Bituminous foam
AssigneeTotalfinaelf Bitumen Limited
InventorLeslie Hoad
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A method of producing a bituminous foam includes supplying a bitumen in water emulsion from a tank (2) into primary and secondary heating circuits (8, 34), whereby the emulsion is heated (via heating coils 12 and 12′) and its pressure raised such that, on discharge to ambient conditions via outlet pipes (30 or 30′), the emulsion foams as water evaporates therefrom.
Claims34
A method of producing a bituminous foam, the method comprising raising the temperature of an emulsion which includes bitumen and a liquid which is substantially insoluble in said bitumen (hereafter “said insoluble liquid”);
- and discharging said emulsion from a first environment wherein the pressure is P1 to a second environment wherein the pressure is P2 and P1>P2, whereby said emulsion foams after discharge into said second environment.
A method of contacting a substrate with a bituminous foam, the method comprising:
- (a) providing a bituminous foam by raising the temperature of an emulsion which includes bitumen and a liquid which is substantially insoluble in said bitumen, and discharging said emulsion from a first environment wherein the pressure is P1 to a second environment wherein the pressure is P2 and P1>P2, whereby said emulsion foams after discharge into said second environment;
- and (b) directing the foam towards said substrate thereby to contact it.
A bituminous foam produced in a method comprising raising the temperature of an emulsion which includes bitumen and a liquid which is substantially insoluble in said bitumen, and discharging said emulsion from a first environment wherein the pressure is P1 to a second environment wherein the pressure is P2 and P1>P2, whereby said emulsion foams after discharge into said second environment.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.