Is Bitumen Renewable?
Bitumen is a petroleum derivative That is non-renewable, most of the time, crude oil is used to get bitumen
About Bitumen
Bitumen is a black, sticky material that is used to insulate forms and make asphalt
There are different kinds of bitumen, and each one is used for something different
Bitumen is a hydrocarbon that is black to dark brown and completely dissolves in carbon sulphide and carbon tetrachloride
Bitumen is stable in nature, but as the temperature goes up, it becomes a paste and then a liquid
Bitumen is used a lot because it has two important qualities that make it useful
Most of the time, crude oil is used to get bitumen
This kind of bitumen is known as either petroleum bitumen or distillate bitumen
Oil bitumen is made when crude oil goes through two stages of distillation in a tower called a distillation tower
The first step in distillation is to separate gasoline and propane from crude oil
This process is done at a pressure that is close to 1 atm (unit)
Heavy compounds like diesel and kerosene are taken out in the second step
This process happens when the pressure is almost as low as a vacuum
In the end, what’s left is a mixture of very small solid particles called asphaltene, which is soaked in a fluid that looks like grease and is called maltene
But some kinds of bitumen can be made in nature by breaking down crude oil and letting its volatile parts evaporate over many years
This kind of bitumen is called “natural bitumen,” and it lasts longer than bitumen made from oil
This kind of bitumen can be found in pure form in places like the Behbahan Bitumen Lake in Iran and the Trinidad Bitumen Lake in the United States
It can also be taken from mines
