Eurobitume shared expertise at AIS2025 in Belgium
Eurobitume and its members are dedicated to safety and reliability throughout the bitumen life cycle – from refining and transportation to delivery, use and disposal. For this reason, Eurobitume HSE Lead Dr Anja Sörensen detailed Eurobitume’s current activities and recommendations with regard to emissions from hot bitumen at the 8th edition of the Asphalt Innovation Symposium (AIS2025), held in Antwerp, Belgium on 11 December 2025.
Focused on strengthening the link between academia and industry, the event brought together over 140 participants, including industry representatives, researchers, and key stakeholders.
Dr Anja Sörensen emphasized the temperature as the key factor influencing both the quantity and the composition of emissions from hot bitumen. She reminded Eurobitume historical recommendations of maximum safe handling temperatures: 200°C for bitumen and air-rectified bitumen, and 230°C for oxidised bitumen.
In addition, she shared recommendations and guidance about how to improve safe handling conditions covering engineering measures, administrative controls and the use of personal protective equipment
Dr Ian Lancaster, Technical Lead at Eurobitume, also contributed to the symposium, addressing the question of bitumen quality. He presented the different definitions and measures of quality – including performance in service, behaviour and appearance ; he highlighted as well the important role that specifications play in ensuring that bitumen producers, suppliers, and customers share a common understanding of the expected performance of a particular type or grade of bitumen. A robust discussion followed with other speakers on that topic.
