CEI’s Containerized AR Blending System
BY AsphaltPro Staff
The team at CEI Enterprises, Albuquerque, New Mexico, has developed a containerized asphalt-rubber blending system that fits on two standard 8-foot by 40-foot shipping skids. Here’s how it works.
An unloading pump brings virgin asphalt from a supply tank into the unit’s heat exchanger on the first skid—also referred to as the heating unit. A CEI three-pass helical coil hot oil heater provides heat to coils inside the heat exchanger, heating the virgin asphalt to the elevated temperatures that are necessary for blending.
The heated virgin asphalt then moves through a mass-flow Coriolis meter and is transferred to the mixing tank on the second skid—also referred to as the mixing unit.
At the same time, a worker feeds crumb rubber into a hopper on the mixing unit. The hopper’s screw conveyor feeds metered amounts of the crumb rubber into the mixing tank to meet the heated virgin asphalt. Within the mixing tank, an internal mixer blends the asphalt and crumb rubber.
The mix then moves to the primary reaction tank, also located on the mixing unit.
Inside the primary reaction tank, a horizontal auger in the bottom of the tank agitates the rubberized mixture to keep it in suspension.
A pump transfers the mixture to the secondary reaction tank, located on the first skid. In this tank, the mixture is maintained in an agitated state for as long as needed to complete the reaction process. Once the mixture has met the specified reaction time requirements, it is pumped from the tank for use.
For more information, contact CEI at (800) 545-4034.