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BITUMEN EMULSION – WHAT, Search the site 

WHY & HOW?

Suryakanta | January 11, 2016 | Bitumen, Construction, Materials, Road
Construction | 20 Comments SUBSCRIBE TO BLOG
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Bitumen emulsion is a Email Address

mixture of water & Subscribe
bitumen. Hey wait, we
know that bitumen is a
oil product and it HOW TO INCREASE
cannot be mixed with REPETITION OF
water. That is why we PLYWOOD
add an emulsifier (a
surface active agent)
with water before
adding bitumen.
Addition of emulsifier Bitumen Emulsion – what, why & how
with water facilitates
breaking of bitumen into minute particles and keeps it dispersed in 00:00 08:39

suspension.

Therefore we can say that a bitumen emulsion is a liquid product JOIN US ON FACEBOOK
consisting of three things, (i.e. water + Emulsion + Bitumen) where
droplets of bitumen are suspended in water.
PRODUCTION – HOW IS IT Civilblog.org
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The production of bitumen emulsion consists of two primary steps.
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In the 1st step water is mixed with appropriate emulsifying agent and
other chemicals. The type of emulsifier to be used depends upon the ionic 1 friend likes this
nature of the mix.

The 2nd step is the addition of bitumen with the water-emulsifier mix.
This is done in a colloidal mill. Depending upon the use, the amount of
bitumen to be added with water may range from 40 to 70%. Water-
emulsifier mix and bitumen is pumped to a colloidal mill. The colloidal
mill breaks the bitumen into tiny droplets. The average diameter of these
tiny droplets of bitumen is about 2 micron. Here comes the role of
emulsifier. Emulsifier creates a coating of surface charge around the
bitumen droplets that helps to keep these tiny particles away from each
other. It also helps to keep these particles in a dispersed form.

After completion of the 2nd step, the bitumen emulsion is pumped into
storage tank.

CLASSIFICATION – HOW TO CLASSIFY

BITUMEN EMULSION?
There are two different ways to classify bitumen emulsion, as given below.

1. Based on surface charge

2. Based on setting time

BASED ON SURFACE CHARGE

Depending upon the type of surface charge, bitumen emulsions are

primarily classified into the following two types.

1. Anionic Bitumen Emulsion

2. Cationic Bitumen Emulsion

In case of an anionic bitumen emulsion, bitumen particles are electro-

negatively charged, where as for cat-ionic emulsions, bitumen particles
are electro-positively charged. Now days cationic bitumen emulsion are
most commonly used.
The choice of bitumen emulsion (i.e. whether anionic or cationic) to be
used depends upon the mineral composition of aggregate used for
construction. In case of silica rich aggregates, the surface of the
aggregates are electro-negatively charged. Therefore a cationic emulsion
should be used. This will help better spreading and binding of bitumen
with aggregates.

BASED ON SETTING TIME

When bitumen emulsions are applied on aggregates, water starts to

evaporate causing separation of bitumen from water. And then bitumen
spreads on the surface of the aggregate and acts as a binding material and
slowly attains its strength.

Depending upon the speed at which water evaporates and bitumen

particles separate from water, it is classified into following 3 types.

1. Rapid Setting Emulsion (RS)

2. Medium Setting Emulsion (MS)
3. Slow Setting Emulsion (SS)

Note: Here the word “setting” should not mean attainment of strength;
rather it means the time taken by the bitumen to separate from water.

In case of rapid setting emulsion, bitumen is intended to break rapidly.

Therefore this type of emulsion sets and cures rapidly.

Medium setting emulsions do not break spontaneously when applied on

aggregates. But the process of breaking starts when fine dusts of minerals
are mixed with aggregate-emulsion mix.

Slow setting emulsions are manufactured by using special type of

emulsifier, which makes the setting process very slow. These types of
emulsion are relatively stable.

FACTORS AFFECTING SETTING OF

EMULSIONS
The following factors affect the setting & curing of bitumen emulsion
mixes.

Water absorption of aggregate

Surface texture of aggregate
Amount of mineral dust in aggregate
Aggregate gradation
 Mineral composition of aggregate
Intensity of charge on aggregate surface
Type of emulsifier used & its quantity
Atmospheric condition, climatic conditions
Wind velocity & altitude
Drainage conditions at construction site

APPLICATIONS – WHAT ARE THE USES OF

BITUMEN EMULSIONS?
1. Emulsions are used in bituminous road construction work. They are
especially helpful for maintenance and patch repair works.
2. Emulsion can be used in wet weather even when it is raining.
3. Also emulsions have been used in soil stabilization, particularly for
stabilization of sands in desert areas.
4. A rapid setting type emulsion is suitable for surface dressing and
penetration macadam type of construction.
5. Medium setting type is used for premixing with coarse aggregates.
6. In case of fine aggregates, the surface area of aggregate is more and
as a result long duration of time is required to mix the emulsion.
Therefore slow setting emulsion is preferred which gives sufficient
time for uniform blending of the mix.

WHAT ARE THE ADVANTAGES &

LIMITATIONS OF BITUMEN EMULSION?
ADVANTAGES – WHY TO USE BITUMEN EMULSIONS?

The strength properties of bitumen are preserved in emulsion mixes

since emulsions do not need hot mixing. Generally cold mixing or just
slightly warming the ingredients of the emulsion mix are done for
construction of pavements.
Emulsion can be used in wet weather even when it is raining.
Emulsions possess anti-stripping properties.
Emulsions with lower viscosity or thinner consistency improve
spreadability and allows better coating of the bitumen on the surface
of aggregate.
There is no wastage during laying and storage.
Since emulsions are water based, there is less effect on the
environment.
 It is the least energy intensive of all construction material: there is no
need to heat.

LIMITATIONS

No one type of emulsion is suitable for every work. it depends upon

whether the aggregate is acidic or basic in nature..
The setting time may vary depending on the air temperature, wind
velocity and type of emulsion.
There is a wide range of curing time; a suitable emulsion mix needs to
be designed for a particular need, i.e. we need to determine for each
case, the optimum quantity of emulsion based on zone, type of
emulsion, mix grade and desired mechanical properties
It has limited storage time (ranging from few days to six months)

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Suryakanta
Geotechnical-Material Engineer. You can
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me just visit AboutMe