New fluxing agent for the road industry – An overview of technical performances and HSE benefits

Abstract

Fluxing agents (or flux oils) are oil products added to bitumen in order to decrease the viscosity of the binder hence allowing spraying, coating and paving applications more efficiently. Following the application on the road substrate, the flux oil evaporates to recover original binder’s properties. In 2015, Solvay and Eurovia have associated their own expertise in chemicals and road construction respectively, to design a new versatile fluxing agent for the road industry. This new flux oil has an outstanding safety profile (no labelling, and high flash point). It is partly bio-sourced (45% of its carbons are bio-sourced), the other part being a side-product of Solvay’s plant production, and fully biodegradable. Because of its unique properties this new flux oil needs less concentration (−20 to 45%) than other fluxing agents to decrease the viscosity of bitumen hence minimizing the use of volatile compounds. Moreover, it enables a quicker cohesion build-up of fluxed bituminous products. The fluxed binders are devoted to various types of application including surface dressing, micro-surfacing, cold mixes and storable mixes used in maintenance. This paper aims to describe the numerous technical and other advantages of this new product based on laboratory and jobsite results.