BACKGROUND The negative health effects of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are well established for modern human populations but have so far not been studied in prehistoric contexts. PAHs are the main component of fossil bitumen, a naturally occurring material used by past societies such as the Chumash Indians in California as an adhesive, as a waterproofing agent, and for medicinal purp...

Human soft tissue specimens obtained by dissection of Greco-Roman Period mummies buried in the Dakhleh Oasis in Egypt's Western Desert had radiocarbon analytical results many of which were substantially older than accompanying artifacts suggested. Mass spectrometry suggested the presence of hydrocarbons. Gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GCMS) confirmed that the “resin” applied to these bod...

Bitumen extraction from oil sands is the core process in the production of oil from oil sands. This floatation process is carried out in large vessels called separation cells. Optimal control of the interface between Bitumen froth and Middlings in these cells can result in a significant improvement in Bitumen recovery and increase process efficiency downstream, resulting in large economic benef...

Today, rapid economic and industrial growth generates increasing amounts of waste materials such as waste tyre rubber. Attempts to inspire a green technology which is more environmentally friendly that can produce economic value are a major consideration in the utilization of waste materials. The aim of this study is to evaluate the effect of waste tyre rubber (crumb rubber modifier (CRM)), in ...

The classical asphalt mix manufacturing commonly requires the heating and the complete drying of aggregates. The induced energy cost has opened the way to develop alternatives processes with low energy/ carbon materials such as Warm Mix Asphalt (WMA). Their manufacturing requires specifics techniques to achieve similar performances than Hot Mix Asphalt (HMA). However, manufacturing temperature ...

We present a lab-on-a-chip approach to informing thermal oil recovery processes. Bitumen - a major global resource - is an extremely viscous oil which is extracted by injecting steam underground in a process known as Steam Assisted Gravity Drainage (SAGD). Here, a microfluidic network saturated with bitumen provides a physical model of the SAGD reservoir; steam is injected into the chip, and th...

in this study, the corrosion resistance of a bituminous coating reinforced with different ratios ofnanoclay pigment was studied. to make nanocomposite coatings, 2, 3, and 4 wt.% of clay (cloisitena+) were incorporated into water emulsified bitumen. the coatings were applied to steel 37. opticalmicroscopy and x-ray diffraction (xrd) were used to characterize the nanocomposite structure. inorder ...

the neat bitumen, an oil refining by-product, has its own inherent weakness under long-time loading at low and high temperatures. these performance limitations of neat bitumen have led researchers to modify its physical andmechanical properties. according to several studies, polymers can be used to modify the properties of bitumen. due to much lower production costs and aiming to reduce environ...

Weak bonding between layers of pavement leads to damages on the composite pavement. Bonding plays an important role in the durability and maintenance of composite pavement layers. The present study evaluates the factors effective in bond strength of the interface between concrete and asphalt pavements. The factors considered for this purpose include steel slag percentage in the concrete pavemen...