Evaluation on the Physical Properties of Asphaltene-Modified Bitumen

Bitumen is composed of four primary fractions, which are saturate, asphaltene, resin, and aromatic. All fractions are important in determining the linear viscoelastic behavior of bitumen including asphaltene. Changes in asphaltene content affected the stiffness and viscosity of bitumen. This study assesses the influenced of asphaltene on the physical properties of bitumen penetration grade 60/70 bitumen. Various asphaltene contents with 1%, 2%, 3%, 4%, and 5% were added and tested for the laboratory test. The test includes a penetration test, a softening point test, and a rotational viscosity test. Asphaltene-modified bitumen was compared to control bitumen to determine the optimum asphaltene content required. Conventional bitumen penetration grade 60/70 and PG 76 bitumen were used as a control bitumen in this study. The results show that increased asphaltene contents elevate the stiffness and viscosity of bitumen. Thus, the recommended amount of asphaltene content to be added into the bitumen is 5% of the total weight of bitumen. The findings show that asphaltene is an efficient and affordable additive to enhance the properties of bitumen.