Repsol committed to the development of high-performance polymer-modified binders

The paving sector, specifically that of bitumen mixtures, is becoming increasingly demanding and fulfilling its requirements and requests is increasingly challenging. Meeting these is chiefly dependent on the possibility of obtaining bitumen mixtures that will increase efficiency and make for lasting pavements.

Binders, one of the main components of bitumen mixtures, play an essential role in obtaining the best features, thanks to their agglutinant power, which affords greater aggregate-binder cohesion. This is also made possible by the wide variability of products currently in the market, through which solutions to the different types of requests can be provided.

As a manufacturer and supplier of binders, and with the objective of addressing market needs, Repsol has used the available resources to develop new products that make it possible to expand our catalog.

Our customers' latest requirements have consisted in requests for a type of binder capable of supporting the heavy loads placed on city bus lanes and capable of resisting the presence of the fuels and oils spilled on some pavements.

To meet these requests, Repsol has developed a line of binders with the name of BUS Bitumen. These are high-performance polymer-modified bitumens for use in bus lanes, where the bitumen mixture is subject to heavy and localized traffic demands due to the starting and stopping of vehicles,and resistance to fuel and oil spills is also required.

These binders have been developed in the laboratory and proven at industry level. Specifically, BUS Bitumen was installed in collaboration with the company PAVASAL, which offered its resources to manufacture and lay an AC16S-type bitumen mixture on an urban road in the city of Valencia with good performance.