Bitumen is a solid or semi-solid material from dark brown to black in colour. It is one of the thermoplastics found in nature, but today it is mainly produced in oil refineries. From a chemical-physical point of view, bitumen is a complex mixture of various hydrocarbons.
Bitumen offers a high adhesive strength and watertightness. It is resistant to most acids, bases and salts and was the first oil product that man has ever used in practice - preferably as an insulating compound or binder. Solid at room temperature, bitumen can be emulsified with water after heating and recycled as well. Thanks to all these properties, bitumen is now an indispensable material in road construction and is also used in a wide range of industrial applications.