Bitumen

AKA Asphaltum, Beach Tar

Uses

Other

• Source of aromatics
• Source of hydrocarbons

Natural Occurrence

Bitumen is a naturally occurring substance contained within a mineral or sands deposit. It is normally a black solid or hardened resin, although in the presence of heat it will melt to a liquid.

Composition

Bitumen is almost solid at room temperature and can be fractionated into 4 components, each its own crude mixture, divided approximately as follows:

   17% saturated hydrocarbons (soluble in heptane)
   40% aromatics (soluble in toluene or toluene/methanol)
   26% resins (polymers soluble in trichloroethylene)
   17% asphaltenes. (large polyaromatics not soluble in heptane)

Note that the composition of bitumen found in literature can vary greatly due to the difficulty of getting an accurate measurement.