bitumen

bitumen

1. any of various viscous or solid impure mixtures of hydrocarbons that occur naturally in asphalt, tar, mineral waxes, etc.: used as a road surfacing and roofing material

2. the constituents of coal that can be extracted by an organic solvent

3. any liquid suitable for coating aggregates

4. the bitumen

a. Austral and NZ informal any road with a bitumen surface

b. Austral informal the road in the Northern Territory between Darwin and Alice Springs

5. a transparent brown pigment or glaze made from asphalt

Collins Discovery Encyclopedia, 1st edition © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

bitumen

[bī′tü·mən]

(materials)

Naturally occurring or pyrolytically obtained substances of dark to black color consisting almost entirely of carbon and hydrogen, with very little oxygen, nitrogen, or sulfur.

McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Scientific & Technical Terms, 6E, Copyright © 2003 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

bitumen

A semisolid mixture of complex hydrocarbons derived from coal or petroleum, as coal-tar pitch or asphalt; before application, usually dissolved in a solvent, emulsified, or heated to a liquid state.

McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Architecture and Construction. Copyright © 2003 by McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.