Global Slag News

Canada: CarbiCrete has obtained the first Environmental Product Declaration (EPD) for its cement-free concrete masonry units (CMUs). The products have specific CO₂ emissions of 11.7kg/m³ for the CMUs, 94% below the industry norm of 200kg/m³. FinancialWire News has reported that CarbiCrete’s recipe for the CMUs replaces cement with steel by-products, while also sequestering CO₂.

Concrete products company Canal Block is set to commence production of CarbiCrete CMUs at its Port Colborne plant in Ontario in early 2025.

Finland: Saint-Gobain and steel company SSAB are building a new slag processing plant in Raahe in North Ostrobothnia. When commissioned in 2025, the plant will convert SSAB’s steel slag into 90% reduced-CO₂ binders to replace cement in building materials. The partners aim to reduce the CO₂ emissions of Finnish building materials production by 200,000t/yr. Saint-Gobain first patent a slag-based binder design in 2022.

Saint-Gobain will invest €12m and SSAB €2m towards the cost of the plant, which will be 35% funded by Sustainable Growth Finland, under the NextGeneration EU initiative.

Saudi Arabia: Saudi Readymix and Finland-based Betolar have launched two new reduced-CO₂ concretes, produced using ground granulated blast furnace slag and natural pozzolans with Betolar’s Geoprime technology. One of the products is cement-free and the other has an ultra-low (2.5%) cement content. TradeArabia News has reported that the dual launch concludes a successful partnership between the companies, which began in 2023.

Saudi Readymix technology and strategy director Chris Leptokaridis said "Saudi Readymix has been at the forefront of developing new technologies to meet our customers' increasing demand for eco-friendly, low-CO₂ solutions. Our partnership with Betolar has enabled us to successfully deliver on this goal, offering groundbreaking concrete recipes that significantly reduce carbon emissions."

Betolar senior researcher Ahmad Alzaza said "This project pushed the boundaries of innovation by bringing low-carbon technology into the ready-mix concrete space. We are proud to have contributed to a solution that will help advance sustainable construction across Saudi Arabia."

US: Novel concretes developer Greencraft has made a patent application for a new method of CO₂ mineralisation using a microporous material containing mineral oxides, like slag. Global Warming Focus News has reported that the method also works for natural hyaloclastite, bottom ash, fly ash, volcanic ash and lava.

Greencraft said that its method marks an ‘improvement’ in current techniques for sequestering CO₂ in alternative materials.

Spain: The European ferrous slag association EuroSlag held its 12th biennial EuroSlag conference in Bilbao on 23 to 25 October 2024. The event addressed the transformation of steel industry by-products as a resource. Key themes included regulations, future trends and technical developments.

Addressing the conference, EuroSlag chair Thomas Reiche said that European cement producers eliminated 12Mt of CO₂ through the substitution of clinker with ferrous slags in 2023.