Bitumen, also known as asphalt, is the essential binding agent that holds the modern infrastructure. It is the most important ingredient in asphalt concrete which is used for paving roads, highways, and airport runways and is an important waterproofing material in the roofing and building industries. It has special adhesive and viscoelastic properties and hence is irreplaceable. However, these very properties make this a huge logistical challenge. At ambient temperatures, bitumen is a semi-solid, highly viscous material that cannot be poured, pumped or mixed.
For projects with remote locations, or for smaller scale operations where bulk liquid transport is not possible, bitumen is often transported and stored in steel barrels or drums. This approach is also flexible and convenient. However, a fundamental issue remains on delivery – how to efficiently and safely remove the solid bitumen from these barrels and heat it to a liquid, workable temperature (usually greater than 150 degC). Traditional methods have long been inefficient, expensive, extremely dangerous, and hostile to the environment. The ultimate solution to this challenge is an engineering piece of equipment: the Barrels Bitumen Melting Machine or the bitumen decanter. This technology offers an integrated solution that turns an unmanageable, dangerous task into a streamlined, automated, highly efficient operation.
Before the recent development of modern melt equipment, contractors and road crews had to operate by using highly crude and primitive methods of decanting bitumen barrels. These methods not only are inefficient, but also are dangerous to personnel, equipment, and the environment.
1. Direct Open-Flame Heating
This is by far the most popular and hazardous traditional technique. It is done by putting barrels over an open fire or surrounding the barrel with burning materials such as wood or diesel-soaked rags. This method is full of risk. The uncontrolled free flame generates intense hot spots on the barrel which can result in thermal degradation (coking) of the bitumen, permanently worsening its chemical properties and performance. Even more dangerously, it poses a serious fire risk and a high risk of explosion if the barrel becomes over-pressurized. It also emits thick and black toxic smoke into the atmosphere, which makes the working atmosphere dangerous, and infringes on environmental protection standards.
This is where the barrels are physically cut open using torches or saws and then the solid block of bitumen is broken up using picks and shovels. This type of approach is extremely labor intensive, slow and inefficient. It takes a lot of people and puts them at risk of injury. Further, it is highly wasteful because a significant fraction of the valuable bitumen stays attached to the interior of the barrel, in cratered areas along the barrel walls, and the waste is 5% or greater.
Both the traditional approaches are very slow. Even for a small project, the amount of time it may take to decant enough bitumen can cause major delays and push up the overall operating costs. However, the use of too much fuel (for open fires) and the large number of hours of manual work make these approaches economically unsustainable on a long-term.
Such antiquated practices clearly point to the immediate need for a solution located at the intersection of safety, speed, material conservation and environmental responsibility.
The Barrels Bitumen Melting Machine is a specially designed integrated system that eliminates all the disadvantages of using traditional decanting. It adopts the advanced indirect heating technology to melt solid bitumen safely and quickly, without damage to the quality and it can make the operation sufficiently efficient.
The principle in the design of the machine is that it is based on a thermal oil heating system. Instead of using a direct flame on the barrels, the machine is similar to a giant high-powered industrial oven. The whole process is automated and can be divided in the following stages:
Barrel Loading: The bitumen barrels are first of all loaded into the main melting chamber. Modern machines are fitted with either electric or hydraulic lifting systems. Barrels are loaded on to a trolley or guided on a rail which lifts and pushes into the chamber. Often the barrels are loaded upside down (backwards) in order to allow gravity to help as the bitumen melts and runs out.
The Heating Cycle: The heart of the system is a thermal oil boiler, which is typically heated by a diesel or gas burner. This boiler is used to heat special heat transfer fluid (thermal oil) to a controlled high temperature, usually 200-230C. This hot thermal oil is then pumped continuously and in a closed loop by a specially designed pump through a dense network of heating coils that are strategically positioned throughout the melting chamber.
Radiant and Convective Melting: The hot coils radiate intense heat throughout the well insulated chamber. The heat is diffused to the surface of the steel barrels by radiation and convection. The barrel walls are heated evenly and the heat is transmitted internally, slowly melting the solid bitumen from the outside in. Because the heating is indirect and uniform, there is no danger of producing local hot spots and consequently there is no risk of thermal destruction of the bitumen.
Collection and Transfer: Bitumen liquefies and drains out the barrel opening into a collection reservoir located in the bottom of the melting chamber. This reservoir is also installed with thermal oil coils, to ensure that the collected bitumen maintains the required temperature and is kept liquid. Once enough liquid bitumen has built up, the hot liquid is pumped out of the reservoir via a powerful, integrated bitumen pump to a heated storage tank, asphalt mixing plant or straight on to the application vehicle.
Automated Control and Safety: All the operation is controlled and monitored from a central electrical panel. Temperature measurements within the melting chamber, the thermal oil circuit, and the bitumen reservoir are sent in real time to the control unit. This system controls the boiler’s burner and the flow of thermal oil automatically in order to keep the temperatures at their optimum levels for maximum efficiency and safety without the need for constant manual monitoring.
Implementing a Barrels Bitumen Melting Machine will instantly and dramatically improve all aspects of an operation.
A typical machine is capable of handling dozens of barrels per hour, yielding a steady and consistent supply of usable liquid bitumen. This astounding speed cuts project timelines down dramatically, removing the bottlenecks associated with traditional decanting methods.
The enclosed, indirect heating system completely eliminates the dangers of fire and explosion associated with open flames. Automated loading and running reduces worker exposure to hot surfaces, heavy lifting and dangerous fumes, allowing for a much safer working environment.
The machine prevents the bitumen from being overheated and coking, thus ensuring that the critical physical and chemical properties (including penetration grade, ductility and viscosity) of the bitumen are preserved. This is necessary for the production of high-quality asphalt concrete that meets the stringent requirements of the industry.
Bitumen is stored in the fully enclosed system, eliminating the possibility of spillage and saving the worksite from soil and water pollution. The thermal oil boiler uses high-efficiency burner, the combustion will be complete, the emissions are less than the smoke that is thick and polluting in the open burning.
The design of the machine coupled with the power of gravity means that virtually all bitumen is drawn out of every barrel. The amount of residual bitumen in a processed drum is often less than 0.5%, providing a huge reduction in material waste and a major cost saving.
The machine is an initial capital investment, but the return on investment is very quick. The significant expense reduction in labor costs resulting, the reduced fuel consumption per ton of bitumen, and the virtual elimination of material waste all lead to a significantly reduced cost of operation.
So the logistical challenge of making solid, barrelled bitumen poised for an asphalt paving or construction project into a usable hot liquid is a crucial link in the chain. The Barrels Bitumen Melting Machine is the ultimate answer to this dilemma. It is an orderly and methodical change from outdated, dangerous and inefficient practices to a technologically advanced process that operates with superior efficiency, safety, quality control, and environmental stewardship. For any organization which uses barrel-supplied bitumen as a product, this machine is not just an optional upgrade, it is a strategic asset. It is an investment that yields dividends in increased productivity, better quality of end-product, better worker safety, and responsible environmental compliance to ensure modern infrastructure projects are built to last.
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