Bitumen is secondary hydrocarbon products which is a by-product of crude oil. It is composed of complex hydrocarbons and contains elements like calcium, iron, sulfur, and oxygen. Bitumen is known for its waterproofing and adhesive properties and is commonly used in the construction. Bituminous materials have been widely used in the building industry for many years mainly for roads and highways. Production occurs through distillation, which removes lighter crude oil components like gasoline and diesel, leaving the heavier bitumen behind. The quality of material and ease of production depends on the source and type of crude oil from which it is derived. The bitumen properties depend on the ratio of these components: heavy-weight fractions such as asphaltenes impart visco-elastic properties to bitumen at ambient temperatures (10–40° C); light-weight fractions such as oils act as a carrier for the asphaltenes and resins. Bitumen comes in different grades such as Penetration (10-20, 30-40, 40-50, 60-70, 80-100, 120-150, 200-300), VG (10, 30, 40), PG and etc.

Penetration grade is mainly used in road surfacing. Bitumen with lower penetration grade is used in the regions with warm climate while higher penetration grade is used in colder weather. This grade of bitumen is specified in terms of penetration value. For example, 30/40 grade bitumen indicates the penetration value of the bitumen in the range of 30 to 40 at standard test conditions. Notably, bitumen is graded based on absolute viscosity at 60 C or kinematic viscosity at 135 C. Pure bitumen is graded based on AASHTO-M226 and ASTM-D3381 standards.

VG grade is short for Viscosity Grade in which higher the grade, stiffer the bitumen is. The penetration at 25 C, which is annual average pavement temperature, is also retained. VG grades have various applications. For example VG 30 is primarily used to construct extra heavy duty Bitumen pavements that need to endure substantial traffic loads. It can be used in lieu of 60/70 Penetration grade. while, VG-40 is used in highly stressed areas such as intersections, near toll booths and truck parking lots in lieu of old 30/40 Penetration grade. Due to its higher viscosity, stiffer Bitumen mixes can be produced to improve resistance to shoving and other problems associated with higher temperature and heavy traffic loads.

Finally, a PG is defined for polymer modified bitumen and pure bitumen according to environmental conditions and temperature. A wider PG range means higher resistance and more favorable specifications. WE Company has the capacity to supply all these grades. WE Company offers bitumen in various packaging including bulk, new steel drum and jumbo bag with 300 Kg and 1 MT to meet client’s requirements.

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Bitumen

Penetration grades

30/40 40/50 60/70 60/90 80/100 100/120 120/150 Test Method
Specific Gravity @25’ C, Kg/m3 1.01/1.06 1.01/1.06 1.01/1.06 1.01/1.06 1.01/1.05 1.01/1.04 1.01/1.05 D-70

 
Penetration@25OC, mm/10 30/40 40/50 60/70

 

 60/90 80/100 100/120 120/150 D-5
Softening point C 55/63 49 min 46 min 40 min 42 min 42/49 37 min D-36
Ductility@25 C 100 min 100 min 100 min 100 min 100 min 100 min 100 min D-113
Loss on Heating(wt)% 0.2 max 0.2 max 0.2 max 0.03 max 0.5 max 0.2 max 0.5 max D-6
Drop in Penetration

after Heating %

 20 max 20 max 20 max 20 max 20 max 20 max 20 max D- 6&D-5
Flash Point C 250 min 230 min 230 min 230 min 230 min 250 min 220 min D-92
Solubility in CS2(wt)% 99.0 min 99.0 min 99.0 min 99.5 min 99.0 min 99.5 min 99.0 min D-4

 
Spot test Negative Negative Negative Negative Negative Negative Negative A.A.S.H.O.T.102
Dynamic viscosity @ 60’C, Pa.S — 400±80 200±40 — 100±20 — 42±9 D2171
Kinematic Viscosity @135’C , cSt — 400 min 300 min — 250 min — 170 min D2170
Test on Residue From Thin Film Oven Test
Retain Retained Penetration after(T.F.O.T),% — 55 min 52 min 52 min 47 min — 45  min D.5

 
Ductility, (25’C), 5Cm/min, Cm after TFOT, Cm — — 50 min — 75 min — 100 min D.113
Viscosity @ 60’C, Pa.S — 2000 max 1000 max — 500 max — 225 max D.2171

 

 

Penetration grades EN

35/50 50/70 70/100 100/150 160-220 Test Method
Penetration@25OC 35/50 50/70 70/100

 

 100/150 160-220 EN 1426

 
Softening point, C 50-58 46-54 43-51 39-47 35-43 EN 1427
Resistance to heating @ 163 C EN 12607-1
Retained penetration % 53 min 50 min 46 min 43 min 37 min
Change of mass % 0.5 max 0.5 max 0.8 max 0.8 max 1.0 max
Flash point, C 240 min 230 min 230 min 230 min 220 min EN ISO 2592
Solubility % 99.0 min 99.0 min 99.0 min 99.0 min 99.0 min EN 12592
Penetration index -1.5 to +0.7 -1.5 to +0.7 -1.5 to +0.7 -1.5 to +0.7 -1.5 to +0.7 EN 12591-Annex A
Viscosity at 60C, Pa.s 225 min 145 min 90 min 55 min 30 min EN 12596
Viscosity at 135C, cSt 370 min 295 min 230 min 175 min 135 min EN 12595

 

 

 

 

Viscosity Grade (VG)

VG 10 VG 20 VG 30 VG 40 Test Method Standard
Absolute Viscosity at 60 °C , Poises 800-1200 1600-2400 2400-3600 3200-4800 ASTM D 2171 IS 1206(Part 2)
Kinematic Viscosity at 135°C , cSt Min.250 Min.300 Min.350 Min.400 ASTM D 2170 IS 1206(Part 3)
Flash Point (Cleveland Open Cup) °C Min.220 Min.220 Min.220 Min.220 ASTM D 5 IS 1209
Solubility in trichloroethylene,% Min.99 Min.99 Min.99 Min.99 ASTM D 92 IS 1206
Softening Point. ( R&B), °C Min.40 Min.45 Min.47 Min.50 ASTM D 2040 IS 1205
Penetration @25°C, 0.1 mm 100 gm,5 sec 80-100 60-80 50-70 40-60 IS 1203
Testson residue from thin film oven tests / RTFOT
Viscosity ratio at 60°C Max. 4.0 Max. 4.0 Max. 4.0 Max. 4.0 ASTM D 2171 IS 1206(Part 2)
Ductility at 25 °C, cm, after thin film oven test Min. 75 Min. 50 Min. 40 Min. 25 ASTM D 113 IS 1208
Specific Gravity @ 27/27 °C Min.0.99 Min.0.99 Min.0.99 Min.0.99 IS 1202
Conforms to BIS (IS 73:2006) Specifications