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Blacklidge licensed the technology from and began developing the sealer (and another product, which it refers to as a "trackless tack").

"This sealer has the same characteristics coal tar has, but it doesn't have the normal coal tar problems," Blacklidge says. "It doesn't burn, it doesn't smell, and where you had to wait 8 hours normally to open pavement to traffic for coal tar, you can open pavement up to traffic in two to four hours under the same weather conditions using our product."

He says the material is more fuel resistant than standard asphalt-based sealers and equally resistant as coal tar sealers because "the more light-ends you take out, the tougher it is."

He says depending on weather conditions in a region contractors might want to use a polymer additive to give the material more flexibility.

Another material using ceramics is produced by Raynguard Protective Materials, which also produces a standard asphalt emulsion sealer. The ceramic product, which according to Gordon Rayner, Raynguard vice president, costs about the same as Raynguard's standard asphalt sealer, uses a "carbonyte process" to strengthen the asphalt binder.