Greenvale Energy is expanding the final phase of Alpha Test Program 7 after Technix failed to produce a compliant C-170 paving-grade binder. SAMI Bitumen Technologies will now test conventional bitumen blending and additive-based formulations, with results expected from a six to eight-week laboratory program.
- Technix did not achieve the preferred C-170 specification
- Adhesion and elasticity remain the key technical hurdles
- SAMI will test blending and additive-modification pathways
- Alternative AS 2008 paving-grade specifications may be assessed
- Laboratory program is expected to take six to eight weeks
Technix Misses Preferred C-170 Specification
Greenvale Energy Limited (ASX:GRV) has widened the technical search for a commercial bitumen product after its Technix program failed to achieve the preferred C-170 certification for the Alpha Project in Queensland.
Technix found that controlled distillation, compositional adjustment and high-shear processing made the Alpha-derived material more uniform and increased its viscosity, but the product remained off-specification. An oxidation step lifted viscosity further, yet also produced excessive hardness and asphaltene clustering, prompting Greenvale to abandon that route.
The remaining obstacles are more specific: insufficient adhesion and elasticity. Technix identified the balance between resins and asphaltenes as a key influence on performance and flagged crumb rubber as one possible way to improve the material.
SAMI Takes Over Final Binder Development
Greenvale has commissioned SAMI Bitumen Technologies to run the final phase of TP7 at laboratory scale. The program will cover residue preparation, detailed binder characterisation, formulation development and, if a suitable candidate emerges, compliance testing against an AS 2008 paving-grade specification.
SAMI will pursue two routes. The first will blend Alpha-derived product with conventional paving-grade bitumen, adjusting the proportions according to performance. The second will test compatible additives alongside controlled heating and mixing, with rheological screening used to refine the formulation and processing conditions.
C-170 remains the preferred target, but Greenvale has opened the door to another paving-grade specification if the measured properties suggest it is more technically appropriate or commercially viable. The Alpha material is being sent from New Zealand to SAMI’s research and development centre in New South Wales, and the work is expected to run for six to eight weeks.
Commercial Potential Still Depends on Product Performance
The reset preserves a pathway to a paving product, but it does not yet demonstrate a compliant binder or establish the economics of producing one. The immediate objective is to maximise the proportion of Alpha-derived material in the final binder while retaining compliance with industry standards.
Greenvale says the Alpha Project contains a previously reported inferred mineral resource of 28.6 million tonnes of combined torbanite and cannelite, associated with preliminary volumetrics of 27.7 million barrels of synthetic oil equivalent. Those figures describe the project’s reported resource base, not a proven commercial bitumen operation.
The next meaningful evidence will come from SAMI’s formulation results: whether adhesion and elasticity can be corrected, which specification is selected, and whether the laboratory work supports a move towards pilot-scale testing. Until then, Alpha’s strategic promise remains tied to a technical problem that the first processing route did not solve.
Bottom Line?
SAMI’s work could broaden Alpha’s product pathway, but the project still needs a compliant formulation and a credible scale-up case before its resource potential can be translated into a development proposition.
Questions in the middle?
- Can SAMI resolve the adhesion and elasticity issues without sharply reducing the Alpha-derived content of the final binder?
- Will C-170 remain achievable, or will an alternative AS 2008 specification become the preferred commercial route?
- What evidence will Greenvale require before moving from laboratory formulation to pilot-scale or development work?