Whether the project involves paving a highway or sealing a driveway, ground limestone (calcium carbonate) or ground dolomite (calcium magnesium carbonate) plays a key role in the application’s success.
Products using limestone and dolomite in an aggregate filler mix include:
- Asphalt—concrete mix
- Highway asphalt crack fillers
- Residential asphalt driveway crack fillers and sealers
Fine Limestones and Dolomites in Asphalt
Finer ground limestones/calcium carbonates (GCCs) or dolomites are used as a part of the solid aggregate filler mix in asphalts. Adding a finer-particled material to the coarser aggregate increases the density and stability of the asphalt system by eliminating air voids in the aggregate. The finer materials fill in the spaces between the larger-particled aggregate, helping it pack well and forcing out excess air.
Ground limestone or dolomite, 200 or 325 mesh in nominal size, is added to the bitumen in an amount that varies from 1 to 10 percent of the total aggregate weight, with 4 percent being a typical level. For best effect, the finer filler must have 100 percent passing 30 mesh, with a minimum of 60 percent minus 200 mesh.
Specialty Minerals Fine Limestones and Dolomites For Asphalt
Fine limestones and dolomites with tight particle-size control are manufactured by Specialty Minerals Inc. (SMI) in three of its U.S. plants: Adams, Massachusetts, Canaan, Connecticut and Lucerne Valley, California. Products for asphalt applications are:
- Marblewhite® GCCs – 200 and 325 mesh calcium carbonates from Adams, Massachusetts.
- Dolocron® dolomites – 325 mesh calcium magnesium carbonates from Canaan, Connecticut.
- Marblewhite® GCCs – 200 and 325 mesh calcium carbonates from Lucerne Valley, California.
Learn more:
- SMI minerals for agriculture, landscaping, highway, and driveway applications
- Downloadable technical data sheets for SMI minerals
- Request a product sample
- What is Dolomite? A minerals introductory webpage
- What is Ground Calcium Carbonate (GCC) / Limestone? A minerals introductory webpage
- SMI minerals used in housing and construction
- Specialty Minerals plant profiles: Adams, Canaan, Lucerne Valley
