Cold emulsified asphalt is the most recent invention by UPIC staff. The invention has been encapsulated in a UK patent application. Cold emulsified asphalt is the process if emulsifying the bitumen films around aggregate with material that has been planned off roadways as the result of maintenance operations. The process is cold and therefore low energy. The complete operation screens and pulverises the bitumen material plannings ahead of the cold emulsification process. A hydraulic road binder is added to the cold emulsified asphalt in the UK to remove the water in the emulsified bitumen films.
The operating plant shown produces up to 60 tonnes of cold emulsified asphalt per hour as a continuous process. The plant can produce a range of material strengths for application with different layers forming a roadway or footway pavement: lower strength material is used in lower layers of a roadway or footway pavement.
The material produced is cold asphalt and it can be used to replace any hot asphalt material. The same strength range of hot asphalt mixtures can be produced using the cold emulsified process. The cost of material is directly related to the strength of material produced. Cost in the UK is less than the cost of a hot asphalt mixture of equivalent strength. The difference in cost reflects the low energy process.
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