Bitumen Density Calculator: Tonnes, Litres & Drums
Enter a quantity and press Calculate.
One cubic metre of bitumen weighs about 1,020 kg at 15 °C. One tonne is therefore around 980 litres, and a 200-litre drum holds roughly 185 kg, not the 204 kg the arithmetic suggests. Those three numbers cover most of what a density calculator is asked for.
The complication is heat. Bitumen is stored and moved hot, and it expands as it warms. A tanker measured at 160 °C is carrying about 9.7% more volume than the same mass would occupy at 15 °C. Measure by the litre without correcting for temperature and you will pay for material that is not there. The calculator above applies the ASTM D4311 correction, which most converters leave out entirely.
What bitumen density actually is
Paving-grade bitumen: 1,010 to 1,050 kg/m³ at 15 °C.
Use 1,020 kg/m³ when you do not have a test certificate. That is 1.02 g/cm³, or 63.7 lb/ft³, and a specific gravity of about 1.02. Bitumen is marginally heavier than water, which is why a lump of it sinks.
Density does two jobs. It converts a mass you have bought into a volume you have to store or spray, and it converts a volume you have measured into a mass you will be invoiced for. Get it wrong in either direction and the error carries straight into the money.
It is also the first thing to check when a delivery looks off. A binder that comes in well outside its stated range has usually been cut with something, and density is the cheapest test that will tell you.
Bitumen is the binder, at around 1,020 kg/m³. Asphalt is bitumen mixed with aggregate, at around 2,350 kg/m³. The difference is a factor of 2.3, and confusing the two is the most common error in pavement estimating. If you are working out tonnage for a road layer, you want the bitumen calculator, not this page.
Density by grade
| Grade | kg/m³ | lb/ft³ | Specific gravity |
|---|---|---|---|
| 40/60 pen | 1,020–1,050 | 63.7–65.5 | 1.020–1.050 |
| 60/70 pen | 1,020–1,040 | 63.7–64.9 | 1.020–1.040 |
| 80/100 pen | 1,015–1,035 | 63.4–64.6 | 1.015–1.035 |
| 160/220 pen | 1,010–1,030 | 63.1–64.3 | 1.010–1.030 |
| Polymer modified (PMB) | 1,020–1,060 | 63.7–66.2 | 1.020–1.060 |
| Bitumen emulsion | 1,005–1,015 | 62.7–63.4 | 1.005–1.015 |
| Cutback (MC / RC) | 930–970 | 58.1–60.6 | 0.930–0.970 |
Emulsion sits below pure bitumen, not above it
This is worth saying because the opposite claim is common. An emulsion is bitumen droplets suspended in water. Water weighs about 1,000 kg/m³ and bitumen about 1,020. Blend a lighter liquid into a heavier one and the result lands between the two, closer to the one you have more of.
A 60% residue emulsion works out at roughly 1,011 kg/m³ on a mass balance. It cannot be denser than the bitumen it is made from. Some published tables state that emulsion is heavier “because of the water content”, which has the physics backwards.
Cutbacks go the other way. The bitumen is thinned with a petroleum solvent at around 800 kg/m³, so a cutback comes out well below pure binder, typically in the 930 to 970 range. That matters for more than the arithmetic: it is what puts cutbacks in Column B of the ASTM correction table rather than Column A.
Why hot bitumen measures larger
Bitumen expands when it is heated, by roughly 0.06% for every degree Celsius. Over the 145 °C between a cold tank and a loading tanker, that adds up.
| Temperature | Correction factor | Density at that temperature | Volume vs 15 °C |
|---|---|---|---|
| 15 °C (base) | 1.0000 | 1,020 kg/m³ | — |
| 60 °C | 0.9720 | 991 kg/m³ | +2.9% |
| 100 °C | 0.9476 | 967 kg/m³ | +5.5% |
| 140 °C | 0.9236 | 942 kg/m³ | +8.3% |
| 150 °C | 0.9177 | 936 kg/m³ | +9.0% |
| 160 °C | 0.9119 | 930 kg/m³ | +9.7% |
| 180 °C | 0.9002 | 918 kg/m³ | +11.1% |
Read the middle column as the number you multiply a hot volume by to get the volume at 15 °C. Load 20,000 litres at 160 °C and you have 18,237 litres once it is back at base temperature. Nothing has evaporated. The mass has not moved. But if the invoice was written per litre at the hot volume, you paid for 1,763 litres of nothing.
This is why bulk bitumen is traded by mass, and why a tanker is weighed rather than dipped whenever a weighbridge is available.
The formula, in full
ASTM D4311 publishes tables, but it also gives the regression formula those tables were built from. This is the Column A factor, for asphalt with a density at 15 °C of 966 kg/m³ or higher:
T = observed temperature in °C · base temperature 15 °C
Volume at 15 °C = measured volume × VCF
Column B, with different coefficients, covers asphalts between 850 and 965 kg/m³. In practice that means cutbacks. Paving bitumen and PMB are always Column A.
The tables run from −25 °C to 275 °C, and outside that range they do not apply. And ASTM states plainly that they cover all asphalts except emulsified asphalts. An emulsion is two liquids with different expansion rates, so it needs the supplier’s own correction. The calculator above will not offer you one.
Drums, IBCs and tankers
A 200-litre drum holds about 185 kg, not 204 kg.
Drums are filled hot, at around 150 °C, where bitumen is near 936 kg/m³. Fill 195 litres of hot binder and you have loaded 183 kg. As it cools it contracts to roughly 179 litres, and the drum arrives with a void at the top. That void is not short measure. It is thermal contraction, and it is normal.
| Format | Nominal | Typical net | Used for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pail | 20 L | 18–19 kg | Waterproofing, patching |
| Steel drum | 200 L | 180–190 kg | Site quantities, export, remote work |
| IBC | 1,000 L | 950–1,000 kg | Mid-size spray work |
| Road tanker | 20–30 t | weighbridge | Plant supply, bulk delivery |
| ISO tank / flexitank | 20–24 t | weighbridge | Import and long haul |
Order by net weight where you can. If a supplier quotes in drums, ask what the net weight is before you count them, because 180 and 190 are both in common use and the gap across a hundred drums is a tonne.
Quick conversions
| From | To | Result |
|---|---|---|
| 1 tonne of bitumen | Litres | 980 L |
| 1 tonne of bitumen | Drums | 5.4 |
| 1 m³ of bitumen | Tonnes | 1.02 t |
| 1,000 litres | Tonnes | 1.02 t |
| 1 drum (185 kg net) | Litres at 15 °C | 181 L |
| 1 US gallon | Kilograms | 3.86 kg |
| 25 t tanker | Litres at 15 °C | 24,510 L |
| 25 t tanker | Litres at 160 °C | 26,880 L |
What this calculator assumes
- Base temperature 15 °C in metric, 60 °F in imperial. These are the two base temperatures ASTM D4311 defines, and the standard says not to mix the two systems. The calculator uses the correct formula set for whichever you pick.
- Column A is selected automatically when the density at base temperature is 966 kg/m³ or higher, and Column B between 850 and 965. That threshold is the standard’s, not ours.
- Drum net weight 185 kg by default, editable, because 180 and 190 are both traded.
- Correction is not offered for emulsion, because ASTM D4311 excludes it.
What it will not do: it will not replace a pycnometer test to ASTM D70, it will not settle a custody dispute, and it will not tell you what your supplier’s actual binder weighs. For any of those, the test certificate governs.
Frequently asked questions
What is the density of bitumen in kg/m³?
About 1,020 kg/m³ at 15 °C, with paving grades falling between 1,010 and 1,050.
That is 1.02 g/cm³, or 63.7 lb/ft³. Slightly heavier than water.
How much does 1 m³ of bitumen weigh?
About 1,020 kg, or just over one tonne.
Do not confuse this with asphalt mix, which weighs around 2,350 kg per cubic metre because it is mostly aggregate.
How many litres are in a tonne of bitumen?
About 980 litres at 15 °C. One tonne divided by 1,020 kg/m³ gives 0.98 m³.
Hot, it is more. The same tonne occupies roughly 1,075 litres at 160 °C.
How many drums are in a tonne of bitumen?
About 5.4 drums, at 185 kg net per 200-litre drum.
Not 4.9, which is what you get if you assume a drum holds 204 kg. Drums are filled hot and the contents contract as they cool.
Does bitumen density change with temperature?
Yes. It falls by roughly 0.06% per degree Celsius. Bitumen at 1,020 kg/m³ at 15 °C is about 930 kg/m³ at 160 °C.
ASTM D4311 gives the volume correction factors. At 160 °C the factor is 0.9119, so a hot volume is about 9.7% larger than the same mass at base temperature.
What is the specific gravity of bitumen?
Around 1.02 for paving grades, measured at 25 °C or 15 °C depending on the standard.
It is determined by pycnometer to ASTM D70. Specific gravity and density are numerically the same in g/cm³, because water is 1.00.
Why is emulsion lighter than bitumen?
Because water is lighter than bitumen. Water is about 1,000 kg/m³ and bitumen about 1,020, so a 60% residue emulsion lands near 1,011.
A blend cannot be denser than its heaviest component. Tables that show emulsion above pure bitumen have it the wrong way round.
Can I use ASTM D4311 for bitumen emulsion?
No. The standard states its tables apply to all types of asphalt except emulsified asphalts.
Water and bitumen expand at different rates, so an emulsion needs a correction specific to the product. Ask the supplier.