Abstract
Bitumen is an organic material derived from crude oil refinery. It exhibits a highly complex chemical composition, time- and temperature dependent viscoelastic material behavior and distinct microstructural features. Ongoing efforts try to link these three material characteristics by combining physico-chemical with mechanical analysis. Two different theses that explain which chemical constituents trigger the materials’ microstructure: one group of researchers is in favor of the idea that waxes are responsible, the other group favors asphaltenes as the crucial factor. Both groups base their assumptions on experimental evidence. However, no final proof for either theses exists. A recent study on high mass resolution analysis of bitumen and its constituents shows that in fact both groups might be referring to the same thing and simply using different terminology. This paper suggests a temporary solution for overcoming the differences by substituting the controversial terms “wax” and “asphaltene” by the more general but still correct term “n-heptane insolubles” for the time being.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
Eberhardsteiner, L., Fussl, J., Hofko, B., Handle, F., Hospodka, M., Blab, R., Grothe, H.: Influence of asphaltene content on mechanical bitumen behavior: experimental investigation and micromechanical modeling. Mater. Struct. 48(10), 3099–3112 (2015a)
Eberhardsteiner, L., Fussl, J., Hofko, B., Handle, F., Hospodka, M., Blab, R., Grothe, H.: Towards a microstructural model of bitumen ageing behaviour. Int. J. Pavement Eng. 16(10), 939–949 (2015b)
Handle, F., Fussl, J., Neudl, S., Grossegger, D., Eberhardsteiner, L., Hofko, B., Hospodka, M., Blab, R., Grothe, H.: Understanding the microstructure of bitumen: a CLSM and fluorescence approach to model bitumen ageing behavior. In: Asphalt Pavements, vol. 1, no. 2, pp. 521–530 (2014)
Handle, F., Harir, M., Fussl, J., Kosyun, A.N., Grossegger, D., Hertkorn, N., Eberhardsteiner, L., Hofko, B., Hospodka, M., Blab, R., Schmitt-Kopplin, P., Grothe, H.: Tracking aging of bitumen and its saturate, aromatic, resin, and asphaltene fractions using high-field fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometry. Energy Fuels 31(5), 4771–4779 (2017)
Hofko, B., Eberhardsteiner, L., Fussl, J., Grothe, H., Handle, F., Hospodka, M., Grossegger, D., Nahar, S.N., Schmets, A.J.M., Scarpas, A.: Impact of maltene and asphaltene fraction on mechanical behavior and microstructure of bitumen. Mater. Struct. 49(3), 829–841 (2016)
Jaeger, A., Lackner, R., Eisenmenger-Sittner, C., Blab, R.: Identification of four material phases in bitumen by atomic force microscopy. Road Mater. Pavement Des. 5, 9–24 (2004)
Lesueur, D.: The colloidal structure of bitumen: consequences on the rheology and on the mechanisms of bitumen modification. Adv. Colloid Interface Sci. 145(1–2), 42–82 (2009)
Loeber, L., Sutton, O., Morel, J., Valleton, J.M., Muller, G.: New direct observations of asphalts and asphalt binders by scanning electron microscopy and atomic force microscopy. J. Microsc.-Oxford 182, 32–39 (1996)
Lu, X.H., Langton, M., Olofsson, P., Redelius, P.: Wax morphology in bitumen. J. Mater. Sci. 40(8), 1893–1900 (2005)
Mikhailenko, P., Kadhim, H., Baaj, H.: Observation of bitumen microstructure oxidation and blending with ESEM. Road Mater. Pavement Des. 18(sup2), 216–225 (2017)
Mikula, R.J., Munoz, V.A.: Characterization of emulsions and suspensions in the petroleum industry using cryo-SEM and CLSM. Coll. Surf. A: Physicochem. Eng. Asp. 174, 14 (2000)
Nahar, S.N., Mohajeri, M., Schmets, A.J.M., Scarpas, A., van de Ven, M.F.C., Schitter, G.: First observation of blending-zone morphology at interface of reclaimed asphalt binder and virgin bitumen. Transp. Res. Rec. 2370, 1–9 (2013a)
Nahar, S.N., Schmets, A.J.M., Scarpas, A., Schitter, G.: Temperature and thermal history dependence of the microstructure in bituminous materials. Eur. Polym. J. 49(8), 1964–1974 (2013b)
Ortega-Rodriguez, A., Cruz, S.A., Gil-Villegas, A., Guevara-Rodriguez, F., Lira-Galeana, C.: Molecular view of the asphaltene aggregation behavior in asphaltene-resin mixtures. Energy Fuels 17(4), 1100–1108 (2003)
Redelius, P., Soenen, H.: Relation between bitumen chemistry and performance. Fuel 140, 34–43 (2015)
Soenen, H., Besamusca, J., Fischer, H.R., Poulikakos, L.D., Planche, J.P., Das, P.K., Kringos, N., Grenfell, J., Lu, X., Chailleux, E.: Laboratory investigation of bitumen based on round robin DSC and AFM tests. Mater. Struct. 47, 1–16 (2013)
Soenen, H., Besamusca, J., Fischer, H.R., Poulikakos, L.D., Planche, J.P., Das, P.K., Kringos, N., Grenfell, J.R.A., Lu, X.H., Chailleux, E.: Laboratory investigation of bitumen based on round robin DSC and AFM tests. Mater. Struct. 47(7), 1205–1220 (2014)
Stangl, K., Jager, A., Lackner, R.: Microstructure-based identification of bitumen performance. Road Mater. Pavement Des. 7, 111–142 (2006)
Yarranton, H.W., Ortiz, D.P., Barrera, D.M., Baydak, E.N., Barre, L., Frot, D., Eyssautier, J., Zeng, H., Xu, Z., Dechaine, G., Becerra, M., Shaw, J.M., McKenna, A.M., Mapolelo, M.M., Bohne, C., Yang, Z., Oake, J.: On the size distribution of self-associated asphaltenes. Energy Fuels 27(9), 5083–5106 (2013)
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2019 RILEM
About this paper
Cite this paper
Hofko, B., Maschauer, D., Steiner, D., Grothe, H., Mirwald, J. (2019). Chemical Composition and Microstructure of Bitumen – a Matter of Terminology?. In: Poulikakos, L., Cannone Falchetto, A., Wistuba, M., Hofko, B., Porot, L., Di Benedetto, H. (eds) RILEM 252-CMB Symposium. RILEM 252-CMB 2018. RILEM Bookseries, vol 20. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-00476-7_23
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-00476-7_23
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-030-00475-0
Online ISBN: 978-3-030-00476-7
eBook Packages: EngineeringEngineering (R0)