®

BITUMEN BY BITUROX

10/2008
 „Bitumen is a black,
sticky and, when hot,
© OMV
smelling material.“

The world of today and tomorrow needs more and

better roads...
Roads have to be inexpensive both in construction and maintenance. In the same sense, they have to proof
maximum durability. And finally, used road paving material should be easily and completely reprocessable
and reusable.
Bituminous binders of highest quality, as a component of road pavement formulations, meet all the criteria
listed above. Furthermore, they perform excellently under extreme climatic conditions and thus can stand
heaviest traffic loads. Under these aspects, bitumen production presents itself as an increasingly attractive
and profitable sector of downstream business.

Refineries need more than only crude processing

Today’s petroleum product marketers are more often confronted with the need to supply top bitumen binder
qualities to the construction industry at a reasonable price level. Another business-line of interest is the chemi-
cal specialities industry. Frequently an initial bitumen business is the key-opener for new valuable business
relations in the field of premium lubricants, fuels, process products etc.
The main effort of any large-scale refinery in the world is to produce million of tons of fast moving products
(e.g. gasoline, diesel fuel, kerosene, feedstocks for the petrochemistry etc.) at the least possible overall costs.
Mainly this goal is met by selecting the proper crude mix and using sophisticated refinery technology. This
Biturox® Paramo
Pardubice, approach generally has the consequence that a straight production of high quality bitumen is impracticable.
Czech Republic

The name of the tool to optimally reconcile the market-demand for top-grade bitumen with the upstream cost
controlling effort is

biturox®
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Pörner: Bitumen Upgrading Specialists The world largest
Biturox® plant at
Płock, Poland.

The Pörner Group with a work force of 350 experts in the field of chemical and refinery engineering is special-
ised in bitumen technology. Pörner only and alone built the largest number of bitumen processing plants of all
dimensions and all over the world. This achievement enabled Pörner Group to accumulate the most compre-
hensive expert knowledge in engineering, design, construction, start-up and operation of bitumen plants.

Know How – Three columns of competence

The Biturox® Process represents the modern and proven solution to produce top bitumen qualities from a
great variety of raw materials. The expertise of Pörner staff covers technological, economical and market
related aspects. Biturox® plants have been built according to various national quality standards (conventional
or performance based - such as SHRP).

• Technology
The core piece of the Biturox® Process is the unequalled loop reactor. In this perfect aeration reactor the ther-
mo-chemical conversion of selected raw material blends by air-oxygen takes place continuously and under
repeatable conditions. The process allows controlling all important process parameters (pressure, tempera-
ture, flow rates, residence time etc.) with high accuracy. Biturox® technology proofs that the oxidation process
can run both effectively and very softly: The valuable aromatic components are formed and preserved in the Biturox® Pilot Plant in
Schwechat, Austria.
reaction mixture and, at the same time, the degradation of organic compounds to coke and the build-up of
deposits is minimised. Deriving from the process fundamentals, the features of safe and automated operation
as well as low turnaround and maintenance requirements, make the Biturox® process to the most attractive
solution for a modern bitumen producer.

• Design, Research and Pilot Testing

A satisfying bitumen quality depends on the harmonised balance of its chemical components: saturates, aro-
matics, naphthenes, resins, asphaltenes. In more than 30 years and supported by several Hundred of research
laboratory and pilot tests on almost any crude type, Pörner, together with its partner OMV, developed methods
how to formulate and to process bitumen: All findings were filed in a comprehensive database of know-how.
Thus Pörner is able to recommend for almost any feed stock-product combination the most efficient and least
costly way to make top-bitumen quality.

• Experience
Pörner knows much about bitumen: A visco-elastic, complex mixture of chemical compounds, difficult to
handle. Based on Pörner‘s engineering expertise the most perfect bitumen plants have been realised. Applying
all principles of efficiency to blending, heating, cooling of bitumen, to optimise instrumentation and automa-
tion, to minimise by-products and emissions, to save and recover energy, to keep maintenance and down-
times low. Selecting, the ideally suited equipment, minimising delivery times and making construction fast
and easy and to taking care of personnel training, commissioning and start-up.

Pörner designs and realises Bitumen Plants including all infrastructures out of one hand:
production units of high availability, easy to operate and designed for a long lifetime.

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 Modern world of bitumen

Roads are connecting people. Bitumen is the most versatile and qualified material for fast construction of
long-life and inexpensive roads. The process product industry is another consumer of extra bitumen qualities
for roofing felts, construction coating, bitumen emulsions etc.
Biturox® bitumen products contribute to have a „world-wide growing network of perfect roads“ and to have
„tight roofs everywhere“.

Changes - Challenges - Chances

Almost every day crude prices, qualities and availability undergo radical changes. The number of bitumen
producers fall off, as smaller, non-profitable producers have to close their books anywhere. New performance
oriented bitumen standards (e.g. SHRP) show up frequently. Flexibility and rapid response to new demands
are a must in the petroleum industry‘s every day fight for market shares.
The modern refineries generally need to improve the bitumen processing technology, which should fit into
their completely automated manufacturing pattern and contribute to the plant’s economic efficiency by higher
production flexibility combined with an almost complete independence of the crude type available.
The Biturox® Process offers the solution to produce both multigrade road construction bitumen and high PEN
Index bitumen using a continuous, fully automated operation and achieving nearly full independence from
feedstock quality and price.

Highlight
The Biturox® Process guarantees the user almost complete independence from crude types, simultaneously
allowing to make the best qualities of bitumen.
The name is the Biturox® paradoxon: Better quality from cheaper feedstock components.

Biturox®: High Quality – Efficient – Large Quantities

High PI Bitumen
Low PI Bitumen

Multigrade:
combined and impro-
Stiffness

ved product charac- low temperature limit

terists at high as well for performance
as low temperatures.

high temperature limit

for performance Low PI

High PI

temperature range
for compaction
(High PI)

maximum viscosity for

satisfactory compaction
Viscosity

minimum viscosity for

satisfactory compaction
temperature range
for compaction
(Low PI)

-50 0 50 100 150

TEMPERATURE ° C

4 Biturox® Multigrade Bitumen © Pörner Ingenieurgesellschaft m.b.H.

Biturox® - Multigrade Bitumen

The designation Multigrade used in this leaflet has the same meaning as in the lubricating oil terminology.
Multigrade oils are characterised by a reduced dependence of viscosity with temperature. They are able
to do their services over a wider temperature range and are characterised by a high viscosity index. The
same system fits to bitumen products: Multigrade can be used in the above sense, viscosity index should be
replaced by penetration index - PI.

• The Feedstock
High molecular weight components of all chemical configuration types, present in most crude oils are suited
as feedstock for the Biturox® Process. The only exception is, when in the starting material for bitumen the
paraffinic hydrocarbons predominate. In this case the Paratox® process, a two-step Biturox® Process, has to
be used. The following products of refining activities are on the list of bitumen raw material:
• Vacuum residue (short residue) VR • Atmospheric residue (long residue)
• Pitch from bright stock de-asphalting PDA-P • Heavy vacuum gas oil HVGO
• Aromatic extracts from lubricating oil processing EXT • Heavy cycle oils from cracking, visbreaking, coking

• The Method
High quality bitumen must show a harmonic distribution of saturates, aromatics, resins and asphaltenes.
Biturox® multigrade bitumen is made by the method of composition control.
Several raw material components of different chemical nature are selected and combined to an adequate
feed composition. This composition is forwarded to the Biturox® Process where it is integrated by air oxidation
under clearly defined and absolutely controlled processing conditions.

• Biturox® -controlled operation

ANALYSIS OF PROCESSING UNDER

The Biturox® reactor is the perfect tool for such operation: FEED COMPONENTS
BY SCANNING
SPECIFIC PRESSURE
AND TEMPERATURE

efficient, controllable and safe. The feed composition is proc- VR

EXT
essed very gently under elevated pressure and the polarity of
the aromatic components is increased minimising the risks of
local overheating and coke build-up. Internal reactor cooling
allows exact temperature control. The process runs continu- PDA-P
HVGO
OPTIMIZED FEED
OPTIMIZED FINAL

ously resulting in a consistent and homogenous finished pro-

PRODUCT MEETING
COMPOSITION BY
TARGET SPECIFICATION
PILOT TESTING
(MULTIGRADE)

duct quality. Biturox® Process Scheme © Pörner Ingenieurgesellschaft m.b.H.

Conclusion
Bitumen as the residue of crude is chemically very complex. Taking advantage from its research database
and many hundreds of pilot tests carried out on crudes from all over the world, Pörner has gained the experi-
ence to optimise feedstock compositions and to design the process most adequate to make a quality product -
even from cheaper feed components.
The Biturox® Process creates and preserves the valuable medium molecular weight aroma-
tics in bitumen improving the elastic properties as well as adhesion on the aggregate. The
result is a product with tailored chemical structure and optimum quality characteristics:
5
Biturox® Multigrade Bitumen.
5
 The Biturox® pla
Product Storage
and Loading
Product storage designed to keep
the product homogeneous.

“BituFil” stations for automated

loading of product to rail wagon or
Feedstock Section tank trucks.
Circulation in the tanks to establish
an uniform temperature profile.

Utilities
Plant and instrument
air.
Electrical power, steam,
water

Product Section
Product blending for tailor-made
products (optional).
Heat recovery for pre-heating.
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ant

Reactor
Inner loop type reactor
design warrants optimised
but also very gentle treat-
ment of the medium.
Operation is very safe due to
total utilisation of air oxygen.

Pre-heating
Pre-heating of feedstock
blend to processing tem-
perature. © Pörner Ingenieurgesellschaft
7 7
 Research and Piloting
Biturox® Research Facilities
For more than 30 years the Biturox® Research Centre is an excellently performing service provider to the
whole industry, making or using bitumen. Up to date laboratory and semi-technical research and development
facilities, analytical methods of newest standard and the backup of the nearby OMV refinery enabled and
promoted Pörner‘s efforts to stock-up the most comprehensive expertise on bitumen making world-wide.
Two Biturox® pilot plants are available for practical testing of feedstock or composition of several components
in batch or continuous operating mode. The results of pilot tests are used as design basis for Biturox® plants
(i.e. reactor rating). Reference samples can be produced from defined feed compositions ready for further
applied testing by the client.
All results of basic and applied research work, the experience gathered during design, construction, start-up
and routine operation of the numerous Biturox® plants, the information feedback from the Biturox® licensees,
the newest findings of the Biturox® Enhancement Technique (chemical upgrading of bitumen) and, obviously,
the performance reports on application of Biturox® bitumen have been collected in a most comprehensive
database.

Target
Many bitumen research institutes over-emphasise the significance of crude oil provenance and compositional
classification, simultaneously neglecting to notice and to review the chances, which lie in the thermo-chemical
modification of an almost unlimited palette of crude oil derived feedstock.
The main objective of the Biturox® Research Facilities is therefore, to find methods how to optimise the chemi-
cal composition of bitumen, namely reaction conditions, which promote the synthesis of polar, aromatic com-
pounds and suppress the decomposition of asphaltenes to coke.
But finally the goals of the said efforts have to be to satisfy the market demand for bitumen qualities with
outstanding and superior application characteristics at a reasonable low price.

Desired characteristics Problems to solve

Fatique resistance Chemical composition
Ability for emulsion Life time
Stiffness Cracking at low temperatures
Good short- and long-term aging properties Rutting at high temperatures
Compatibility with polymers Optimise adhesive properties
Stability

Result
The Biturox® technology is a representative example how applied and scientific research can be conducted
effectively, rewarding and to the benefit of many people, driving on good roads, living in comfortable accom-
modations and both under cost-saving conditions.
Biturox® MBW
Mitteldeutsches Bitumenwerk
Granschütz, Germany

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Project realization

The Pörner Group is, as documented in this brochure, the most experienced bitumen plant designer and con-
structor worldwide. The volume of data in the electronic files is the basis for an expedient and cost-saving
project realisation in every single step. The table below gives a general overview of the scope and steps of the
realisation of a “turn-key grass-root” project:
• Preliminary studies, information & data collection
• Feasibility study
• Evaluation of raw material, laboratory & pilot-plant testing
• Evaluation of the technical, commercial, legal and
ecological conditions
• Presentation of the recommendations to and
acknowledgement by the client
• Action planning, scheduling, project cost assessment
• Chemical, mechanical, civil basic and detail Biturox ESHA,
®

Amsterdam, Nether-
engineering lands

• Approval of the final project documents by the

client and by the supervising authorities
• Procurement & logistics of equipment and material
• Engagement and supervision of contractors
• General on-site supervision of the construction work
• Project progress reporting and documentation
• Commission of the completed plant
• Presentation of the plant and operation manuals to the client
• Test run & staff training
• Project post-completion auditing and services
From Lab Tests to
Turn Key Realization

Pörner has learned a lot about bitumen

in more than 35 years.
Make advantage not to repeat any mistake from which Pörner has learned in three decades of plant construction!

With Pörner the world of

Biturox® bitumen is yours.
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 The Proof: Bitur
Project Client Operator Location Country Year

Biturox® Wörth Mobil Oil Wörth Mobil Oil Wörth Wörth Germany 1978

Biturox® Esfahan NIOC NIOC Esfahan Iran 1988

Biturox® Kaoshiung CPC CPC Kaohsiung Taiwan 1990

Biturox® Bandar Abbas NIOC NIOC Bandar Abbas Iran 1991

Biturox® Adelaide Mobil Oil Australia Mobil Adelaide Australia 1992

Biturox® Plock PKN Orlen Orlen Asfalt Plock Poland 1994

Biturox® Madras CPCL CPCL Refinery Chennai India 1994

Bitukomb Lisichansk Lisichanskij NPZ Lisichanskij NPZ Lisichansk Ukraine 1995

Biturox® OMV
Schwechat, Austria
Biturox® Mangalore Toyo Engineering MRPL Mangalore India 1995
Azerneftyag
Biturox® Baku Azerneftyag Baku Azerbaidjan 1995
Refinery
Biturox® Krasnovodsk NEKRA NEKRA Turkmenbashi Turkmenistan 1995

Fact Sheet Fact Sheet

Configuration Configuration 1 Reactor, Feedstock hea-
1 Reactor, Feedstock hea-
ting/cooling through direct ting/Product cooling through
heat exchange, Scrubber, spiral heat exchanger and
Offgas-Incinerator hot oil
Capacity
circulation, Scrubber and
1,080 tons/day
Offgas-Incinerator
Image
Capacity 192 tons/day
Image

Fact Sheet
Configuration 1 Reactor, Feedstock
heating/Product cooling
through direct heat
exchange, Knock Out Drum,
Offgas-Incinerator, Pipeline,
truck-, drum- and bag filling
Capacity 400 tons/day
Image

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rox References
®

Project Client Operator Location Country Year

Biturox® Rayong LGEN IPRC PCL Rayong Thailand 1996

Biturox® Visakh HPCL Visakh Refinery Visakhapatnam India 1998

Biturox® Amsterdam ESHA ESHA Amsterdam Netherlands 1998

Biturox® Myanmar Fritz Werner MPE Yangon Myanmar 1999

Biturox® Chelyabinsk Dept. Car Roads Dept. Car Roads Chelyabinsk Russia 2000

Biturox® Bharat BPCL Mumbai Refinery Mumbai India 2000

Biturox® Jarbit Jarbit Jarbit Jaroslavl Russia 2002

Biturox® Taiwan Simosa Oil Corp. Simosa Oil Corp. Mailiao Taiwan 2002
Biturox® plant
Biturox® Gujarat IOCL Gujarat Refinery Vadodara India 2002 Jaroslavl, Russia

Biturox® Lavéra Innovene Innovene Lavéra France 2004

Biturox® Gdansk Grupa Lotos Lotos Asfalt Gdansk Poland 2005

Biturox® Schwechat OMV OMV Schwechat Austria 2006

Biturox® Nizhnekamsk TAIF-NK TAIF-NK Nizhnekamsk Russia 2007

Biturox® Cochin BPCL Kochi Refinery Cochin India 2008

Fact Sheet
Scope of Basic design for the process
services and off-plot units, detailed
engineering, procurement
Fact Sheet
Scope of Basic design, detailed
and supply of the plant
services engineering, procurement
equipment and material, site
supervision, start-up, training and supply of the process
and documentation (general unit, site su pervision,
contracting) start-up assistance, training
Capacity
and documentation
480 tons/day
Capacity 1,032 tons/day
Image
Image

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WWW.BITUROX.COM

Pörner Ingenieurgesellschaft mbH

Hamburgerstraße 9
A-1050 Vienna
Austria
Tel.: +43 (1) 589 90-0
Fax: +43 (1) 589 90-99
Email: vienna@poerner.at
Web: www.poerner.at
www.biturox.com