D&G Machinery Warm-mix Bitumen Foaming Device Powers Green Construction of Taihua Expressway
Recently, D&G Machinery has completed a critical equipment retrofitting project in Gansu: a warm-mix bitumen foaming device was successfully installed on an asphalt mixing plant of a well-known peer brand owned by Gansu Road & Bridge Third Highway Engineering Company. This retrofit represents another successful application of D&G Machinery’s warm-mix technology across China and marks the company’s growing market recognition in the construction of high-grade highways in Northwest China.
Customer’s Choice after Careful Comparison and Experimental Validation
As a key project in the 14th Five-Year Highway Development Plan of Gansu Province, the Taihua Expressway boasts a total investment of over 10.2 billion yuan and stretching 74.202 km as a two-way four-lane Class I highway. It is a provincial demonstration project for the "Safe & Quality Project for a Century" initiative.
During project preparation, the customer conducted in-depth research and prudent comparison on warm-mix bitumen foaming technical solutions. To ensure solution reliability, the customer visited D&G Machinery’s laboratory, where they carried out systematic research using the independently developed laboratory warm-mix bitumen foaming device. The tests aim to identify how different parameters affect foaming performance and provide scientific basis for subsequent performance verification of asphalt mixture production.
D&G Machinery Addresses Customer’s Concerns
Unreliable Solutions
Reluctant to apply to expressway projects without lab and field verification
Plant Incompatibility
The existing asphalt plant is of a peer brand, raising concerns whether cross-brand retrofitting will disrupt production
Unstable Foaming
Poor control over expansion ratio and half-life leads to quality fluctuation of asphalt mixture
Substandard Paving Layer
Failure to meet requirements on compaction, air void content, impermeability and durability brings high risk of water damage in the later stage
Uneconomical Green Upgrade
Failure to lower production temperature and cut emissions, resulting in higher fuel and operating costs.
Outstanding Technical Advantages, Precise Control Ensures Consistent Quality
D&G Machinery’s warm-mix bitumen foaming device wins customer trust thanks to solid technical accumulation. Back in 2014, D&G Machinery jointly developed the equipment with Research Institute of Highway, Ministry of Transport, China, and obtained a national invention patent. Further in-depth cooperation followed. Validated by many engineering projects, the technology is mature and reliable.
The warm-mix bitumen foaming device for this retrofit boasts a number of core technical advantages. In terms of precise control, it can accurately regulate parameters such as bitumen inlet temperature and flow rate through an intelligent control system, ensuring consistent foaming performance. For data monitoring, it supports the simultaneous measurement of two key technical indicators: expansion ratio and half-life, securing optimal foaming results. Featuring a unique foaming chamber structure and precise water-bitumen ratio control technology, the device generates uniform foam with excellent foaming ratio and half-life, ensuring good coating of bitumen and aggregates. Meanwhile, optimized specifically for asphalt mixing plants, it fits asphalt mixing plant of all brands seamlessly. No manual intervention is required during production, achieving fully automatic production control.
Remarkable Overall Benefits for Taihua Expressway Surface Course Application
The retrofitted warm-mix bitumen foaming device will be used for asphalt surface course construction of the Taihua Expressway. The produced warm-mix asphalt mixture achieves the designed compaction degree more easily during compaction, reduces void content, improves pavement impermeability and durability, and lowers the risk of subsequent water damage, meeting the strict requirements for expressway surface course construction. This marks another significant expansion of warm-mix bitumen foaming technology in surface course applications for high-grade highways. Compared with conventional hot-mix processes, D&G Machinery warm-mix technology lowers mixing and construction temperatures by 20–30°C, cuts CO₂ and flue gas emissions, thus greatly improving on-site working conditions, while reducing fuel consumption to directly save operation costs.
Against the backdrop of the green and low-carbon transformation of transportation infrastructure, warm-mix bitumen foaming technology is becoming the preferred solution for a growing number of expressway projects. Upholding the philosophy of innovation-driven development, D&G Machinery will continue to provide efficient, reliable warm-mix bitumen foaming devices and total solutions for more customers, accelerating the green and high-quality development of highway construction in China and overseas.