Bitumen history

Iran Ertebat Bitumen Refinery

Bitumen history

The Sumerians, the Assyrians, and many earlier civilizations used bitumen.
It was used as a moisture-proof material as well as for wood preservatives and for various items such as mummification, sculpture and decorations. Also, natural asphalt, with bricks cooked in mastic in the building of temples, the base of bridges, streets and houses Has been used. About four to five centuries BC, the Achaemenids also used bitumen to seal in the palace with the magnificence of Persepolis, whose works still can be found in this collection.

The English equivalent of the bitumen Bitumen is the first use of the word in Latin, around 1460 AD. In English Americans it is called Asphalt, which is used in our country to be "Asphalt Mix".
The beginnings of the modern bitumen industry can be attributed to 1712, when stony figs were discovered in France. At that time, the bitumen material was simply sliced ​​on the surface of the local roads, and the traffic gradually thinned and crushed. This technique was quite successful and shortly thereafter, improvements were made, including burning and warming the material before it was used. Then the asphalt was tight and hardened by grinding and flattening the iron. This material, commonly known as Compressed Rock Asphalt, was used extensively in the streets of Europe, which has survived to this day.