What Is a Bitumen Tank?
Bitumen tanks are the tanks in which the bitumen used in asphalt production is stored, kept at the required temperature and fed to the mixing unit of the plant. Alongside the main equipment of an asphalt plant, such as the dryer drum, burner, screen and mixer, bitumen tanks are one of the essential parts of the facility for keeping production running without interruption.
Alfamix Asfalt designs bitumen tanks according to your plant capacity, site layout and the type of bitumen used, and installs each tank as a complete system together with its heating, pipelines, valves and pumps.
How Are Bitumen Tanks Heated?
For bitumen to flow freely to the plant, the tanks must be kept at a certain temperature. This heating is usually provided by a hot oil heater: the oil heated in the heater circulates through the heating lines inside the tank and heats the bitumen evenly. The outer surface of the tanks is insulated to reduce heat loss and fuel consumption. Bitumen pumps are used to transfer the bitumen from the tank to the plant.
Horizontal and Vertical Bitumen Tanks
Bitumen tanks can be installed horizontally or vertically, depending on the site layout and storage requirements.
- Horizontal bitumen tanks: Easy to transport and install; storage capacity can be increased as needed by placing tanks side by side.
- Vertical bitumen tanks: Take up less ground space; a suitable solution for plants with limited space.
Alfamix Asfalt determines the tank design and connections that suit your plant according to your project.
Bitumen Tanks with Agitator
Bitumen tanks with an agitator are used to keep products such as polymer modified bitumen and bitumen emulsion homogeneous. The agitator inside the tank prevents the material from settling and separating. Alfamix Asfalt manufactures these tanks together with their process units, including 60-ton bitumen tanks with agitator.
What to Consider When Choosing a Bitumen Tank
- Capacity: A storage volume that suits the hourly output of the plant and how often bitumen is supplied.
- Heating system: An efficient hot oil heating arrangement that keeps the bitumen at the required temperature.
- Insulation: Tank insulation that reduces heat loss and saves fuel.
- Measurement and control: The gauges needed to monitor temperature and level.
- Connections: A pipe and valve layout suited to the plant, the pump and the filling point.
Contact us for capacities and technical details.