CHAPTER 5 – PRODUCTION of HMA (ASPHALT PLANTS)

The objectives of this Chapter:

• Discuss the two main types of Asphalt Plants
• Understand common elements of both types of asphalt plants
• The Batch Plant Production Process
• The Drum-Mix Production Process
• Dust Control
• Asphalt Plant Safety
CHAPTER 5 – MANUFACTURE OF HOT MIX ASPHALT
The two most popular types of plant facilities / production processes for
producing HMA are called:

Batch facilities Drum-mix facilities

 5.7 – BATCH FACILITIES

• The first hot mix asphalt plants were batch

facilities
• They were popular in the early 1900s until the
advent of drum-mixers in the 1970s
• Many batch facilities still exist today even
though 80 % of HMA is produced with drum-
mix plants.
 5.7 – BATCH FACILITIES

• Individual aggregates are proportioned from

the cold feed bins onto a single collector belt
and sent to the dryer to be dried and heated
• The dried & heated materials flow into a
bucket elevator to be carried to the top of the
batch tower and deposited onto sizing
screens
• The aggregate is then separated into different
sizes and direct the fractionized aggregate into
hot bins
 5.7 – BATCH FACILITIES

• The screens in the tower determine the size of

the aggregates in the hot bins and how the
blended aggregate mixture from the dryer is
fractionated
• Aggregates are then dried, sized and stored
in the hot holding bins, for proportioning
according to the mixture specified
 5.7 – BATCH FACILITIES

• The mixture is made by weighing the

fractioned aggregates stored in the hot bins
with an accumulative aggregate weigh
hopper, positioned below the hot bins
• Each predetermined fraction of material is
individually weighed into the aggregate weigh
hopper until the entire batch is weighed
 5.4 – COMMON EQUIPMENT

• Both types of facilities have common equipment

components that operate similarly and have
essentially the same functions:
* Liquid binder storage tanks
* Aggregate and RAP stockpiling
* Cold aggregate and RAP feed bins
* Aggregate and RAP conveyors
* Aggregate dryers
 5.4.1 – ASPHALT BINDER STORAGE TANKS
• Generally stored inside insulated and heated
tanks adjacent to the other plant equipment
• Multiple storage tanks are common at stationary
facilities and are not uncommon with portable
plants
• This allows the producer to keep different grades
of asphalt binder properly separated
• Tanks must be kept heated to maintain the asphalt
binder at the proper mixing temperature
• Pipes that transfer the liquid asphalt to the mixing
area of the plant are insulated
 5.4.2 – AGGREGATE STOCKPILING
• Aggregates are delivered to plant sites by truck,
rail, barge or belt conveyor directly from the
aggregate source
• Aggregates are usually stockpiled onsite and then
fed into cold feed bins with a front end loader
• A plant can also be fed directly from the stockpile
by feeders under the stockpiles or by trucks
dumping directly into the cold feed bins
5.4.2 – CROSS CONTAMINATION

• Materials should be kept separated from one

another by space or dividers before being loaded
into the cold feed bins for mixing
 5.4.2 – SUBGRADE MATERIALS

• If the materials are moved with a front end loader

the operator must ensure that the bucket does not
pick up subgrade materials along with the desired
aggregate
• Remedy could be to have your aggregate placed
on asphalt
 5.4.2 – WHEEL & TRUCK CONTAMINATION

• Driving on the aggregate stockpiles

with haul trucks or stockpiling
equipment can also cause
contamination from materials that
stick to the vehicle wheels or tracks,
and should be discouraged
 5.4.2 – BREAKDOWN / GRADATION CHANGE

• Materials can change in gradation if

equipment is driven on the aggregate
stockpile
• A thorough understanding of the
aggregate materials and aggregate
handling procedures must be accounted
for in the design and construction
process
 5.4.2 – SEGREGATION / GRADATION CHANGE

• When aggregates are dropped from

a significant height or if aggregates
are allowed to flow down the face of
the stockpile, segregation can occur
• Segregation is probably the biggest
concern in stockpile management at
a hot mix plant
 5.4.2 – MINIMIZING STOCKPILE MOISTURE
• Providing a solid draining surface under the
stockpile area not only helps keep the subgrade
material from contaminating the cold feed bins but
also helps to keep the aggregates dry
• Moisture drastically affects the production of the
plant and fuel consumption
• A solid sloped or paved drainage surface under
the aggregate stockpile area greatly helps to
achieve this objective
 5.5 – AGGREGATE & RAP COLD FEED BINS
• Feed bins are similar for both batch and drum mix
plants
• Practically all plants now use conveyors with
variable speed motors located below feed bins to
regulate the flow of materials to the drying drum
• Variable speed belt feeds are consistent and
repeatable and therefore easy to calibrate
• With a drum mix plant setting the different feeder
speeds actually establishes the gradation blend
in the final mix
 5.5 – AGGREGATE & RAP CONVEYORS
• Both batch and drum mix facilities use the same
style of aggregate conveyor to transfer material
between the cold feed bins and the plant
• Belt-type conveyors with fixed speeds
• They can be fitted with scrappers or guards to
minimize spillage or with wind guards to reduce the
effect of the wind on belt scales
 5.6 – AGGREGATE DRYER
• Needed for both types of plants
• It is the responsibility of the dryer to produce mix
with a consistent temperature
• A temperature swing greater than 6˚ to 11˚C
typically affects field performance
• Dryers are inclined and rotate
• They function by picking up and dropping aggregate
material into the hot gas stream
• Inside the dryer are steel flights or lifters
 5.7 – BATCH FACILITIES

• In a separate section, asphalt is weighed in a weighing

device, typically called an asphalt weigh bucket or
asphalt scale
• After the aggregate and the binder are weighed, the
aggregates are dropped into the pugmill mixer to be
blended together in the dry-mix cycle
 5.7 – BATCH FACILITIES

• The dry-mix cycle is a 2 to 5 second cycle that

blends the aggregates thoroughly before the
asphalt binder is added
• When the dry mix cycle is completed, the asphalt
is dropped into the mixer and the wet-mix cycle
begins
• The wet mix cycle lasts 25 to 45 seconds
 5.7 – BATCH FACILITIES

• The cycle time is determined by the time required

to produce a homogeneous, well coated mix
• Uniform coating of large rock mixes typically
takes longer than fine mixtures
• The time is usually determined subjectively by
visual inspections
5.7 – BATCH FACILITIES
5.8 – DRUM MIX FACILITIES

• The continuous flow of a drum mix

plant requires the availability of
stockpiled aggregate material that
will meet the specifications without
rescreening
• The individual aggregate materials
are proportioned directly from the
cold feed bins to the final job-mix
formula
 5.8 – DRUM MIX FACILITIES
• The individual aggregate materials are proportioned
directly from the cold feed bins to the final job mix
formula
• The materials are then sent to the drum to be dried
and heated
• In route to the drum, the blended aggregate passes
over the belt scale, which is a continuous weighing
device
• The plant’s control system uses the reading from the
belt scale to calculate the liquid asphalt binder and
other additives required for the mixture
 5.8 – DRUM MIX FACILITIES

• Drum mix plants can be designed as one piece drum

mixers or with separate dryer and continuous mixer
units
• Both are referred to as drum mixers
 5.4 – COMMON EQUIPMENT

• Plant automation is similar in both and is typically

computer controlled
• The blending automation is different because of
the differences between the batch and drum mix
processes
• Most automated plant control systems provide for
multiple stored mix formulas and automatically
handle all the blending, metering and mixing
 5.4 – COMMON EQUIPMENT

• In both plant types, truck load out and ticketing

systems are also computerized and provide not
only weight figures but also detailed project
information on the load ticket
5.9 – EMISSION CONTROL & DUST COLLECTION EQUIPMENT

• Fine particles are often separated from the coarse

aggregate particles through the drying process.
• These dust particles are collected primarily for
environmental reasons, however they can also be
reused in the asphalt mix, depending on the type
of equipment used in the asphalt plant.
 5.9.1 – DUST COLLECTION EQUIPMENT
• There are two stages of dust collection
on plant systems:
• Primary dust collectors
• Secondary dust collectors
• Dust removed using primary collectors
are usually 100% returned to the plant
process.
• Secondary collectors consist of either
wet washers (wet scrubbers) or fabric
filter collectors (baghouses).
 5.9.3.2 – DUST COLLECTION EQUIPMENT – WET
SCRUBBER

• Wet washers (scrubbers) add water to

the mix to make the particles heavier.
Once the dust becomes wet it cannot be
returned to the plant process. It is
usually treated in a settling pond and
the clean water is reused.
 5.9.3.1 – DUST COLLECTION EQUIPMENT – BAGHOUSE

• A baghouse removes dust through a dry

filtration process.
• Dusty air is passed through a fabric filter.
Occasionally the flow of air is reversed
which knocks the dust particles into the
hopper of the baghouse.
• This dust can then be either removed to
the plant mix process or removed and
disposed of.
 5.10 – FINISHED PRODUCT STORAGE SILOS
• Allow the plant to run continuously whether or not
trucks are present
• Silos are required for drum mix plants because the
mix flows continuously from the mixing area when
the plant is running and must be elevated for
dispensing into trucks
• Silos on batch plants allow the plant to run
continuously thereby increasing daily output
 5.12 – ASPHALT PLANT SAFETY
• Personnel working at an asphalt plant must always
be safety conscious. Potential hazards which
could be encountered at an asphalt plant include:
• Dust
• Noise
• Moving Equipment/belts
• Working around Heavy Equipment
• High Temperature equipment and Materials
• Traffic
• General Housekeeping / Tripping Hazards