The 4th dimension: REaktivAsphalt – revolution in road construction

Road construction materials have their own history. While in the beginning, the focus was mainly on the functionality of road surfaces and less on environmental friendliness and minimising possible health hazards, today the demands have changed considerably.

Four development phases – which we refer to as “dimensions” – make this clear:

1st dimension – flux bitumen: Bitumen is rendered workable by a highly volatile solvent or a low-volatility flux oil. During the setting process, these environmentally problematic solvent vapours either escape again (VOCs) or the bitumen remains permanently soft.

2nd dimension – hot bitumen: Bitumen is rendered workable by heating it up to 200 °C. The rocks used in asphalt must also be dried and heated to a high temperature. The energy demand here is high, and the environment and the bitumen “suffer” accordingly due to premature ageing. Setting takes place through cooling.

3rd dimension – bitumen emulsions: Bitumen becomes workable by emulsifying with water. This prevents VOCs, and solar energy is used for setting instead of fossil energy, which is beneficial for the environment. In the “RapsAsphalt” variant, renewable raw materials also replace a portion of the bitumen.

4th dimension – REaktivBitumen: In this innovation from Vialit, the first of its kind in the world, a considerable amount of the bitumen of fossil origin is replaced by renewable liquid raw materials, allowing it to be processed (in a cold state). During the setting process, environmentally friendly reactive curing takes place, which can be initiated by water.

REaktivAsphalt – revolutionary, innovative, environmentally friendly

Based on ReaktivBitumen, Vialit REaktivAsphalt is the result of many years of research. It opens a completely new chapter in the history of bitumen processing and asphalt production. The REaktivAsphalt brand is an absolute world first. The principle: Instead of a bitumen made workable through the application of heat, emulsification or the use of solvents, a pioneering binder system was created from bitumen and renewable raw materials that sets emission-free and, in the process, undergoes a strong increase in viscosity from viscous to “stable”. This change in consistency takes place within a short time (about 1 hour, depending on the ambient temperature) and is brought about by simple reaction mechanisms, such as the addition of water.

As a road surface, REaktivAsphalt is:

• 100% solvent free
• recyclable
• made from natural raw materials
• can be processed cold
• reacts with pure water
• • After only a short time, REaktivAsphalt has the properties of conventional hot mix asphalt.