Bitumen is commonly derived from the refining process. In particular, it represents the heaviest fraction obtained from the distillation of crude oil. At room temperature, it is a solid product that ranges from black to dark brown. It exhibits viscoelastic behavior and has excellent adhesion and impermeability properties.

In the field of bitumen production techniques, fractional distillation is to be considered a primary process.

The Alma Petroli refinery is specifically designed to produce distilled bitumen using a straight-run process with asphaltenic and naphthenic crude oils.

The Alma Petroli plant can also refine naphthenic crude oils. These oils yield naturally emulsifiable bitumen, which is ideal for road paving, bituminous emulsions, and industrial applications.

Alma Petroli produces distilled bitumen for road paving, which is obtained directly from the bottom residue of the vacuum column. The company also produces industrial and oxidized bitumens.

Additionally, Alma Petroli designed and built a production section for elastomeric polymer-modified bitumen, which launched successfully in 2022. The section has modular production capacity that can be increased in the future.

Thanks to ongoing research and development, as well as laboratory analyses, Alma Petroli is able to produce highly specialized bitumens tailored to clients’ specifications.