Bitumen emulsions were put into the practice of road building at the start of the 20th century.
Bitumen emulsions production
Its usage however, was limited by the absence of knowledge about the building mechanism of the emulsions, its formation in the blends and the technological possibilities of the preparation and usage of emulsions.
During the middle of the 20th century, the cubature of its usage grew slow, but unflinchingly. The interest in emulsions was not fully embraced by the industry, but at the same, interest in emulsions did not die out. During this time the cubature of asphalt cement for the production of hot asphalt blends significantly multiplied and expanded. The use of bitumen emulsions in road building fell by the wayside and was relegated mainly for the strengthening of the bottom layer of local roads and secondary highways. Bitumen emulsions however, continued to be used in Western Europe and the USA, but in Soviet Russia, the production of the bitumen emulsions for road building was actually discontinued.
But in the early 1970s, the countries of Western Europe and the USA faced an energy crisis and oil shortages. The producers of road building materials then remembered that bitumen emulsions required less energy consumption to make and use.
Environmental concerns about the kinds of the road building materials was growing and slowly the use of a more environmentally friendly bitumen emulsion product began to replace conventional bitumen products.
The two factors of environmental concerns and energy shortage gave a strong push for the develop of the bitumen emulsions in the roadway building systems. During this time the industry experienced rapid development of new technologies for the preparation of bitumen emulsion products.
Company GlobeCore produce equipment for bitumen emulsion production.
