TITLE:
Performances of a Bitumen Fume and Condensate Generation System for Sampling Method Development
AUTHORS:
Benjamin Sutter, Eric Pelletier, Christel Ravera, Eddy Langlois
KEYWORDS:
Bitumen, Fumes, Laboratory Generation, Condensate Generation, Road Paving
JOURNAL NAME:
Journal of Environmental Protection,
Vol.7 No.7,
June
6,
2016
ABSTRACT: A laboratory system was designed to
generate bitumen fumes and expose tested samplers in a homogenised chamber. The
system was also designed to condense the fumes in the form of oil that could be
used as a standard for further analytical method development. The laboratory
system was evaluated in terms of stability, repeatability, aging, and ranges,
focusing on the quality and quantity of the fumes and their physical
characteristics. The fumes generated with the laboratory system were also
compared to fumes emitted at workplaces to evaluate their similarity. The
results demonstrated that laboratory fume generation was stable and repeatable.
Humidity ranged from 20% to 80% RH and the total fume concentration ranged from
0.01 to 9.36 mg.m-3, covering the conditions encountered for road paving
worksites. The fumes generated in the laboratory were found to be similar to
those of workplaces, with slight differences in light compounds equivalent to
C12 and below n-alkanes. Thus, the system designed in this study is considered
capable of generating bitumen fumes used to develop sampling and analysis
methods.