Be sure to see our new Asphalt Producer Section

November 2002
BID LIST
Asphalt Plants:  From Small-
to Large-Job Units
by Kirk Landers, V.P./Editorial Director

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Manufacturers listed in this feature responded to a special mailing by Better Roads and do not necessarily represent the entire market for this product. 

Asphalt Plants: From Small- to Large-Job Units

Meeting environmental and job-site needs
 means looking at a variety of plants.

Longer drying times and better mixing

Asphalt Drum Mixers’ Milemaker Series of portable and stationary dual-drum counterflow asphalt plants can produce 160 to 450 tons per hour, depending on the size of the equipment. The plants are specifically designed to deliver mix quality that meets SHRPS and Superpave specifications, efficiently process up to 40% recycled asphalt product, effectively add and blend additives and modifiers, and exceed current environmental standards. The plants’ design uses separate drying and mixing drums to achieve the longest drying and mixing times in the industry, according to ADM.

Completely sealed, counterflow drying drums are featured in the Milemaker series. The drums are long — lengths range from 40 to 54 feet, depending on plant size — to ensure the lowest possible aggregate moisture levels and the most thorough mixing of aggregate, additives, and asphalt cement.

Can handle 100% RAP

Rap Process Machinery claims its Rapmaster recycling asphalt plants are unique in their ability to process 100% recycled asphalt product. There are two Rapmaster models. The 1250 is transportable and produces 75 to 125 tons per hour. The stationary 2250 produces 200 to 250 tons per hour. The company says both models pass all EPA air standards without need of a baghouse.

So advanced it’s simple

General Combustion claims its new Equinox combustion system for asphalt plants is the industry’s most environmentally advanced burner while also being a model of simplicity and ease of operation. Equinox uses a two-stage process to significantly reduce or eliminate the need for recycling emission fumes. In the first stage, a sophisticated pre-mix accumulator prepares the gas/air mixture for combustion to ensure a lower peak flame temperature in the combustion zone. In the second stage, a patented injection system introduces a very small amount of water to the areas of the flame that are at peak temperature to further cool the flame, providing stable combustion through the use of latent heat evaporation.

General Combustion says the Equinox system satisfies the most stringent NOx emission requirements for asphalt plants in southern California.

High-production triple-drum plants

Three distinct drying and heating zones in a single drum gives CMI Terex Triple Drum Hot-Mix Asphalt Plants higher production capacities for virgin and high ratio RAP mixes, according to the company. The plant’s design features overlapping heat transfer zones providing for significantly higher production in a short, easy to move drum dryer/mixer.

The heart of the design is a high-temperature radiating combustion zone featuring overlapping heat reflector/transfer elements which enhance combustion, increasing efficiency and emissions performance. The company claims its design also prevents RAP and virgin aggregate from interfering with the combustion process, provides conductive , convective, and radiant heat to RAP and virgin aggregate in the combustion, blending, and mixing zones of the drum, and reduces Shell losses in the combustion zone compared to conventional counterflow drum mixers and aggregate dryers.

 Making odorless asphalt

Asphalt Solutions is an odor suppressant that controls the hydrocarbon smell associated with hot-mix asphalt. It comes in cherry or pine scent, but its manufacturer says it does more than mask the petroleum odor. It is said to chemically bond with the binder and encapsulate the asphaltine, significantly retarding the release of light ends that are responsible for the asphalt odor.

Costs for the suppressant run bout $0.03 to $0.07 per ton of mix, according to the company, and it works from the holding tank to the paver. The company says more than 200 contractors, refiners, and terminals have used the product since its introduction in 1998.

New plant debuts in the United States

CEI Enterprises, a division of Astec Industries, introduced the Nomad hot-mix asphalt plant in the United States last spring. The plant has been sold on the international market for nearly three years. The international model (pictured here) has been changed for the U.S. market. The U.S. model has a separate 25,000-cfm baghouse in lieu of the wet collection system, and it will have a separate three or four bin cold feed system with a 3-foot by 5-foot scalping screen. Mixing with the U.S. model will be done with a twin-shaft mixer, away from the drum.

CEI says the Nomad plant will produce 130 tones per hour at 5% moisture and 2,000-feet elevation.

High production without expensive site preparation

Astec designed its M-Pack asphalt facilities for producers operating in permanent locations and looking for lots of production capability. Offered in standard 200, 300, and 400-ton-per-hour versions, the M-Pack offers advanced hot-mix technology and all the other benefits of a stationary plant, without the expense of site preparation that stationary plants require. The standard formats are straight-line or box layouts, though compact or odd-shaped sites can be accommodated. Skid-mounted components offer flexibility in plant layout and can be relocated to another site if the producer moves. According to Astec, once erection has begun, the average M-Pack is up and running within six weeks.

Complete M-Packs come with the Astec Double Barrel drum mixer, storage silos, truck scales, control house and plant controls, cold feed, inclined conveyor with scalping screen, baghouse, hot oil heaters, and liquid asphalt cement equipment.

Terex consolidates HMA plant lines

Terex has announced that it is combining all its HMA plant manufacturing, sales, and service under one new organization, CMI Terex Corporation, based in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.

The new organization brings together the product lines formerly manufactured by Cedarapids, Standard Havens, and CMI Corporation.

In announcing the move, Terex CEO and Board Chairman Ron DeFeo said the company’s goal is to be number one in plant sales within the next three years.

The CMI Terex product line will include products from all three companies. “Combining good products is good for customers,” explains marketing vice president Jim Rodriguez, who claims the company now offers more choices than any other supplier. Selections include a line of traditional batch plants, two counter-flow drum mix plants, a parallel-flow drum mix plant, and two-drum plants that permit drying and mixing in separate vessels.

Portable mini-plant for small-job applications

Compact Bagela asphalt recyclers can be towed to a job site by a pickup and recycle 7 to 10 tons of broken chunk asphalt per hour. The BA-7000 weighs 5,500 pounds and has a rated output of 7 tons per hour; the BA-10,000 weighs 11,000 pounds and produces up to 10 tons per hour. According to importer Hot Asphalt Recycling, more than 800 of these units are in use worldwide. The company recommends the units for full-depth patches, trenches, and asphalt base-courses. Standard equipment includes a municipal grade trailer, but they are also available without a trailer or with a self-propulsion package.

Efficiency in an environmentally friendly package

Gencor claims its Ultraplant drum mixer is the most fuel-efficient design in the industry, and that it requires less maintenance than competing plants. The design features a totally integrated drum concept that “allows high production continuous mix with high volume, high-moisture recycle and the optional flexibility of feeding a batch tower,” according to the company.

Gencor says the Ultraplant has been accepted in the most stringent and environmentally sensitive areas because of an exclusive positive volatile capture and recovery system that totally eliminates blue smoke and asphalt odors from the plant’s exhaust, feeding them back into the combustion process as fuel.

Isolates the mixing process from drying

Almix designed its Duo Drum to isolate the mixing process from the drying process to maximize drying and combustion efficiency. The company says mixing is done in an inert environment and any fugitive emissions or odors are captured and incinerated through the burner path.

Almix makes asphalt plants to fit producers specific needs and budgets. Designs include portable, stationary, or relocatable configurations. Standard production ranges from 40 to 550 tons per hour.

Air and odor-control systems

CECO Filters’ line of air pollution control systems includes a complete line of smoke and mist eliminator systems and odor control systems for asphalt storage tanks. The company says its systems feature high removal efficiency and long filter life. The mist-controlling DLM system boasts filter life of up to 10 years and efficiencies of 99.5% or higher for particles smaller than 3 micron, according to company literature.

Fast moving portable plant

DCR calls its portable 150E “the fastest plant on wheels.” The 200-ton-per-hour plant moves in four loads and features DCR’s patented rubber-tire drum drive system which is said to cut adjustments, horsepower, and maintenance. The unit also uses DCR’s E-Z Slide Feed Bin system which puts four full-size bins, drum, and scale all on one trailer less than 70-feet long. The bins slide apart to full size in 15 minutes at the jobsite.

The 150E can be equipped with a wet scrubber or baghouse. It is computer controlled with a PLC interface.

Full range of batch plants

Missouri-based Tarmac, Inc. manufactures asphalt batch plants in sizes ranging from 8,000 to 14,000 pounds. The plants can be ordered with mineral filler bins, 220 tons of hot storage, and screen decks. Complete installations with feed bins, dryers, baghouses, asphalt tanks, and controls are also available.

Plant controls and automation

Systems Equipment manufactures automation and control-related products for drum mix plants, including complete turnkey control-center packages that provide current control technology to older plants. The company provides both portable and stationary structures and can provide all automation and controls, motor control centers, quick disconnects, plant wiring and installation, certification, start up, training, and support services.

Portable and stationary cold feed bins

Custom Welding and Metal Fab. says their mission is to make the sturdiest bins ever manufactured and back them up with excellent service. The company’s full line of portable and stationary bins feature 0.25-inch A36 construction, 36- to 48-inch collector belts, 24- to 42-inch underbin belts, and Dodge of Linkbelt gear reducers. All bins are pre-assembled at the plant to ensure proper fit.