What is asphalt?

Asphalt is a dark, highly viscous liquid or semi-solid that is present in most crude petroleum. The liquid is used in road construction. Asphalt is a carefully refined residue from the distillation process of crude oils. (Do not confuse asphalt with tar. Tar comes from coal.) It is heated and used as glue for aggregate materials in road construction. The black paving you see on the road is made up of many different types of gravel and ground rocks, and held together with asphalt. That is why blacktop roads are commonly known as asphalt roads.

Rolling asphalt More >