Prospects for the use of non-oxidized bitumen in road construction

The paper considers the technology of obtaining non-oxidized bitumen by double cracking of oil residue, such as tar and fuel oil. The whole indicators of non-oxidized road bitumen are substantiated by comparative analysis with existing industrial technologies for producing petroleum-based road bitumen in accordance with GOST 33133–2014 “Public roads. Viscous petroleum road bitumens. Technical requirements”. It is concluded that it is important to preserve the molecular structure of bitumen as a percentage of such components as asphaltenes and maltenes. It is revealed that the molecular structure of oxidized and compounded bitumen is unstable due to the different sizes of asphaltenes, which reduces its technical characteristics. Modified bitumen with polymer additives is considered and a comparative analysis with non-oxidized bitumen is carried out, it is concluded that the modifiers only support the disturbed structure of bitumen, which leads to a short service life of the roadway. The stages of the double cracking process are described in detail. The material balance of the double cracking technology and the requirements for non-oxidized bitumen at the outlet in accordance with GOST 33133–2014 are considered. The socio-economic effect of the introduction of technology for the production of non-oxidized bitumen in the road industry is calculated. The master plan and visualization of the UPBN-50 industrial installation, located on the basis of the State Unitary Enterprise “DSU-3”, is presented.