ENVIRONMENT & SUSTAINABILITY
SAMI has been implementing measures to minimise emissions from its import, storage and manufacturing processes.
SUSTAINABLE BITUMEN SUPPLY:
LESSONS FROM SAMI SAMI BITUMEN, A LONG-TERM SUPPLIER OF BITUMEN PRODUCTS IN AUSTRALIA, IS KEEN TO PLAY ITS PART IN MORE SUSTAINABLE BITUMEN DELIVERY FOR ROAD CONSTRUCTION. HERE’S A LOOK AT THE COMPANY’S BITUMEN SUPPLY CHAIN FOR MORE INSIGHTS.
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very year, Australia uses more than 800,000 tonnes of bitumen for asphalt and sprayed sealing applications. With all this bitumen imported from overseas, bitumen importation and storage processes have an impact on the overall sustainability of road infrastructure. SAMI Bitumen Technologies, as the first independent bulk bitumen supplier in Australia, has been involved in importation of bitumen to Australia since 2005. The company’s facilities in Brisbane, Kwinana, Fremantle, Sydney and Geelong have a combined capacity of over 50,000 tons for bulk bitumen storage. Apart from supplying all bitumen grades as specified in the Australian Standard AS2008 – including multigrade and EME(Enrobés à Module Elevé) grade bitumen – SAMI’s facilities also manufacture a range of speciality bituminous products, such as polymer modified binders, emulsions and polymer modified emulsions. As part of a broader company mission to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 30 per cent by 2030, SAMI has been implementing a series of measures to minimise emissions
from its import, storage and manufacturing processes. The goal, as Scott Olsen, SAMI’s State Manager for Western Australia explains, is to achieve emission reductions across the entire SAMI supply chain. “SAMI’s is a cradle-to-grave solution across the entire network,” he says. “From having due consideration in picking our source refineries and transport options, to installing solar panels on our storage sheds and helping with reduction or removal of kerosene use in sprayed sealing applications with our products, SAMI has been progressing on all fronts towards greater sustainability,” he tells Roads & Infrastructure. As a supplier of crumbed rubber modified binders, Olsen says recycled tyres account for about 30 per cent of SAMI’s annual production by tonnage. SAMI has also developed sprayed sealing binders that eliminate the use of petroleum-based solvents for sprayed sealing operations, thus preventing the emission of solvent into the atmosphere. “SAMI has been pioneering in the introduction of speciality hard-grade binders, which enable high modulus asphalt
to be used in heavy-duty pavements. This helps reduce the pavement thickness by up to 25 per cent, thus helping minimise use of non-renewable products. Other examples of sustainable SAMI solutions include developing micro surfacing binders to enhance skid resistance and extend the service life of the road surfac, as well as developong the environemntally friendly BioPrime solution to replace kerosene-based bitumen cutters for priming purposes,” says Olsen. THE SAMI PROCESS Olsen, who also oversees SAMI’s bitumen shipments and storage via Kwinana and Fremantle Port in Western Australia, says all of SAMI’s bulk bitumen is imported from carefully selected refineries, predominantly in Asia. “Having the majority of our sources located locally within Asia helps reduce our carbon footprint from transport,” he says. “Additionally, we have been studying bitumen fume emissions over the past few years to develop predictive models that are used for the selection of bitumen sources.” roadsonline.com.au
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