European bitumen consumption statistics
To view or download the latest figures for bitumen consumption by country click for 2009 or here for 2008
Bitumen production data
Bitumen is distilled from crude oils and represents on average 3 — 4% of refinery production.
There are 115 oil refineries in Europe (EU 27) of which 74 produce bitumen.
Of the 1,300 (or more) types of crude oils, only approximately 10% can be used to produce bitumens that meet the stringent engineering requirements of end users today. The European bitumen industry (EU 27) produces approximately 20 million tonnes of bitumen each year.
European asphalt facts
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Over 90% of the total road network has an asphalt surface
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Over 300 million tonnes of hot mix asphalt is produced per annum and approximately 5 million tonnes of cold mixtures
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Asphalt is 100% recyclable
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Recycling has increased significantly in recent years
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Quantities recycled directly back into road surfaces vary from country to country, but can be as high as 70%
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There are over 4,000 asphalt production sites in Europe and over 10,000 companies are involved in the production and/or the laying of the asphalt
European roads
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The European road network (EU27) is over five and half million kilometres long.
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Its composition in thousands of kms is:
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Motorways: 63.5
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National roads: 291.7
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Secondary or regional roads: 1,406.8
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Other roads: 3,833.5
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The European traffic population is estimated at 230 million passenger cars and over 31 million commercial vehicles.
Sources: Eurobitume, EAPA, ERF
