bitumen
Sign in to savethumb|Natural bitumen from the Dead Sea thumb|Refined bitumen thumb|upright|The University of Queensland [[pitch drop experiment, demonstrating the viscosity of bitumen]]
AI overview
Bitumen is a thick, sticky substance derived from crude oil that is commonly used to bind materials together in asphalt for roads and other construction projects. It's an important material in modern infrastructure because of its ability to hold road surfaces together while remaining flexible enough to withstand temperature changes and traffic wear.
AI-generated from the Wikipedia summary — may contain errors.
Article
36 sectionsContents
- Terminology
- Etymology
- Modern terminology
- Composition
- Normal composition
- Additives, mixtures and contaminants
- Occurrence
- History
- Paleolithic times
- Ancient times
- Continental Europe
- United Kingdom
- United States
- Canada
- Photography and art
- Modern use
- Global use
- Rolled asphalt concrete
- Mastic asphalt
- Bitumen emulsion
- Synthetic crude oil
- Non-upgraded crude bitumen
- Radioactive waste encapsulation matrix
- Other uses
- Production
- Oil sands
- Alternatives and bioasphalt
- Albanian deposits
- Recycling
- Economics
- Health and safety
- See also
- Notes
- References
- Sources
- External links
thumb|Natural bitumen from the Dead Sea thumb|Refined bitumen thumb|upright|The University of Queensland [[pitch drop experiment, demonstrating the viscosity of bitumen]]
Bitumen ( , ) is an immensely viscous constituent of petroleum. Depending on its exact composition, it can be a sticky, black liquid or an apparently solid mass that behaves as a liquid over very large time scales. In American English, the material is commonly referred to as asphalt. Whether found in natural deposits or refined from petroleum, the substance is classed as a pitch. Prior to the 20th century, the term asphaltum was in general use. The word derives from the Ancient Greek word (), which referred to natural bitumen or pitch. The largest natural deposit of bitumen in the world is the Pitch Lake of southwest Trinidad, which is estimated to contain 10 million tons.