July | 2020 | | Zista Gilsonite

Gilsonite Sealer and Gilsonite Driveway Sealer

Gilsonite Sealer

For Asphalt Pavements, a Seal Coating material called pavement sealer is applied. Sealer is a protective liquid coating. Pavement Sealer is applied to asphalt pavements surface to protect it against environmental corrosion effects. Gilsonite can used to make asphalt pavement sealers as raw material liquidized into a bituminous soft material in a suspension mix. Gilsonite Sealer can be applied easily on asphalt same as paint on wooden surfaces. Gilsonite Sealer has unique characteristics which provides strong binding with the asphalt bituminous content and provides the essential protection against cracking, especially from freeze/thaw cycle.

Gilsonite Sealer usage in streets and highways

Gilsonite properties provides longevity to asphalt based and emulsion based pavements. The nature of Gilsonite Sealer results in regeneration of molecular bonds within the pavement surface and assist in coloring effects providing a shinier fresh black surface. For this unique properties Gilsonite Sealer is applied vastly in Driveways and also in streets and avenues in addition to high traffic road such as highways. It is tested that applying Gilsonite Seal Coating maintenance every 1-2 years could result in increasing the pavement shelf life to 25 years. Also Gilsonite sealer could be blended with asphaltic pavement waste to make new pavement.

Benefits of Gilsonite Sealer

To summarize applying Gilsonite Sealer to asphalt pavements has the below advantages:

Enhanced Visual Appearance
Increase in Weather Resistance properties (anti-oxidation effect)
Excellent Bonding with asphalt wearing course
Crack Filling Effects
Regeneration of Bonds on Wearing course
Increase in pavement longevity
Chemical Resistance (automotive leaks) and water resistance
Stronger Frost Resistance in Cold Weather
Easy to Apply
Supply availability on commercial scale and vast availability on consumer scale

Gilsonite Sealer Prices

Since Gilsonite Sealer is liquid, unlike Gilsonite which is sold by weight, Sealer is sold by liters. On consumer level each liter of Gilsonite Sealer is purchased at 3.5-5 USD depending on the manufacturer and packaging. In USA, the largest market of Gilsonite Sealers in the world, the material is sold per Gallon around 15 USD and it is available in most of tool shops as driveways are an integral part of middle class Americans.

On Commercial level, Gilsonite Sealer Bulk price could be as low as 1.5 USD/Liter depending on the applied Gilsonite Supply and penetration bitumen prices in the manufacturing country.

Is Gilsonite Sealer Same as Liquid Gilsonite?

No, Gilsonite Sealer is a suspension blend of melted Gilsonite with another bituminous material while Liquid Gilsonite defines natural bitumen ores with very low softening point. Liquid Gilsonite could be used as pavement sealer, but the general application is in Oil Drilling. So Liquid Gilsonite is a natural resource while Gilsonite Sealer is a manufactured product.

Other Pavement Sealers

In addition to Gilsonite Sealer there are numerous sealers which are being applied internationally. Some are as below:

Sealer	Pros	Cons
Gilsonite Sealer	As mentioned Above	Relatively Expensive
Asphalt Emulsion Sealers	Anti-Oxidant Less Air Pollution Better Smell	Staining Effects Needs Certain Temperature Unstable Pricing
Coal Tar Sealers	Weather Resistance Shiny Wearing Course Resistant to Petrol Based Chemicals	Possibility of Water Pollution, Health Damage and Environmental Damages
Fast Dry Sealers	Quick Drying Suitable for High Traffic Roads	Relatively Expensive Lack of Supply on Consumer Scale
Acrylic Sealers	Multi-Color Availability Weather Resistance High Traffic Spaces Application UV resistance Highly Durable Environment Friendly Low Maintenance Cost (reapplied every 7 years)	Very Expensive

Zista Gilsonite Sealer Products

As a high scale Gilsonite supplier with investment in mining operations, Zista Gilsonite has access to variety of natural bitumen deposits in order to make a blend of Bitumen and Gilsonite. Production of Gilsonite sealer is a customized job at Zista Gilsonite and it is arranged by blending 50% of Solid Gilsonite powder into a low softening point Bitumen plus certain fuel additives. At the moment the supply is only available in Bulk and for commercial purposes and we hope to provide our packaged consumer friendly products within near future in order to expand our market size.

Advantage of Zista Gilsonite Sealer is customized formulation for buyers as per commercial buyers needs and requirements and the blending is executed in-house in Zista Group Oxidized Bitumen Facility.

July 28, 2020/0 Comments/by hamed

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Gilsonite Vs. TLA

What is TLA

TLA stands for Trinidad Lake Asphalt which is one kind of natural bitumen deposits with relatively higher ash content and less bitumen content, mostly found in form of pitch lakes. Most famous Lake asphalt in the world is Trinidad Lake asphalt while deposits have been found in other countries including Iran. Unlike Gilsonite which has a wide range of applications, TLA has been found useful only in Pavement applications to mix with Penetration Bitumen to increase pavement qualities. This has caused international use of Lake asphalt in Bridges and Airport Runway pavements.

TLA natural characteristics provide an economical chance for blending with Hot Bitumen without further temperature insertion. The practice is based the softening point of TLA to be less than the softening point of the Hot Mix.

TLA exploitation is a Monopoly in Trinidad and Tobacco in the name of Lake Asphalt of Trinidad and Tobago limited and the rumor is ownership of this company belongs to American Entities providing an international sales network with enough control Not to affect the current Gilsonite market in the pavement sector.

Difference between Gilsonite and TLA

Difference between Gilsonite and TLA is by Nature. While both materials have originated from Crude Oil, the molecular structure are very different resulting in a very different specification. In the below table you can find a comparison between Gilsonite from 3 origins (Iran, Uzbekistan and USA) with 2 Lake asphalts (Iran and Trinidad):

Specifications	American Gilsonite	Iran Gilsonite	Uzbek Natural Bitumen	Trinidad Lake Asphalt (TLA)	Iran Lake Asphalt
Softening Point °©	140-170	160-220	140-180	90-100	90-110
Bitumen Content (wt%)	95-98	50-98	95-98	50-55	60-70
Ash Content (wt%)	0.5-1.5	3-30	0.5-2	35-40	30-35
Sulfur Content (wt%)	<1	6-10	4-8	2-4	6-10
Moisture Content (wt%)	<1	<1	<1	<5	<2
Specific Gravity	1.04-1.06	1.05-1.1	1.04-1.08	1.3-1.5	1.3-1.5
Powder Supply	Yes	Yes	No	No	Yes

Gilsonite Vs. TLA in Asphalt Pavements

For improving pavement characteristics, including strength, longevity and binding, the natural bitumen must be added to a penetration bitumen grade such as 60/70 or 40-50. Gilsonite Vs TLA needs less percentage of addition from 5-10% while TLA has to be mixed up to 30%. While low softening point of TLA makes an easier blending into the hot mix, Gilsonite high softening point requires the blender to apply a higher temperature to the mix in order to melt the Gilsonite fully.

In addition, lower ash content of Gilsonite provides a better resistance to cracking comparing to TLA. He high ash content of TLA will act as non-bituminous aggregate unless filtered. Therefore, Gilsonite Vs TLA has a better cracking resistance.

Another comparison aspect could be content of Bitumen. Gilsonite suitable for asphalt binder has minimum 90% Solubility in TCE (Bitumen content) while TLA bitumen content is below 60%. Therefore, the binding strength of the two materials have different effect on the courses of asphalt.

The basic advantage of TLA Vs Gilsonite is price. TLA costs roughly around penetration bitumen price delivered to most destinations while American Gilsonite is twice the Penetration Bitumen prices. Using high quality Iran Gilsonite could improve the economics, but still more expensive than TLA prices.

July 14, 2020/3 Comments/by hamed

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Trinidad Lake Asphalt

Description to Trinidad Lake Asphalt

Trinidad Lake Asphalt commonly called TLA is among the oldest resources of asphalt products going back to 100 years. The expression applies to Natural Bitumen Lake (pitch Lake) located in south west of Trinidad. The Lake is over 40 hectares which the Lake asphalt has surfaced and is ready to collect. The material is Semi-Solid and an emulsion of water and bituminous compound.

In order to reach a suitable material, the mined Trinidad Lake Asphalt has to be processed to some extent as the gravels and other impurities are pasted to the product within the Lake. The reason is the boiling out of the TLA from the ground causing its mixture with the earth and gravels. Separately from the outside impurity, Trinidad Lake Asphalt also contains a high ratio of Internal Impurities, scientifically called Ash Content which is not possible to remove by refining.

Behavior of Trinidad Lake Asphalt

Trinidad Lake Asphalt has interesting rheology behavior. It reacts well with any refinery bitumen matter considering its bitumen content to be mostly made of maltenes. Also TLA is easily melted at relatively low temperatures causing easy to use procedures in any hot mix of bituminous blends. The reaction of Trinidad lake asphalt with normal Asphalt Binders such as penetration bitumen is solid and considering the same origin of both (crude oil) the bonding evolves into a new material with superior characteristics for the pavement.

Typical Physical Properties

Trinidad Lake Asphalt has the below general properties which is also compared to a similar resource of Lake Asphalt located in Iran:

Specifications	Trinidad Lake Asphalt (TLA)	Iran Lake Asphalt
Softening Point °©	90-100	90-110
Solubility in TCE (wt%)	50-55	60-70
Penetration @ 25°©	0-4	0-4
Maltene (wt% of Bitumen Content)	63-66	50-65
Ash Content (wt%)	35-40	30-35
Sulfur Content (wt%)	2-4	6-10
Moisture Content (wt%)	<5	<2
Specific Gravity	1.3-1.5	1.3-1.5

Advantage of Using TLA

Applying Trinidad Lake asphalt can enhance the bituminous pavement quality in several aspects. In mixing TLA with common pavement grades of penetration bitumen such as 40/50, 60/70 and 80/100, the complex modulus and phase angle of binders were separately increased and decreased with the rise in TLA content, while aging phenomenon was reduced and RUTTING resistance was increased.

Another study shows Trinidad Lake Asphalt makes it easy to generate segregation phenomenon in binders. Also the range of Viscosity in the asphalt and binder remains stable when applying TLA (Mixture Stability Effect). When applying, the more TLA applied, the larger increase will happen in large molecules, small molecules and Polydispersity Index.

Mixing TLA with common binders also increases anti-aging effects by increasing ketone and sulfoxide molecules. In addition to above, some more advantages of using Trinidad Lake Asphalt are:

Increased Pavement Durability
Layer Equivalency
Improved Resistance to High-Temperature Deformations
Improved pavement load carrying
Improved whole-life pavement costs
A light colored, safer, surface and improved ability to display pigments effectively
Enhanced Skid Resistance Characteristics
Improved low temperature cracking characteristics

Trinidad Lake Asphalt Applications

TLA is used wherever a high quality and strong pavement is required and different type of payments such as Asphaltic Concrete, Mastic Asphalt and SMAs can include TLA. Most common applications of Trinidad Lake Asphalt are for Bridges, Airports, Heavy Traffic Highways, Race Tracks and Container Yards.

Trinidad Lake Asphalt Packaging

Trinidad Lake asphalt is available in Jumbo Bags, Drums and Kraft Paper Capsules. Considering the Semi-Liquid nature of the material, smaller packaging from Trinidad Lake Asphalt Suppliers have Not been successful. Comparing to TLA, Iran Lake Asphalt has a higher softening point allowing it to be powdered before packing resulting in several type of packaging including 25kg Paper/PP/Meltable bags and Jumbo bags.

July 14, 2020/0 Comments/by hamed

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Asphalt Binder

An overview on Asphalt Binder

asphalt binder also called asphalt cement binder, is a binder to keep the aggregates together like paste in asphalt mixes. In each asphalt cement there are several ingredients including sands and gravels which are applied in several layers. Asphalt Binder keeps these layers intact individually and also binds the layers together.

What are asphalt binders made of

Asphalt Binders are mostly made of Petroleum residue derivatives, commonly called Bitumen. Asphalt is a viscous black semi-liquid material which is originally from Crude Oil, either by refining and distillation or by availability on Natural Asphalt deposits. The general structure of the binder must include a reasonable amount of Bituminous content while having a proper density and softening point to act properly in the Hot Mix Asphalt. Commonly, penetration bitumen is one of the most famous asphalt binders while natural products including TLA (Trinidad Lake Asphalt) and Gilsonite have been used successfully for the same application, in case applied correctly. For example, in South China, by using a unique technic, Gilsonite with no more than 70% bitumen content is used as asphalt binder considering the special characteristics of Natural Bitumen which provides an enhanced reaction with the aggregates comparing normal binder products.

What would you like to know about asphalt? Don’t miss the “What is Asphalt” article

Which property is most important for asphalt binder

At the basic stage, the design of the Asphalt Cement aggregates and the performance required by usage must be considered to achieve an optimum on economics and performance of the Asphalt Binder. For example, different aggregate types, could result in different performance by a same binder while the percentage of consumption could vary based on the expected lifecycle of the final pavement.

To categorize generally, among the specifications of asphalt binder, softening point, melting point, brittle point and general reactions to temperature are most important comparing to other aspects such as viscosity. At different temperature the binder will release different amount of bituminous matter for binding with aggregates and as outside temperature vary, it could break or strengthen the bonding. The nature of the binder defines how these temperature fluctuations will affect the asphalt pavement.

Lowest Pavement Outside Temperature	Highest Pavement Outside Temperature	Suggested Asphalt Binder
-16	70	Normal Bitumen
-16	76	High Quality Bitumen
-22	64	Normal Bitumen
	70	High Quality Bitumen
	76	Modifier Required
-28	52	Normal Bitumen
	64	High Quality Bitumen
	76	Modifier Required
-34	58	High Quality Bitumen
-34	76	Modifier Required
-40	76	Modifier Required

Typical Cost

As per shown in above table, numerous binders can be used as asphalt binder. Some common binders’ general prices are advised as below:

Bitumen 60/70 & Bitumen 80/100 – Normal Binder: 250 USD/MT FOB Persian Gulf
Trinidad Lake Asphalt – Low Quality Binder: 450 USD/MT DDP North China
American Gilsonite HMA Grade – High Quality Modifier: 1,200 USD/MT DDP European Union
Zista Gilsonite Asphalt Binder Grade – High Quality Modifier: 650 USD/MT FOB Persian Gulf

What is binder course in asphalt

Asphalt cement consists of several layers of Aggregates, including Binder Course where Asphalt Binder is mostly applied. Binder Course stands the shear forces below the asphalt surface and decreases rutting affects by providing sufficient stone-on-stone contact.

Are tar and asphalt the same thing

NO, asphalt and tar are NOT the same material nevertheless commonly mistaken together. Asphalt is made of Petroleum originated materials including bitumen, while Tar is a by-product of coal distillation with different application than petroleum asphalt. The mistake has caused by using Tar as a binder in Pavements in the older times when coal was the main source of energy. By emerging Crude Oil into the industries and countries, Asphalt has fully replaced Tar in road paving applications. Another common mistake with Asphalt is Pitch which refers to certain natural bitumen deposits with lower softening point and low quality of bitumen contents such as Pitch Lakes.

July 12, 2020/0 Comments/by hamed

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