Asphalt air blowing with liquid jet ejector and coil

A process for increasing the softening point of asphalt comprising the following steps:

• providing an eductor comprising a motive inlet, a motive nozzle, a suction port, a main eductor body, a venturi throat and diffuser, and a discharge connection;
• conducting a preheated asphalt feed including fresh asphalt and recycled oxidized asphalt, at a temperature from 150° C. to 300° C., as a motive liquid into the motive inlet of the eductor;
• drawing an input gas containing oxygen into the suction port of the eductor;
• mixing the preheated asphalt within the main eductor body with the input gas from the suction port of the eductor to form a gas/asphalt mixture;
• conducting the gas/asphalt mixture to a heated and pressurized oxidizer vessel via piping connected to the discharge connection of the eductor, wherein the piping enables a bubble flow pattern to develop therein to enable reaction of the oxygen with the asphalt, the conducting comprising conducting the gas/asphalt mixture via the piping for a residence time of at least 5 seconds;
• ejecting the oxygen entrained asphalt mixture from an exit port of the piping, wherein the exit port of the piping is within the oxidizer vessel;
• and
• collecting off-gas from the overhead of the oxidizer vessel and an oxidized asphalt product stream from the bottom of the oxidizer vessel, and recycling a portion of the oxidized asphalt product stream back to the eductor to form the recycled oxidized asphalt;
• and
• wherein the oxidized asphalt product stream has a softening temperature greater than the preheated asphalt feed.