Processing of High-Paraffinic vacuum residues by thermocatalytic methods to obtain bitumen

An Attempt to Track Two Grades of Road Bitumen from Different Plants Using Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy

“…Bituminous materials are one of the most important tonnages produced by the petroleum refining industries, as bituminous materials are also one of the most widely used materials in the world [ 2 , 3 , 4 ]. The widespread use of bituminous materials in many fields of human activity, such as insulating and binding materials for road construction, airfield repair, pavements, roofs, etc., is mainly due to their physicochemical characteristics [ 5 ]. Improving or optimising the physicochemical characteristics of bituminous materials is a challenge for the scientific community today in order to meet the modern requirements of our society or our civilization.…”

“…As a result, the technical specifications for the quality of bituminous materials produced in leading countries such as the United States of America, China, Canada, Spain, the Russian Federation, and France differ. Climatic conditions, road traffic density, and the technology used to produce bituminous materials contribute to these differences [ 5 , 6 , 7 ].…”

“…In the Russian Federation, oxidised bitumen is used as road bitumen as prescribed by the GOST 33133 standard. The most common binders’ grades of GOST 33133 are BND 100/130, 70/100, and 50/70 [ 5 ]. The road bitumen in this region of the world is subject to higher requirements in terms of frost resistance (Fraass breaking point) and high-temperature resistance (softening temperature), as well as in terms of adhesive properties [ 8 ].…”

“…The process of bitumen manufacture from crude oil is rather complex [ 3 , 4 ]. Oxidation, cracking (vacuum distillation with rectification), and compounding are fundamental techniques used to produce petroleum bituminous materials [ 3 , 4 , 5 , 9 ]. The primary raw material used for the production of petroleum bitumen is tar or vacuum residue.…”

“…The most widely used bitumen manufacturing process in the Russian Federation is the air blowing process due to its simplicity, reliability, and cost-effectiveness. Furthermore, Russian legislation allows air-blown or oxidised bitumen as a binder for pavement or roadways, which is not the case in many Western countries due to their laws and technical requirements [ 5 ]. However, other processes are also used in Russia, such as compounding to manufacture polymer-modified bitumen [ 3 , 12 ].…”