Asphalt plants are essential construction equipment designed to produce asphalt mixtures, crucial materials employed across various construction endeavors. These mixtures, combining aggregates and bitumen, serve as the foundation for numerous applications within the construction sector. It is widely applied for the construction of pavements of highways, parking lots, airport expressways, and road construction. As a result, asphalt plants play an indispensable role in producing construction products for the industry. Below is the details of the different types of asphalt plants and their working.
Types of Asphalt Plants
In terms of working principle, the asphalt plants for sale in the market can be divided into batch mix type and drum mix type. Check the follwing description about them below.
- Batch Mix Asphalt Plant: The batch mix asphalt plant is a type of plant used for the production of asphalt in batches. In the working process, raw materials such as aggregates (sand, gravel, crushed stone), filler (stone dust), and bitumen (a sticky, black, and viscous form of petroleum) are weighed and mixed in designated proportions to create asphalt mixtures. The mixing process takes place in batches, where each batch of raw materials is blended and heated separately.
- Drum Mix Asphalt Plant: The drum mix asphalt plant, as the name suggests, is designed to produce asphalt continuously. Unlike batch plants, where each batch is produced separately, drum mix plants operate in a continuous manner, allowing for a steady output of asphalt.
How Does an Asphalt Plant Work?
Based on the two different kinds of asphalt plants for sale, I would introduce you how do the asphalt plants work at the construction site.
How Does An Asphalt Batch Mix Plant Work?
- Aggregate Weighing and Drying: Aggregates are stored in the cold aggregate bins. The aggregates are extracted from these bins and transported to a dryer. In the dryer, the aggregates are heated to remove moisture and achieve the desired temperature for mixing. The heated aggregates are then conveyed to the next stage.
- Asphalt Heating and Pumping: Asphalt binder is stored in tanks. The required amount of asphalt is pumped from the storage tanks and heated to the appropriate temperature. Once heated, the asphalt is ready to be mixed with the aggregates.
- Mixing: The heated aggregates and asphalt binder are mixed in the asphalt mixer. The mixing process ensures thorough coating of aggregates with the asphalt binder, creating a homogeneous mixture. Different batches of asphalt mix can be produced by adjusting the proportions of aggregates and asphalt.
- Discharge: Once the mixing process is complete, the batch of hot asphalt mix is discharged from the mixer into trucks or finial product storage silos.
How Does An Asphalt Drum Mix Plant Work?
- Aggregate Feeding: Aggregates are stored in cold feed bins, and they are transported and fed into the drum.
- Drying and Mixing: The aggregates move through a rotating drum where they are dried by a burner and simultaneously mixed with the bitumen and other additives. The constant movement of the drum ensures thorough mixing and heating.
- Hot Mix Discharge: The heated and mixed asphalt is discharged at the end of the drum. It is usually stored temporarily in a hot mix storage silo before being loaded onto trucks for transportation.
You maybe have a better understanding about how does a asphalt plant work. If you want to know more about technical details during working, welcome to contact us for answers. AIMIX engineers are always here to answer your questions. Contact us right now!