Roofing Process PDF Print E-mail
The majority of roofing manufacturers are using different asphalt/bitumen formulations to satisfy various climatic requirements. Today modified asphalt/bitumen membranes arethe fastest growing roofing materials in the industry.

The three basic grades of roofing asphalt are:

•    Saturant-grade asphalt, usually oxidized asphalt (could be non oxidized as well, but only in cold climates, since it has poor heat resistance).  This material is used to manufacture saturated felt plies utilized in the manufacture of built-up roofing (BUR) systems*, organic felt shingles, and other roofing products such as roll roofing.

•    Coating-grade asphalt, an oxidized asphalt used to manufacture roofing materials for a variety of roofing systems such as asphalt shingles, polymer-modified bitumen roofing, reinforcing and underlayment felts, and roll roofing products.

•    Mopping-grade asphalt, an oxidized asphalt that is melted and used in the construction of BUR and modified bitumen systems. Each grade of asphalt is also used to manufacture a variety of asphalt coatings and sealant products.

*Components of a BUR system include the roof deck, a vapor barrier, insulation, membrane and surfacing material. The components are assembled at the job site to actually form the built-up roof. At the heart of this roofing system is the roofing membrane, which consists of roofing bitumen and multiple reinforcing plies of roofing felt.



STRATCO’S INVOLVEMENT IN THE ROOFING INDUSTRY

STRATCO is specifically involved in providing blending equipment for the roofing industry, which can be integrated to any kind of system to replace existing blending equipment and reaction vessels.

The STRATCO® Modified Asphalt Contactor™ reactor (MAC) was designed to disperse high concentration of mineral fillers in high viscosity fluids, which could mean both neat asphalt/bitumen and polymer modified asphalt/bitumen.

Depending on the type of polymer modifier, the use of a colloid mill might be not necessary.

The MAC can be used in several ways in a roofing materials production:
I.      asphalt modification and/or mineral filler dispersion for continuous of batch operation
II.     booster heater for fillcoat stream for both batch or continuous operation
III.    surge tank and booster heater for fillcoat stream for both batch and continuous operation

The next sections contain general flow charts of the different scenarios described above and the advantages that could be beneficial for a manufacturer of roofing materials.

If you are looking for only equipment description, please click here.


I.    ASPHALT/BITUMEN MODIFICATION, MINERAL FILLER DISPERSION IN CONTINUOUS OR BATCH OPERATION

The following is a typical general configuration for a roof shingle asphalt manufacturing process. If an easily dissolved polymer is utilized (e.g. APP) in the binder, followed by a better mineral filler dispersion. The circle, including the colloid mill is required only if asphalt modification is part of the process otherwise no need for that (market with blue in the flowchart - Figure 1.).





















Figure 1. General flow chart of continuous or batch asphalt/bitumen modification and filler dispersion.

Advantages:
•    Reduced asphalt/bitumen modification time compared to conventional technology.
•    Higher concentration of mineral fillers could be dispersed into the binder compared to a conventional blender. This results material cost savings.
•    Reduced operation costs realized by significant heating energy savings and faster filler dispersion.



II. MINERAL FILLER DISPERSION IN CONTINUOUS OPERATION

When only the mineral fillers are needed to be dispersed into asphalt/bitumen a simplified configuration should be used (Figure 2.)























Figure 2. General flow chart of continuous mineral filler dispersion (into neat or modified binder).

Advantages:
•    Reduced asphalt modification time compared to conventional technology.
•    Higher concentration of mineral fillers could be dispersed into the binder compared to a conventional blender. This results material cost savings.
•    Reduced operation costs realized by significant heating energy savings and faster filler dispersion.



III. BOOSTER HEATER FOR BOTH BATCH AND CONTINUOUS OPERATION























Figure 3. General flow chart of utilization the MAC as booster heater.

Advantages:
•    Reduced operation costs realized by significant heating energy savings.
•    Better control of fillcoat stream at higher temperatures allowing higher production.



IV. COMBINATION OF SURGE TANK AND BOOSTER HEATER FOR BOTH BATCH AND CONTINUOUS OPERATION























Figure 4. General flow chart of utilization the MAC as booster heater and a surge tank together.

Advantages:
•    Lower thermal energy consumption, compared to conventional configurations. This results in significant heating energy savings.
•    Compact overall system size.
•    No settling issues even at very high filler concentrations.


For further, more detailed technical information please contact us.
Last Updated ( Tuesday, 03 November 2009 21:54 )