Both words bitumen and asphalt originate from old Greek and Latin and have originally both denoted a black, sticky, dense and viscous material that was found on some places in nature. Today this material is in many European languages called bitumen, and asphalt is a mixture of bitumen and aggregate (rocks, stones, sand) that is used for road pavements. In some countries (for example USA, Russia) asphalt means just the bitumen, and asphalt concrete is its mixture with aggregate, that is used for road pavement. This slight difference may cause some misunderstanding in the international business so it has to be taken into account. In this text the European convention is used.
Production of asphalt is a procedure at which the aggregate is mixed with the correct amount of bitumen and additives. Asphalt is prepared in an industrial facility called asphalt plant. Asphalt plants can be divided on several criteria. Stationary asphalt plants are erected at a certain fixed location and provide with the asphalt its surrounding in radius from some tenths to hundred kilometer. Mobile asphalt plants are constructed in such a way, that they can be in a short time transferred from one place to another. This way they can follow the needs of their customers. Regarding the flow of asphalt production the plants can run a continuous or charge process. At the continuous process the asphalt is delivered all the time while charge process delivers the asphalt in certain quantities, ordered by the customer and which can be transported by trucks for the asphalt transport. The main part of an asphalt plant is a mixing drum with a burner for the heating of bitumen and a system for delivery of aggregate, asphalt and additives. Around the drum several transport systems are located (horizontal transport conveyers, vertical elevators), drying drums, vibration strainer, filters, silos and reservoirs.
An important feature of a concrete plant is its production capacity, usually given in metric tons of the product per hour.
Company BETAS produces, supplies and mounts the following equipment:
- stationary asphalt plants of capacity 50 – 320 t/h,
- half-mobile asphalt plants of capacity 50 – 320 t/h,
- half-mobile concrete plants of capacity 25 – 100 m3,
- transport systems of capacity 15 – 400 t/h,
- vertical transport systems - elevators,
- horizontal transport systems – screw and belt transporters,
- drying drums of capacity 50 – 400 t/h,
- vibration strainers of capacity 50 – 350 t/h,
- filter bags of capacity 50 – 320 t/h,
- reservoirs for bitumen and emulsions of capacity 20 – 100 m3,
- silos for additives and cement of capacity 20 – 80 m3,
- silos for asphalt of capacity 30 – 340 t,
- silos for fractions of capacity 12 – 200 t.
