High Polymer Bitumen Binder with Sulfur Crosslinking
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing bitumen/polymer compositions with high polymer content face challenges such as gelation, increased viscosity, and transportation costs, making it difficult to produce stable and pumpable concentrated binders for road and industrial applications.
Innovation Solution
A concentrated polymer binder with at least 70% soft aromatic petroleum base and greater than 20% polymer content, incorporating anti-gelling and crosslinking agents, is developed, allowing for delayed gelation and reduced viscosity, enabling efficient preparation and transportation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Quantity of substance
If the polymer content of bitumen/polymer concentrates is increased above 6% by weight, then the concentration and transport efficiency are improved, but gelation occurs during preparation or storage
Solution Approach 1:
A coupling agent (sulfur) is introduced as an intermediary substance that mediates between the polymer and bitumen components. The sulfur forms crosslinks between polymer chains, creating a stable network structure that prevents gelation while maintaining high polymer content (30-70% by weight) in the concentrate during storage and transport.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention changes the chemical parameter of the system by adding sulfur as a crosslinking agent. This chemical modification allows the polymer content to be increased from the conventional limit of 6% to 30-70% without causing gelation, fundamentally altering the stability parameters of the bitumen/polymer concentrate.
2Quantity of substance
If the polymer content is increased to reduce transport costs, then the viscosity increases and the concentrate becomes difficult to pump
Solution Approach 1:
The coupling agent (sulfur) acts as an intermediary that modifies the rheological properties of the concentrate. By forming controlled crosslinks, it creates a stable structure that maintains pumpability even at high polymer contents of 30-70%, overcoming the viscosity increase that would normally occur.
Solution Approach 2:
The addition of sulfur changes the physical-chemical parameters of the concentrate, specifically modifying the viscosity and flow characteristics. This parameter change enables the system to maintain pumpability across a wide range of polymer concentrations that would otherwise be unusable.
3Reliability
If conventional bitumen/polymer concentrates are used with polymer content below 6%, then gelation is avoided, but transport and logistics costs increase due to lower concentration
Solution Approach 1:
The sulfur coupling agent serves as a mediator that enables high polymer content (30-70%) to be achieved without gelation. This allows the concentrate to be transported at much higher concentrations, reducing the volume and weight of material to be transported and thereby significantly reducing transport and logistics costs compared to conventional low-concentration formulations.
Solution Approach 2:
By changing the chemical composition through sulfur addition, the invention expands the viable polymer content range from below 6% to 30-70%. This parameter change directly impacts transport efficiency, allowing concentrated formulations that reduce transportation costs while maintaining storage stability.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The solution provides stable, pumpable, and cost-effective concentrated binders that can be easily diluted to meet specifications for road and industrial applications, reducing transportation costs and ensuring long-term storage stability.
Implementation Method 1
concentrated binder comprising at least 70% by mass of a soft aromatic petroleum base, optionally a bituminous base and at least one polymer
Implementation Method 2
The crosslinking, for example with sulfur, of polymers carrying unsaturations, in particular copolymers of styrene and a conjugated diene such as butadiene, within bitumens leads to bitumen/polymer compositions, which have improved stability
Implementation Method 3
The crosslinking, for example with sulfur, of polymers carrying unsaturations
Data Source
AI summary
The present invention relates to a concentrated binder having a very high polymer content comprising a soft aromatic petroleum base, optionally a bituminous base and at least one polymer characterized in that the polymer content in the concentrated binder is greater than or equal to 20% by weight, preferably greater than or equal to 25% by weight, and the use thereof in the preparation of a dilute bitumen/polymer binder for the fields of road applications, in particular in the manufacture of road binders, and in the fields of industrial applications.