Inorganic Pigments

Edition: January 2002

Technical Information Replaces edition: July 1998
Competence Center Construction

Colouring of Bituminous Mixes

Coloured bitumen concrete or mastic asphalt are frequently used to create

coloured surfaces for streets, squares, etc. In particular, red surfacing materi-
als are used for cycle paths, pavements and parking areas.

Inorganic pigments such as iron oxide, chrome oxide, titanium dioxide and
mixed phase pigments (e.g. cobalt blue) are especially suitable for colouring
bituminous mixes, the base products for bitumen concrete and mastic asphalt.
These pigments are both lightfast and weather-stable.

Organic pigments do not usually have the necessary heat and weather stabil-
ity. They are also more expensive so are generally not considered for this ap-
plication.

The binder used, i.e. the bitumen, also plays a role in the manufacture of col-
oured bituminous mixes. If only dark road bitumen or the somewhat lighter
"bitume pigmentable" (widely used in France) are available, only iron oxide red
and, perhaps, chrome oxide green are suitable as pigments.

Brilliant shades or white can only be produced using pale (colourless) binders.
Most bitumen manufacturers (Shell, Total, BP, Esso, etc.) market such prod-
ucts.

Used in sufficiently high concentrations, iron oxide red pigments, e.g. Bayfer-
rox® Red, with high tinting strength are able to mask the dark colour of normal
bitumen and yield satisfactory red shades. For this reason, iron oxide red is
the most important pigment for this application.

Mid-shade iron oxide reds, equivalent to Bayferrox 130, are the most suitable
pigments for colouring normal bitumen.

If a pale bitumen is available, there is a wider range of pigments to choose

from. Iron oxide yellow, brown and black, as well as Chrome Oxide Green
pigments can also be used. In certain applications, the use of iron oxide yel-
low, brown and black is restricted because of their poorer heat stability. At

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Inorganic Pigments

Edition: January 2002

Technical Information Replaces edition: July 1998
Competence Center Construction

Colouring of Bituminous Mixes

temperatures above 180 °C, iron oxide yellow and black convert to iron oxide
red.

The same applies to iron oxide brown pigments which are usually mixtures of
iron oxide black, yellow and red.

This fact must be borne in mind when manufacturing bituminous mixes, espe-
cially mastic asphalt because the mixing temperature is usually above 180 °C.
Suitable pigments for red mixes are Bayferrox red pigments. Heatstable zinc
ferrite products, e.g. Colortherm 3950, can be used for yellow mixes and Bay-
ferrox 645 T and 303 T (mixed manganese-iron oxides) for brown and grey
mixes.

The heat stability of the other pigments, e.g. iron oxide red, titanium dioxide,
chrome oxide green and mixed phase pigments, is high enough for this appli-
cation.

As already stated, titanium dioxide pigments can be used for shade reduction
in bituminous mixes and to produce white surfacing materials. These pigments
are available as rutile or anatase modifications. It is normally recommended
that the rutile modification is used because anatase pigments act as catalysts
in the photo-degradation of the binder. Poor results are obtained by lightening
dark bitumen with titanium dioxide and then shading it with colour pigments.
Trials have shown that the lightening effect of the titanium dioxide reduces the
intensity of the shade from the very start. In other words, the white pigment re-
duces the tinting strength of the colour pigment.

From all that has been stated so far, it can be concluded that iron oxide red is
by far the most important pigment in the colouring of bituminous mixes. If pale
binders are available, other shades ranging from yellow to blue can also be
produced.

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Inorganic Pigments

Edition: January 2002

Technical Information Replaces edition: July 1998
Competence Center Construction

Colouring of Bituminous Mixes

The key inorganic pigments manufactured by LANXESS Deutschland GmbH

for this application are summarised in Table 1 and Fig. 1.

Table 1: Colouring of bituminous mixes

Bitumen Type of Recommended Recommended

shade pigments grades pigment concen-
tration (%)

Normal Red Bayferrox 130 3–4

bitumen Yellow - -
Brown - -
Green - -

Special pale Red Bayferrox 130 1–2

bitumen Yellow Colortherm 3950 1–2
Brown Bayferrox 645 T 1–2
Green Chrome Oxide Green GN 1–2

Fig. 1

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Inorganic Pigments

Edition: January 2002

Technical Information Replaces edition: July 1998
Competence Center Construction

Colouring of Bituminous Mixes

How much pigment is required?

When using dark bitumen, the addition of about 3 to 4 % of a synthetic iron

oxide red pigment with high tinting strength, e.g. Bayferrox 130, is usually suf-
ficient to ensure virtual saturation. The amount given is calculated on the total
mix. Increasing the amount of pigment added has little effect on the colour in-
tensity. This statement applies only to synthetic iron oxide pigments with high
tinting strength. If the iron oxide red used has a lower tinting strength, the
saturation point is shifted to higher pigment concentrations. In the case of
other pigments, e.g. chrome oxide green, which are less suitable for masking
the natural colour of dark bitumen, a pigment concentration of 4 % is by no
means sufficient to yield the required saturation. Shades other than red are
therefore almost impossible to produce using the normal (black) types of bitu-
men. The only way of improving the shade is to add aggregates whose natural
colour approximates that of the pigmented bitumen.

The pale types of bitumen mentioned earlier have been used for some time in
a number of countries. The disadvantages of these products are their higher
price and, in some cases, poorer weather stability. However, their use makes
it easier to produce certain shades. For example, very attractive yellows and
greens are yielded by adding a pigment concentration of between 1 and 2 %
pigment, calculated on the total mix.

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Inorganic Pigments

Edition: January 2002

Technical Information Replaces edition: July 1998
Competence Center Construction

Colouring of Bituminous Mixes

What metering options are available?

Two types of plants are used in the manufacture of bituminous mixes. These
are:

1. batch mixing plants (all products, Fig. 2)

2. continuous mixing plants (mainly bitumen concrete, Fig. 3)

Aggregate Extender

Mixer

Mix

Fig: 2: Batch mixing plant

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Inorganic Pigments

Edition: January 2002

Technical Information Replaces edition: July 1998
Competence Center Construction

Colouring of Bituminous Mixes

Extender

Mix

Mixer
Aggregate

Fig. 3: Continuous mixing plant

Given the large amount of iron oxide red used, the question naturally arises as
to the easiest way of adding the pigment to the mix.

In batch mixing plants, the pigment can be and is added manually. Bayferrox
Red is supplied in 20-kg and 25-kg polyethylene sacks for this application. The
pigment can be added directly to the mix via a chute or a trop. The sacks do
not have to be opened because the polyethylene dissolves completely at 130
– 140 °C. The advantage of this method is that no dust is formed. There is no
effect on the mixing time, i.e. 60 to 90 seconds are long enough. To prevent
the formation of agglomerates (pigment lumps), the pigment should be added
before the bitumen and pre-mixed with the aggregates for 10 to 15 seconds.

Manual addition of the pigments is usually out of the question in continuous

mixing plants. The plants are not normally designed with large enough filling
openings. Moreover, these plants have a capacity of around 400 tonnes per
hour, making manual addition very difficult. It is therefore more usual to equip
such a plant with a pigment metering unit.

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Inorganic Pigments

Edition: January 2002

Technical Information Replaces edition: July 1998
Competence Center Construction

Colouring of Bituminous Mixes

To summarise, it can be said that coloured bitumen concrete and mastic as-
phalt can be produced in conventional mixing plants, provided the points cov-
ered here are borne in mind.

Modern pigments permit safe manufacture under difficult conditions such as

those often found in continuous mixing plants.

NB: This information and our technical advice - whether verbal, in writing or by way of trials - are given in good faith but without
warranty, and this also applies where proprietary rights of third parties are involved. Our advice does not release you from the
LANXESS Deutschland GmbH
obligation to check its validity and to test our products as to their suitability for the intended processes and uses. The application, Business Unit
use and processing of our products and the products manufactured by you on the basis of our technical advice are beyond our
control and, therefore, entirely your own responsibility. Our products are sold in accordance with our General Conditions of Sale Inorganic Pigments
and Delivery.
D-51368 Leverkusen

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