4.

Asphalt Plant

4.1. Introduction different-sized aggregate and asphalt cement in a

“pugmill,” where they are mixed. The pugmill is
Asphalt plants heat and dry the aggregate and mix it then emptied and the process repeated. The
with the appropriate amount of asphalt cement, in aggregate and asphalt cement are heated before they
accordance with the project mix design. There are are placed in the pugmill. The process is shown in
two main types of asphalt plants: batch plants and the diagram on the page 4-4.
dryer drum plants. These are briefly described
below. Aggregate at the plant starts at the cold bins (see
Figure 4-1). There are usually three or four bins for
Standard Highway Specification 4.01-3.03 requires different sizes of aggregate. The aggregate empties
that the asphalt plant be calibrated as specified in through the bottom of the bins through feeders (most
AASHTO M-156. Airport Specification 401-4.2 operate with a small belt or a vibrator). The feeders
requires the asphalt plant to conform to ASTM D are equipped with adjustable cold feed gates.
995. Aggregate in different bins is released at different
The Asphalt Institute’s Manuals MS-3 Asphalt Plant rates to form the proportional combination of
Manual and MS-22 Principles of Construction of material for the mix design. The correct proportions
Hot-Mix Asphalt Pavements contain much more are obtained by calibrating the gates and adjusting
information on asphalt plants. the variable speed feeder belt. Aggregate from all
the feeders is deposited on a main cold feed
Batch Plants conveyor.
Batch plants make asphalt concrete one batch at a The cold elevator carries the proportioned aggregate
time. This is done by placing measured amounts of from the conveyor to the dryer, which heats and

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Effective November 2002
dries it. The dryer consists of a revolving cylinder, a of different sized aggregate are fed into the upper
large burner, and a fan. The revolving cylinder is end of the dryer. The asphalt cement is added near
lined with long vanes called “flights,” which spread the middle of the dryer. The asphalt cement is added
the aggregate into a veil to ensure proper drying. The near the middle of the dryer, where it mixes with
burner is located at the lower end of the dryer, so aggregate, which has already been heated and dried.
while the aggregate is moving down, the hot gases The process is shown in Figure 4-5.
are moving up. This is known as “counter flow.”
The aggregate at a drum dryer plant starts at a set of
The exhaust gases from the dryer contain dust that is cold bins, just like at a batch plant. The gates on the
removed in the baghouse or wet scrubber before the bin feeders are calibrated and adjusted to release the
hot gases are released into the atmosphere. These correct proportions of the different sized aggregate
emissions are regularly tested. A permit issued by onto the cold feed conveyor.
the State of Alaska Department of Environmental
Conservation is posted at the plant. The fines, called The conveyor has an automatic weighing system,
mineral filler, are recycled into the hot aggregate or which includes a belt speed indicator. The weighing
are imported for mineral filler. system is interlocked with the asphalt pump so that
(when properly calibrated) the correct amount of
The hot elevator carries the aggregate from the dryer liquid asphalt is added to the aggregate in the dryer.
to a screening unit. Since the asphalt must be delivered in proportion to
the dry weight of aggregate, the metering system
Motors shake a set of screens, which sort the heated must be adjusted to account for the moisture content
aggregate by size and deposit it into a new set of of the aggregate. The hot asphalt storage tanks and
aggregate bins, the hot bins. circulation system are similar to those for batch
Below the hot bins is the weigh box. The weigh box plants.
is filled and weighed successively with aggregate The drum mixer consists of a revolving cylinder
from each of the hot bins (see Figure 4-3). If mineral lined with flights, a large burner, and a fan, like a
filler is used, it is taken from the mineral filler batch plant dryer. Unlike batch plant dryers, asphalt
storage and also measured into the weigh box at this cement can be added within the dryer, where it
time. mixes with the aggregate. The asphalt is added
The amounts are controlled to produce a batch of roughly halfway down the length of the drum. This
aggregate with the correct size, which is then is known as “parallel flow.” The flame in a drum
released into the pugmill. The aggregate is “dry dryer should be short and “bushy.” Parallel flow and
mixed” briefly before the asphalt cement is added. a short flame are used so that the gases are cool
enough by the time they reach the lower end of the
The asphalt is continuously circulated from hot drum that they will not burn the asphalt.
asphalt cement storage tanks through a piping
system. Both tanks and the piping are heated. In dryer drum-mix plants, the burner is at the upper
Asphalt cement can be drawn from the piping into end of dryer, so both the aggregate and the hot gases
the asphalt weigh bucket, which measures the move downward through the drum.
amount needed for a batch of paving mix. As with batch plants, gases leaving the drum pass
Once asphalt cement from the weigh bucket is added through a dust collector and exhaust stack, and some
to the pugmill, the batch is “wet mixed” just long of the fines from the dust collector may be recycled
enough to coat the aggregate with asphalt. The mix back into the mix.
is then discharged into trucks either directly or after The paving mix leaves the drum and is carried by a
temporary storage in a “surge silo.” hot mix conveyor to the mix surge silo, from which it
is discharged into trucks.
4.2. Dryer Drum-Mix Plants
Dryer drum-mix plants combine and heat aggregate Dryer drum plants do not have screens, hot bins, a
and asphalt cement continuously. Measured amounts weigh box, an asphalt weigh bucket, or a pugmill.

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Effective November 2002
 Figure 4-1
Asphalt Batch Mix Plant and its Components (modern plants also include a baghouse in addition
to the dust collector shown as 5 above and the cold elevator (3) has been replaced by conveyors).
Courtesy of The Asphalt Institute

Figure 4-2
Asphalt Batch Plant

Asphalt Pavement Inspector’s Manual 4-3 4. Asphalt Plant

Effective November 2002
 Figure 4-3
Weigh Box Operation
Courtesy of the Tennessee Department of Transportation

Figure 4-4
Pugmill Operations
Courtesy of The Asphalt Institute

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Effective November 2002
 Figure 4-5
Basic Drum-Mix Plant
Courtesy of The Asphalt Institute

4.3. Proper Plant Operation 4.3.3 Cold Bins

The gates on cold bins should be calibrated to
4.3.1 General determine how much material they release at different
The best and most consistent asphalt concrete will settings. Proper operation of the cold feed is crucial to
result when it is produced steadily at the rate the entire plant operation and depends on the gate
needed by the paving operation. Startups and settings. Calibration charts, rather than trial-and-error
shutdowns, as well as constant tinkering with gate methods, should guide any adjustments to the gates.
openings and other controls, are signs of a poor Gate adjustments should seldom be needed during
operation. Major adjustments should be made production. Frequent adjustments may indicate
before a production run; only fine-tuning should be improper initial setup or variation in the aggregates
needed during the run. due to crushing or stockpiling problems.
The entire plant must be brought up to operating The level of material in each bin should be maintained
temperature before the start of a production run. so that there is no danger of them running out.
Running “dry” aggregate (no asphalt) through the Overfilling or careless loading, however, can result in
plant does this. The “dry run” aggregate may be one aggregate size spilling over into a bin for another.
checked for moisture, which avoids wasting out-
of-spec “wet” paving mix. In continuous mix Cold bins need to be watched to ensure material is
plants, when no asphalt is added, a check of the flowing smoothly from the gates. Aggregate,
aggregate gradation at the end of the process may especially sand sizes, can plug up or “arch over” in the
be done. Running dry aggregate results in heavy bins.
dust emissions, so most operators add a small
amount of asphalt to avoid violating their 4.3.4 Cold Feed
environmental permits. Varying the feeder belt (or vibrator) speed controls the
amount of aggregate fed into the plant, not bin gate
4.3.2 Stockpiling openings. The gates should be preset so that during
A good mix will not come out of a plant if the normal operation the belts run at 50 to 80 percent of
aggregates going into it are bad. Many problems in their maximum speed.
mix production can be traced back to the cold
Feeder belt (or vibrator) speeds are usually adjusted to
aggregate. Even if good material comes out of the
match plant production with the demand from the mix
crusher, bad material will go into the cold bins if
(that is, the rate of paving). Cold feed adjustments
aggregate becomes contaminated or segregated
must be coordinated with burner adjustments on the
during stockpiling or cold bin loading. Proper
dryer. For a given burner setting, a slower feed rate
stockpiling is discussed in Section 4.2.
results in a higher output temperature, and vice versa.
Watch for loss of calibration due to spillage or drag
caused by misalignment of the feeder belt.

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 Figure 4-6
Asphalt Cement Storage Tanks

On a drum dryer plant, the weighing system and belt with rising temperatures. Correction multipliers listed
speed on the main cold feed conveyor control the in Appendix B convert measured quantities to the
asphalt feed rate. It is important to check the belt standard 60oF basis. Temperature correction is also
speed indicator for slippage, especially when a plant needed when calibrating asphalt pumps in dryer drum
first starts a production run. Watch for loss of plants.
calibration due to belt tension errors caused by
buildup of aggregate at the tail roller, misalignment of Carefully document asphalt deliveries.
the belt, and frozen rollers. Also watch for friction or
obstruction of the load cell mechanism. 4.3.6 Batch Plant Dryer
The temperature of the aggregate leaving the dryer is
4.3.5 Asphalt Cement Storage affected by the feed rate, the time the aggregate stays
Most plants have at least two tanks, which must be in the dryer, and the burner setting. Residence time in
level for tank stick measurements to be accurate. Both the dryer is usually three to four minutes. Dryers are
the tanks and the circulation system piping must be usually tilted about 3 to 5 degrees from horizontal; the
heated. steeper the tilt, the faster the aggregate passes through.

Asphalt oxidizes quickly at high temperatures, so For even, efficient heating, the dryer should spread the
exposure to air needs to be minimized. For this reason aggregate in an even veil across the center of the
the circulation return line must discharge below the drum. This is affected by the arrangement of the
surface of the asphalt in the tank. flights and the speed of the drum (usually about 8 to
10 rpm).
Keeping the storage temperature below the specified
maximum (usually about 325oF) minimizes oxidation Burner and draft fan adjustments are also important to
and the danger of explosion. Temperature corrections dryer operation. In an efficient dryer there is
must be made to tank measurements; asphalt expands complete combustion of the fuel and the exhaust gases

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leave the drum about 20 degrees hotter than the (The remaining items of Section 4.3 apply only to
aggregate. Incomplete fuel combustion is indicated by batch plants)
oily residue on the aggregate and/or black, oily
exhaust. This is bad for the mix and increases air Segregation in a silo is more likely if it is completely
pollution and fuel costs. emptied several times during a shift. Use of a strain
gauge bin level indicator is desirable since most
The production rate of the entire plant is dependent high/low bin indicators are unreliable. It is desirable to
upon the dryer’s efficiency. Asphalt concrete can’t be keep the silo one-third to two-thirds full. Cooling is a
produced any faster than the aggregate can be heated problem if the mix is held too long in a silo, especially
and dried. if the amount of mix is small or the silo is not
insulated.
4.3.7 Drum-Mixer Dryer
The information about batch plant dryers also applies 4.3.10 Screening Unit
to drum-mixer dryers. An exception is that exhaust Proper, consistent aggregate in a batch plant depends
gases in drum mixers are much hotter than the mix on the hot screening operation. Motors and bearing
produced, due to the lower efficiency of the parallel must be in good condition to ensure adequate screen
flow system. Residence time in the dryer of a drum- speed. Worn screens develop holes, which allow
mix plant is very important since it is also the mixer. oversize aggregate to fall into the bins for smaller
If residence time is too short, the aggregate may not material.
be completely coated with the asphalt. Over-mixing,
on the other hand, leads to oxidization (premature The opposite problem can also occur. Aggregate must
aging and embrittlement) of the asphalt cement. stay on the finer screens long enough for the small
material to pass through them. An excessive feed rate
4.3.8 Dust Collector results in “carryover” of smaller particles into the
coarse aggregate bins. Carryover may result if the
Good operation of the dust collection system not only
screens are plugged.
reduces air pollution but also helps produce a good
mix.
The pressure drop in a baghouse is typically 2 to 6
inches of water. If the bags become plugged, the
pressure drop increases and the draft will be retarded.
This results in poor fuel combustion and a bad paving
mix.
If fines from the dust collector are recycled back into
the mix, the feed must operate smoothly. If the flow of
fines is uneven, the plant will produce a bad mix, with
alternately too many and too few fines.

4.3.9 Hot Mix Storage and Loading

Hot mix conveyors should have scrapers to prevent
carryover (belt drippings).
Segregation is the biggest problem in storage and
loading. It can be minimized during silo loading by
baffles or batching mechanisms. Trucks should be
loaded by dumping the mix in a series of overlapping
heaps. Dribbling or flinging the mix when loading
either silos or trucks leads to segregation and should
be avoided.

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 Figure 4-7
Flights in a Drum-Mix Dryer

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 Figure 4-8
Hot Asphalt Storage Silos

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4.3.11 Hot Bins higher than the reach of the paddles or, conversely, if
there is very little material in the batch. This is
Temperature control is best when production is steady
avoided by following the manufacturer’s
and material is not allowed to stay in the hot bins too
recommended batch sizes.
long. Bin gates must not leak when closed.
Bins should have telltales to warn if a bin is nearly
empty and automatic cutoffs to stop batching if a bin
is completely empty. The plant must continue to
operate to refill the empty bin.
Overflow pipes on hot bins must be kept clear to
prevent material from one bin from spilling into the
next, which results in an improper gradation mix.
Overflow usually indicates improper gradation of the
aggregate entering the plant, i.e. a problem with the
crusher, the stockpiling, the cold feed bin loading, or
gate settings. It may also result from problems with
the hot screening unit (worn screens or carryover).

4.3.12 Weigh Box

The scales operate in a dusty environment, so the
accuracy and cleanliness of the system should be
checked daily. Scales may become inaccurate if
fulcrums, knife edges, or other parts become dirty or if
moving parts bind against each other. A weight
indicator (dial or beam), which does not move freely
or go to zero at no-load needs immediate attention.
Weigh box gates should not leak when closed.

4.3.13 Asphalt Weigh Bucket

Asphalt scales and meters need to be checked and
calibrated for accuracy. Asphalt and dust may build up
on or in the bucket, so its empty (tare) weight must be
checked often. Cutoff valves must not allow excess
asphalt to drip into a pugmill batch.

4.3.14 Pugmill
Mix time should be the minimum needed to
adequately coat the aggregate with asphalt, as
determined by Ross Count tests. Over mixing leads to
oxidation (premature aging and embrittlement) of the
asphalt.
Excessive clearance between paddle tips and the
pugmill liner result in “dead spots” of unmixed
material in the mixer. Paddles wear with time, so the
clearance needs periodic adjustment to stay within
specifications. The clearance between paddle tips and
pugmill is generally 3/8 inch to 5/8 inch.
Nonuniform mixing will result if the mixer is filled

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