According to Coherent Market Insights “Rising asphalt production and increasing consumption of asphalt in North America and Europe is driving the global asphalt market growth".
Bitumen, commonly known as asphalt, is a sticky, black, very viscous liquid or semi-solid type of petroleum. It is classified as a pitch and can be found in natural deposits or as a refined product. The term asphaltum was also used before the twentieth century. The word o ásphaltos comes from the Ancient Greek o ásphaltos. The Pitch Lake in southwest Trinidad (Antilles island off the northeastern coast of Venezuela) is home to the world's largest natural deposit of asphalt, believed to contain 10 million tonnes.
Asphalt is mostly utilised (70 percent) in road building, where it is mixed with aggregate particles as a glue or binder to form asphalt concrete. Its other principal applications include bituminous waterproofing products, such as roofing felt and flat roof sealing.
Although there is regional variation in which term is most commonly used, the names "asphalt" and "bitumen" are typically used interchangeably in material sciences and engineering to describe both natural and produced versions of the substance. The term "bitumen" is used by geologists all around the world to describe the naturally occurring substance.
The phrase "crude bitumen" is sometimes used to describe naturally occurring asphalt. It has a viscosity similar to cold molasses, and the product of fractional distillation of crude oil boiling at 525 °C (977 °F) is frequently referred to as "refined bitumen." The Athabasca oil sands, which occupy 142,000 square kilometres (55,000 square miles), an area larger than England, contain the majority of the world's natural asphalt reserves.
Because the properties of asphalt fluctuate with temperature, there is a precise range in which viscosity allows for optimal compaction by providing lubrication between particles during the compaction process. Low temperatures prevent aggregate particles from migrating, making it impossible to attain the needed density.Some of the features of asphalt can be reproduced using computer simulations of simplified model systems.
