Differences between bitumens
What is mineral bitumen?
Mineral bitumen or natural bitumen is actually a type of pure hydrocarbons that can melt at a temperature of 160 to 220 degrees Celsius. This type of bitumen has different gases that can be separated at temperatures above 350 degrees, and only ash in the bitumen will remain at a temperature of 800 degrees.
Bituminous ash includes materials such as silicon oxide, aluminum oxide, calcium carbonate, sulfur oxide, magnesium oxide, etc. Mineral bitumen is also known by other names such as Gilsonite, bitumen, and asphaltene, and it is very similar to coal. This type of bitumen is hard and brittle with a black color that can exist in powder or lump form.
What is petroleum bitumen?
Petroleum bitumen is also a type of bitumen and as their name suggests, they are obtained from crudeoil and are known as refinery bitumen.
Petroleum bitumen is actually distilled from crude oil in a two-stage process, in which light elements such as gasoline are separated from oil in the first stage, and heavier elements such as diesel are separated from crude oil in the second stage. After separating these light materials, the remaining materials are extracted under the name of bitumen.
Differences between mineral bitumen and petroleum bitumen
As mentioned, bitumen is divided into two main categories, including mineral bitumen and petroleum bitumen or refinery bitumen, and each of them can have unique properties and characteristics. The most important differences between mineral bitumen and petroleum bitumen include the following:
- Petroleum bitumen has little sulfur and its amount does not reach 1%, while mineral bitumen has more sulfur so that the bitumen of different places can be different up to 4%. For example, Trinidad bitumen has 3.8% sulfur.
- Petroleum bitumen is pure, while mineral bitumen can have a small percentage of ash.
- Petroleum bitumen has a higher percentage of oil than mineral bitumen. Aqueous petroleum bituminous oil can be up to 70% of their weight.
- The amount of acid and saponification of petroleum bitumen or industrial bitumen is lower than that of mineral bitumen.
