Impact of bitumen composition on empirical properties

University of Žilina, Department of Civil Engineering, Slovak Republic

^* Corresponding author: michal.holy@fstav.uniza.sk

Abstract

In recent years, there has been a further development of refining technology, which make it possible to better use of crude oil, which also has a major impact on the quality of bitumen. Most European refineries, of course, are processing, for reasons of the resale of petroleum products, especially petroleums suitable for the recovery of light and middle fractions. Therefore, light petroleums are required, with low yields of heavy fractions, which are highly economically and in dispositions efficient for processors on the petroleum market. Emphasis is placed on the sulfur content, the paraffin content is no longer the most important aspect. Less important from the perspective of the refinery is the content and the ratio of asphaltenes and maltenes. There is no doubt that we will have to change our view on petroleum products. Their availability will continue to decline, their price, on the other hand, is likely to grow in relation to falling supplies of resources. Therefore, the view of the bitumen must be changed. The most common way of production of PG bitumen is vacuum distillation, which is carried out in such a way that the vacuum distillation residue satisfies it´s properties bitumen requirements for the relevant penetration.