Bitumen also known as tar, asphalt, tarmac, blacktop is an oil-based
substance. It is
semi solid hydrocarbon product produced by removing the lighter fractions
(such as
liquid petroleum gas, petrol and diesel) from heavy crude oil during the
refining process.
Bitumen is a stable, semi-solid substance at ambient temperatures.

The vast majority of refined bitumen is used in construction: primarily as a
constituent
of products used in paving and roofing applications. According to the
requirements of the
end use bitumen is produced to specification. This is achieved either by
refining or
blending process.

It is estimated that the current world use of bitumen is approximately 103
million tones
per year. Approximately 85% of all the bitumen produced is used as the
binder in
asphalt for roads. It is also used in other paved areas such as airport
runways, car parks
and footways.