The plant is equipped with warm mix technology which allows it to produce quality asphalt products at lower temperatures that are odorless and smokeless.
Warm mix asphalt has several benefits including:
- Less energy required to produce the asphalt mix thus reducing hydrocarbon and greenhouse gas emissions
- Ability to haul the asphalt greater distances
- Ability to place the asphalt at colder temperatures
- Safer for the workers producing and placing the asphalt material
The design of the drum mixer also incorporates features that allow the use of up to 50% RAP (Recycled Asphalt Pavement) in asphalt mixes. This ability significantly reduces raw material costs and recycles a product that would otherwise be hauled to a waste facility. Caltrans is currently allowing the use of up to 40% RAP in its asphalt products and many other agencies are following closely behind Caltrans in incorporating this green technology into their accepted pavement products.
This plant incorporates a 95,893 CFM Pulse Jet baghouse that controls particulate matter by filtering the plant’s exhaust through fabric filters before it enters air space.
The DeSilva Gates asphalt plant is also outfitted with a blue smoke system to help meet California's stringent air quality standards.
This plant utilizes Astec’s premium Ultra-Low NOx Phoenix® Phantom burner with industry leading low combustion and noise emissions.
The Phantom also achieves the highest electrical energy efficiency with innovations like variable speed drives and offers advanced mixing technology and the latest technological innovations to deliver the absolute minimum gaseous emissions available today.
Not only is this plant capable of producing asphalt at a rate in excess of 500 tons per hour, but is also capable of storing up to 1800 tons in six discrete silos.
This gives DeSilva Gates Aggregates the ability to supply even the most demanding paving projects such as major airports and freeways with very short construction windows. Finally, the technology incorporated into this plant allows it to switch between different asphalt mixes quickly and with minimal plant adjustments which allow it to service multiple projects and products at the same time.
DeSilva Gates Aggregates’ aggregate processing plant at this same facility also incorporates state of the art technology, including the largest aggregate scrubber currently available in the industry, to produce quality aggregates for use in asphalt and Portland cement concrete production.
