Repsol YPF

What is bitumen?

Bitumens are a mix of hydrocarbons containing a high molecular weight. They have a more or less elastic, non-crystalline, thick consistency and are black.

The principal components are carbon and hydrogen and, to a lesser degree, oxygen, nytrogen, sulphur and heavy metals such as nickel and vanadium.

We should differentiate between bitumen and tar. In spite of the fact that both are black and used in road construction, their origins and components are completely different. While bitumen is obtained from oil distillation, tar is produced from coal.

Which products are sold by Repsol Lubricantes y Especialidades S.A. in the Asphalt area?

Asphaltic bitumens: these are hydrocarbonate binders obtained through the distillation of crude oil, with visco-elastic behaviour. They are also known as penetration bitumens and are mainly used in road construction and industry.

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Polymer modified bitumens: the polymer modified bitumen developed by Repsol YPF can be defined as an improved binder, obtained using two methods: the physical method, which provides a macroscopically homogeneous bitumen and polymer mixture, and the chemical method, in which the bitumen is obtained by chemical cross-linking. These processes, developed and patented by Repsol YPF, allow the polymer to be incorporated into the bitumen, producing modified bitumens which remain stable in high quality storage environments.

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Synthetic pigmented binders: Recofal pigmented bitumen is a patented product, created by the technology of Repsol's Dirección General de Tecnología. It is a synthetic binder used to manufacture colour blends.

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Special Bitumens

Multigrade Bitumens: multigrade bitumen is a special binder which, for the same level of penetration as a conventional bitumen, has reduced thermal susceptibility. This means that it is less fragile at low temperatures and more consistent at high temperatures. The mixtures produced with this type of bitumen provide more resistance against the forming of ruts and against distress due to fatigue.

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Fuel-resistant bitumens: fuel-resistant bitumen is a binder specially designed for producing mixtures that are applied in areas where there are frequent fuel spillages. These are generally zones associated with the loading/unloading of fuel or sectors in which the vehicles make sudden manouevres with the resulting fuel spillage onto the road surface.

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High modulus bitumen: Repsol YPF, using carefully selected crude oil, has developed a special bitumen known as High Modulus bitumen, which allows for the possibility of obtaining mixtures with a high rigidity modulus, greater than 12000 MPa, which is over twice as high as that of a conventional mixture. This new binder also has excellent resistance to distress through fatigue and a greater capacity for absorbing stress.

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Additivated bitumens: at times, both conventional and modified bitumens can experience a lack of adhesivity to the aggregates. This problem, which is increasingly common in the production of asphaltic mixtures, is due to the lack of affinity of some aggregates with the bitumen.

Repsol YPF, aware of this problem, has, been carrying out research for several years on all bitumens and their performance with all types of aggregates.

These bitumens allow use to be made of lower-quality aggregates and also a reduction in the use of high-quality fillers.

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Special bitumens for recycling: the bitumen with rejuvenators developed by Repsol YPF is a special binder that replaces the components lost by the original bitumen due to ageing, giving it back its original physical and chemical characteristics.

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Industrial bitumens: industrial bitumens are hydrocarbonated binders prepared using specific production processes.

They are used principally in the production of asphalt sheets, which are used for waterproofing and sealing in buildings and bridges.

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Emulsions

Conventional and modified bituminous emulsions: Repsol YPF Lubricants and Specialised Products possesses the technology and facilities necessary to produce any type of emulsion, be it cationic, anionic, quick-, medium- or slow-breaking or over-stabilized, covering all areas of use of these substances. The company also has its own technology for manufacturing modified emulsions.

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Special emulsions for cold recycling  : the emulsion with rejuvenators developed by Repsol YPF is an over-stabilized emulsion, formulated with rejuvenating binders. This product is designed specifically for each project and replaces the components that have been lost from the bitumen of the existing road surface due to ageing.

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Heat-adhesive emulsions: the Antistick heat-adhesive emulsion developed by Repsol YPF is a quick-breaking cationic emulsion that prevents the usual problems of the residue of the emulsion sticking to the tyres of the vehicles used on the building site.

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High-performance slurry emulsion: the High Performance slurry emulsion allows micro-agglomerates to be obtained without heating. These are very quick-breaking with high cohesion, which allow them to withstand the most adverse of working conditions.

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