What is Bio-Bitumen?

Asphalt is used to make >95% of the world’s roads.  Bitumen is a key ingredient in asphalt, it is the binder that holds together the various aggregates.

Bitumen is traditionally derived from crude oil.  It is made by distilling crude oil to remove lighter fractions, such as gasoline and diesel. The remaining heavier fraction is bitumen.  Bitumen is a globally traded commodity with its price inherently linked to the cost of a barrel of oil. 

The cost of a ton of bitumen has risen from approx. US$160 in 2002 to US$900 in 2023.  It has a carbon footprint of approx. 0.5 tonnes per ton of bitumen.
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Bio-bitumen is a sustainable alternative to traditional fossil-fuel based bitumen.  It produced during the pyrolysis of agricultural waste.  Bio-bitumen can be used to make asphalt that is just as durable and long-lasting as asphalt made with traditional bitumen. In some cases, bio-bitumen asphalt can even be more durable and resistant to cracking and potholes.  It is also far more environmentally friendly with one ton of Bio-bitumen sequestering approx. 1.5 tonnes of CO2 that would have otherwise been released into the atmosphere.