Thickeners

Thickeners are natural or synthetic substances which are used to increase the viscosity of a liquid system. A thickener can be liquid or a solid depending on the source of raw material and intended applications.

To increase the viscosity of bitumen emulsions, mostly the residual bitumen is increased which in turn increases the cost to a very high level and require higher dose of emulsifier and other additives. Few emulsifiers claim to increase the viscosity and storage stability of Cationic Bitumen Emulsion but a fine balance of dose is required as low dose do not increase viscosity and a slight higher dose develop lumps in final emulsion causing it to fail in sieve test. Also prolonged storage of Bitumen Emulsion in open under hot and cold conditions cause the Bitumen Emulsions to cream (separation of water and formation of hard bitumen layer) and site dilution of Bitumen Emulsions by road contractors causes the breaking of emulsions which are serious issues for emulsion manufacturers.

Cationic Bitumen Emulsions contains cationic emulsifiers which are stabilized using strong acids like HCl under very low pH. Most of the natural and synthetic thickeners are not stable on this pH and disintegrate within hours of addition causing sharp fall in viscosity. Our products are a class apart.