shell bitumen freshair

Shell Bitumen FreshAir

Our ready-to-use bitumen that can effectively reduce the impact of road paving on air quality as well as neutralise bitumen odour.

SHELL BITUMEN FRESHAIR

Developing cleaner solutions for road paving plays a part in a wide-ranging approach to improving local air quality. That’s why we have developed and tested a new bitumen solution with road constructors and air quality experts that actively reduces the emission of specific gases and particulates during production and paving.

Shell Bitumen FreshAir is our ready-to-use bitumen that can effectively reduce specific gases and particulate matter from asphalt mixtures* by an average of 40% and therefore help reduce the impact of our industry on local air quality levels. 

Making road paving cleaner

The mixture of inhibiting components of Shell Bitumen FreshAir act directly with chemical compounds which are the source of gases, particulates and odour-releasing molecules (Nitrogen oxides (NOx), sulphur oxides (SOx), carbon monoxide (CO), particulate matter (PM) and volatile organic compounds (VOC)). The chemical reaction occurs at a molecular level which helps to cut specific gases and particulates or minimise them becoming airborne, therefore reducing the impact on air quality as well as helping to neutralise odours.

Switching to Shell Bitumen FreshAir is estimated to have a similar impact on the following:

  • On particulate matter (PM10), it would be equivalent of planting an average of 16 trees every year.
  • On NO2 levels, equivalent to an average of 40 cars removed per kilometres of asphalt laid per year.

No compromise on quality and specification

Shell Bitumen FreshAir makes no compromise on end quality. The additive leaves bitumen properties and asphalt mixture performance unchanged for both Shell penetration grade bitumen and polymer modified bitumen (Shell Cariphalte). Shell Bitumen FreshAir offers a cleaner, better way of working for every road development, from the standard to the best performing.

(The above scenarios use Shell field and laboratory studies to calculate the potential emissions reduction scenarios per km of road paved with Shell Bitumen FreshAir. For full details, refer to Shell Bitumen FreshAir Technical Knowledge Guide.)

*compared to conventional bitumen

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Shell Bitumen FreshAir Explained | Shell Bitumen

Title: Shell Bitumen FreshAir

Duration: 2:20 minutes

Description: 

Introducing Shell Bitumen FreshAir: What it is, How it works, Benefits

Bitumen FreshAir Transcript

[Background music plays]

Bright, uplifting music.

[Animated sequence]

Cityscape, port, factory zone. Countries around the globe. Cleaner Solutions tag. Cars on the street. Shell laboratory with researchers. Road paving scene. Community gathered in front of a road paver. Cars driving down the road.

[Text displays]

Roads and vehicles are the heartbeat of every modern city, facilitating the movement of people and goods.

But with urbanisation comes an increase in transport demand and industrial activity, which can lead to worsening levels of air quality.

The World Health Organisation estimates that most of the world’s population lives in places with air quality below acceptable levels.

Industries need to demonstrate cleaner operations or risk relocation away from urban cities.

Asphalt plants located far away from cities make road surfacing operations and supply chains more complex.

More governments across the globe are implementing stringent targets to monitor and reduce air pollution.

Cleaner ways of working are needed to ensure air quality guidelines are met.

Everyone plays a part.

At Shell, we help to keep the world moving with more and cleaner solutions for our customers.

Created in our world class R&D Centre and tested in four major locations.

We have developed a new bitumen solution to minimise the impact of road paving on local air quality.

We are the first major supplier of bitumen to focus our efforts on air quality improvement.

Our tests showed that Shell Bitumen FreshAir reduced the levels of sulphur oxides (SOx), nitrogen oxides (NOx), volatile organic compounds (VOC), particulate matter (PM) and carbon monoxide (CO) by an average of 40% during asphalt production and road paving when compared to conventional bitumen.

Shell Bitumen FreshAir is an innovative bitumen solution which can help our customers make a positive change and reduce impact of air quality in the communities where they operate.

Shell Bitumen FreshAir.

Paving the way for a cleaner tomorrow.

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