Asphalt Drum Mix Plant

An asphalt drum mix plant (continuous asphalt plant) is equipment that produces hot-mix asphalt continuously for paving. Unlike batch plants, drum mix plants dry, heat, and mix aggregates and bitumen in one continuous process inside a rotating drum
Cold aggregate is fed into a hot dryer/drum, where it is dried/heated and simultaneously mixed with bitumen and filler, then discharged as finished asphalt mix.

Type of Asphalt Drum Mix Plant

Stationary vs. Portable: Fixed installations for high-volume production vs. skidded/mobile units for temporary or remote projects.

Co-flow vs. Counter-flow: Co-flow drums have burner and aggregate in same direction; counter-flow have opposing direction (often better mixing).

Crosswind (ambient air) vs. Induced fan types: Some use a breeze vs. forced extraction for exhaust.

Additional features: Some drum mix plants add baghouses or wet scrubbers for dust control (to meet environmental norms).

Applications in Various Industries  

Used extensively in road construction and maintenance (highways, streets, airport runways, parking lots). Continuous plants are preferred for high-output requirements (e.g. long highway projects) due to high efficiency
In India, many road contractors use mobile drum plants for national highways and rural roads. Globally, drum plants are common where large, continuous pavement is needed.

Material Selection Considerations

Major components (drum, conveyors, augers) are made of heavy steel to handle abrasive, hot aggregate and bitumen. The dryer drum (often steel or alloy steel) must withstand high temperatures (~300 °C) and abrasive flow. Burners are steel with heat-resistant coatings. Corrosion is less of an issue inside the drum (dry, high-heat), but exhaust ducts may use corrosion-resistant steel or stainless liners. Mixers or pugmills (if present) use high-grade steel or manganese alloys to resist wear. Asphalt produced has strong waterproofing and load-bearing properties, but the plant must manage corrosive fumes (thus paint/coatings on exteriors).