Asphalt mixing plants are available in a wide variety of configurations. These are typically categorized into batching plants and continuous type plants. The continuous plants are also known as drum mixing plants. Both these types have their own advantages when it comes to consistency in quality of final product, initial cost, operating cost and other such things. In addition to the categorization among batching and continuous type plants, the asphalt plants can also be separated into stationary and mobile plants.
Needless to say, stationary plants are designed to be installed at one place and remain there. On the other hand, mobile plants are designed to be shifted from one place to another frequently in a short period of time. The mobile plants(plantas móviles) tend to be modular in design making it easy for the operators to quickly move them from one place to another.
When it comes to choosing between batching plants and continuous plants, there are certain things that play an important role in the final choice. The batching plants produce asphalt mix in batches. The design of a batching plant makes the asphalt mix much more consistent as compared to the asphalt mix produced in a continuous type plant. However, batching plants tend to be big with production capacity of several hundred tons per day whereas the continuous type design has a limited capacity as these are designed to be mobile and produce limited amount of asphalt mix.
As far as the initial cost is concerned, batching plants require much more investment as compared to continuous type plants. When it comes to operating cost, the operating cost of a batching plant is typically higher when compared to a continuous type plant. However, the batching plant is still preferred all over the world in applications where huge amount of asphalt mix is needed consistently. This is due to the reason that a batching plant is capable of producing consistent quality, especially in huge amounts. The continuous type plant has the limitation of limited capacity and the design also does not allow for production of extremely high quality asphalt mix.
When it comes to choosing between stationary and mobile type plants, the choice depends on the application. If there is a project where you will need for huge amount of asphalt mix consistently over a long period of time, it makes sense to invest in a stationary plant. On the other hand, if you undertake small to medium sized contracts where limited amount of asphalt mix is needed regularly, it will be better for you to invest in a mobile or portable plant. In short, both these types have their own advantages when it comes to specific applications.
To conclude, asphalt mix plants are available in many different configurations and these configurations have their own pros and cons. You need to focus on quality of the material, reputation of the supplier, availability of spare parts(disponibilidad de repuestos) and efficiency of the plant among other things to make the right choice for your specific requirements. Ideally, you should get in touch with a few suppliers to get estimates for the type of plant you want. It will help you make a fair comparison and get the most value for your money when buying an asphalt mixing plant.