international
construction
july-august 2013
MIXING TECHNOLOGY
46
Adding to the mix
Altrad Belle’s new towable concrete mixer
– the AT350 – features a 280 litre drum
and can be towed at speeds of up to 88.5
km/h.
Fayat-ownedmixing plant manufacturer
Marini is also developing new mixing
towers focussed on coping with higher
quantities of RAP. The company has
introduced the new eTower family of
asphalt plants, which currently consists
of two models – the eTower 2000 (150
tonnes per hour) and eTower 2500 (200
tonnes per hour).
The towers feature two systems for
introducing RAP – a recycling ring,
and direct introduction in the mixer
via an elevator. Recycling rates of nearly
50% can be achieved, while even higher
recycling rates can be achieved by
equipping the plant with an additional
parallel dryer drum for RAP.
The eTower range has also been designed
to be able to gain from recent developments
in warm-mix asphalt production – a process
which allows asphalt to be produced at
a lower temperature of around 90°C to
150°C, instead of traditional hot mix
temperatures of 140°C to 180°C.
Additives such as foam bitumen need
to be added to the mix to achieve quality
warm mix asphalt, and the eTower 2500
is fitted with Marini’s AQUABlack foam
bitumen production system, so the final asphalt
temperature can be cut by more than 30°C, according to the
company.
Warm mix production has the obvious benefits of cutting
fuel consumption and decreasing emissions. In addition,
engineering benefits include better compaction on the road,
the ability to haul material for longer distances, and extending
>
the paving season by being able to pave
at lower temperatures. Indeed, Marini
claims that warm-mix asphalt will soon
account for 30% of production in
North America.
Transportability
Mobility
is
another
important
consideration for contractors looking to invest in a
new plant, and Ammann has been working to make life
easier in this respect, too. It has developed two new asphalt
mixing plants – the Prime 140 and the EasyBatch 140 – with
transportability firmly in mind.
Both plants boast outputs of 140
tonnes/hour, but the Prime 140 has a
transport length of 23 m and width of
3.2 m, while the EasyBatch 140 comes
pre-assembled on two trailers and can
be set up without a crane. Its transport
dimensions are 21 m long for the first
trailer and 15.5 m long for the second,
while both are 4.25 m high.
Mobility was also the key consideration
for Astec when it was developing its new
Nomad line of hot-mix asphalt plants,
which have production ratings of 72
tonnes per hour, 117 tonnes per hour
and 158 tonnes per hour. Astec claims
that, with an experienced crew, Nomad
plants can be erected in less than a day.
Astec’s new Nomad line of hot-mix
asphalt plants have production ratings
of 72 tonnes per hour, 117 tonnes per
hour and 158 tonnes per hour
Asphalt Drum Mixers is aiming for
flexibility with its new stationary and
self-erect asphalt storage silos that
are compatible with both its own and
competitor plants.
