,  oxidized bitumen  with    specific  physical   and  chemical  properties   can  be prepared. 

For example, chemical reactions  lead to an increase in  the apparent molecular  weight and  polarity  of  bitumen which can affect the adhesion property of bitumen in bonding the aggregates to each other. This  bitumen can be widely used in roofing applications.

3. Blending

Bitumen   is  produced  to  meet  specifications  either  directly  in   the refining process, or by blending with bitumen having  different physical  properties.

In this  method,  specific  ratios  of bitumen  with  higher  viscosity  are mixed with bitumen of lower viscosity to produce bitumen with  specific characteristics. 

4. Solvent De-asphalting

Another method of bitumen  production is   to  separate  bitumen  from crude oil by using propane or butane  solvents.

In this  method, the vacuum  bottom is  mixed  with  propane  (butane) and then de-asphaltene oil is extracted from it.

The residual products  produced  by the solvent de-asphalting  unit  are asphaltenes  and  petroleum  resins  depending on the  process  used.

It should  be  noted   that  the  type  of  crude  oil  processed  and the operational technique used in the de- asphalt unit plays an important role in determining the properties of the produced bitumen.

Author :

Mozhdeh Darbandizadeh
(Account Manager)

Office: P.O Box, 326415, Ras Al Khaimah, UAE

Email: m.darbandi@infinitygalaxy.org

Website: https://infinitygalaxy.org/

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