Bitumen, a versatile material with over 250 applications, is primarily produced through the distillation of crude oil and is used mainly in road construction and roofing. Its physical properties vary based on its source, and it can also be found naturally in oil sands. The document details the historical formation of bitumen and its production processes in the petroleum industry, highlighting its economic significance.

1. How is Bitumen
produced?
There are many uses of bitumen in various industries. In fact, this
versatile substance has more than 250 applications and meet the
demands of different industries in terms of waterproofing, sealing, and
insulating. More importantly, bitumen is an ideal adhesive material in
the road construction, and performs as a perfect material for paving
and roofing applications, due to its durability, modifiability, and
recyclability.
It is estimated that the current world’s use of bitumen is approximately
102 million tonnes per year. About 85% of all bitumen around the
world is used in the asphalt pavements in roads, airports, parking lots,
etc. The other 15% stands for roofing, water pipes coating,
waterproofing, and sealing materials.

2. However, few people know how bitumen is produced. Bitumen is
produced by the distillation of crude oil, or simply found in nature.
Based on the source, bitumen’s physical properties such as consistency,
stiffness, viscosity, adhesion, and durability may differ. Therefore, it is
crucial to becoming more familiar with bitumen’s occurrence in nature
and bitumen as a byproduct of crude oil. You can find the link to our
newest video about bitumen production at the end of this document.
What is Bitumen?
Bitumen is an adhesive material composed of complex hydrocarbons.
This high viscose material contains elements such as calcium, iron,
sulfur, and oxygen. Bitumen has a remarkable ability to change with
temperature variations. At lower temperatures, this material is rigid
and brittle, at room temperature, it is flexible, and at higher
temperatures bitumen flows. Bitumen was first used for adhering
woods to stone tools some 40,000 years ago (by Middle Paleolithic
Neanderthals). Afterward, bitumen was used as an adhesive material in
a wide variety of applications.

3. Bitumen has also a unique density and viscosity in comparison to other
byproducts of crude oil. Due to the presence of large hydrocarbon
molecules known as asphaltenes and resins, which are present in
lighter oils but are highly concentrated in bitumen, bitumen has
become useful material in binding stones and sands for road
construction.
How Bitumen is formed in the
Nature?
In order to understand how bitumen is formed in nature, we need to
go back to more than 360 million years ago. Fossil fuels formed during
the Carboniferous period, when giant swamp forests dominated many
parts of the Earth.
Many microscopic organisms lived, died, and decayed in these forests
and formed the basis for the production of coal deposits. With the
accumulation of sediment layers and their gradual transformation

4. under heat and pressure over many years, great bituminous coalfields
created.
These ancient deposits are now the source of natural bitumen in
various countries, including Canada, Venezuela, and Oman. Known also
as oil sands, the deposits are now a mixture of sand, clay, and water,
saturated with a dense and extremely viscous bitumen.
Although large natural reservoirs of bitumen exist in many parts of the
world, most of the bitumen produced in the world is derived from
crude oil. Natural bitumen extraction is more complicated than
refining bitumen, therefore it will cost the producers more. It is also
interesting to know that natural bitumen contains up to 5% sulfur,
heavy metals, and other impurities that must be refined.

5. How Bitumen is manufactured
in the Petroleum Industry?
The process of separating bitumen from crude oil begins in the
atmospheric distillation column, followed by a heating process in which
the crude oil evaporates. The vapor flies cools and becomes liquid
again. Distillation trays in the column will enhance the process of liquid
separation according to the molecular weight. The heaviest part of the
oil that remains at the bottom of the distillation column, is called
Vacuum Bottom, and form the raw material for producing refined
bitumen. Properties and quality of bitumen depend mainly on the
crude oil used in its manufacturing process.

6. Bitumen can be further processed by blowing air through it at elevated
temperatures. For this the Vacuum Bottom is transferred to the
vacuum distillation column, to go through a blowing process. A mild
degree of air-blowing is commonly used to make a minor adjustments
to the physical properties of the vacuum bottom, such as decreasing
the penetration of the bitumen. In this stage, various types of bitumen
which have more asphaltene and molecular weight, with higher
penetration value are produced. For various types of bitumen visit
here.
Production of Bitumen by refining crude oil is highly economical. In the
distillation process of crude oil, which is essential for producing petrol,
diesel, high octane fuels, and gasoline, bitumen is left behind and can
be used easily after processing.
Watch our video about natural and refined bitumen by clicking on the
link below:
https://infinitygalaxy.org/where-does-bitumen-come-from/