Bitumen

What is Bitumen?

Bitumen is an oil based substance. It is a semi-solid hydrocarbon product produced by removing the lighter fractions (such as liquid petroleum gas, petrol and diesel) from heavy crude oil during the refining process. More


Types of Bitumen

Bitumen is an engineering material, produced to meet a variety of end-use specifications based on physical properties. Bitumen may be customised for special road applications and hundreds of grades have also been developed for the non-road industrial segment, including roofing and sound-proofing. More


Production Process

Refined bitumen is a complex combination of high molecular weight organic compounds found in heavy crude oils. More


Applications

Facts and Stats

Bitumen industry and European road facts. More


Glossary

Glossary of Terms relating to the industry. More

 

 

 
 

Latest Updates

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  • The purpose of this page is to give a brief introduction to bitumen and products made from, or containing, bitumen. Bitumen and bituminous products are often used for their adhesive and waterproofing properties and are therefore sometimes referred to as binders.

  • European bitumen consumption statistics

    To view or download the latest figures for bitumen consumption by country click for 2009  or here for 2008

  • CE marking update

    CE marking for bituminous binders moved a step closer with the citation in the Official Journal of the EU of the harmonised standards for paving grade bitumen (EN12591), hard paving grade bitumen (EN 13924), bituminous emulsions (EN 13808) and cutback and fluxed bitumens (EN15322).