There are many uses of bitumen in various industries. In fact, this versatile substance has more than 250 applications and meet the demands of different industries in terms of waterproofing, sealing, and insulating. More importantly, bitumen is an ideal adhesive material in the road construction, and performs as a perfect material for paving and roofing applications, due to its durability, modifiability, and recyclability.
It is estimated that the current world’s use of bitumen is approximately 102 million tonnes per year. About 85% of all bitumen around the world is used in the asphalt pavements in roads, airports, parking lots, etc. The other 15% stands for roofing, water pipes coating, waterproofing, and sealing materials.
However, few people know how bitumen is produced. Bitumen is produced by the distillation of crude oil, or simply found in nature. Based on the source, bitumen’s physical properties such as consistency, stiffness, viscosity, adhesion, and durability may differ. Therefore, it is crucial to becoming more familiar with bitumen’s occurrence in nature and bitumen as a byproduct of crude oil. In the below video you will find all the details about bitumen production: