Displaying items by tag: fly ash

UK: Contractors poured 736m³ of cement-free concrete in an 11-hour continuous pour at the Hurst substation tunnel drive shaft of the London Power Tunnels project on 11 May 2023. Construction Index News has reported that Capital Concrete supplied the concrete. It uses a formula developed by Earth Friendly Concrete to replace 100% of cement with fly ash and ground granulated blast furnace slag (GGBFS) in the presence of an activator and admix solution. The supplier said that the concrete will reduce CO₂ emissions by 64% compared with ordinary Portland cement (OPC), corresponding to 111kg/m³ of concrete.

Vietnam: Trung Hieu Development Corporation has secured a five-year contract to use Betolar’s alkali-activated slag and fly ash-based concrete additive Geoprime. Trung Hieu Development Corporation plans to source the materials for Geoprime from local industrial side streams. Dow Jones Institutional News has reported that the move will eliminate 80% of raw materials CO₂ emissions across its 120,000t/yr-worth precast concrete production capacity.

Betolar's Head of Asia Juha Pinomaa said "Vietnam is the world's third largest cement producer and fourth largest cement consumer, with 85Mt/yr. We estimate that the Vietnamese market represents significant commercial potential for us in the coming years due to the huge potential for cement replacement.” He concluded “We can promote the local circular economy and accelerate Vietnam's sustainable development efforts by directly offering cement-free alternatives. The Vietnamese steel and energy industry generates large amounts of steel slag and fly ash as side streams, which can be used for Geoprime-based concrete."

India: Tata Steel has begun the export of Linz-Donawitz (LD) slag from its steel production processes to Bangladesh. The United News of India has reported that a Bangladeshi cement producer has purchased the material for use in its cement production. China-based cement shipping company Cemcoa will deliver the slag.

Chief operating officer Subodh Pandey said that Tata Steel continually pursues operational and market-facing innovations by creating value out of its by-products, as part of its quest to a sustainable future. It has achieved 100% granulated blast furnace slag (GBFS), fly ash and LD slag recycling.

Finland: Betolar has launched Geoprime, an alkali-activated additive for slag and fly ash used in concrete production. The company says that the product will enable concrete production from raw materials with 80% lower CO₂ than ordinary Portland cement (OPC). It aims to meet the growing demand for sustainable and cost-effective construction materials. Geoprime enjoys fast global scaling potential thanks to Betolar’s intellectual property licensing business model, which enables the use of existing production facilities, according to the company.

Chief executive offcier Matti Löppönen said “We have seen a massive shift in the concrete manufacturing and construction industries driven by investor pressure for environmental, social and governance data transparency and Net Zero commitments, and now people are keen to hear what we have to offer.”

UK: DB Group and Wolfenden Concrete have announced the upcoming launch of Supa Green, a range of cement-free agricultural concrete products produced using DB Group’s Cemfree technology. The partnership says that this assures a 62% maximum CO₂ reduction compared to concrete products made with Ordinary Portland Cement (OPC). It further says that the products have increased acid resistance. Cemfree is a low carbon concrete made using ground blast furnace slag (GGBS) and pulverised fly ash.

DB Group chief executive officer Wayne Zakers said, “DB Group’s mission is to improve the durability and sustainability of construction, working most intimately with our innovative partners. Working with Wolfenden will enable us to embed that innovation within the agricultural sector and to extend the benefits of our Cemfree technology to dairy farmers across the UK. The testing of Supa Green products has proven extremely successful, and so we look forward to the launch of the range, and to helping Wolfenden’s customers meet and exceed environmental targets.”

Russia: The Ministry of Energy has launched its roadmap for the use of slag and ash by the cement industry and in road building. Soyuztsement has reported that the roadmap lists pilot projects for the products’ use. Currently, 5 – 7% of ash and slag waste (ASW) is used. Under its Comprehensive Plan to Increase the Utilisation of Solid Fuel Combustion Products bill, published in mid-2020, the ministry plans to increase the ASW utilisation rate across Russia to 50% by 2035. This amount could cut 6.2Mt/yr of the cement industry’s direct CO2 emissions, corresponding to under 1% of its emissions in 2020. Additionally, it would lead to the production of lighter and reduce the thermal conductivity of concrete.

The bill is due for submission before the Russian parliament in April 2021, followed by a second bill to provide for incentives to slag and ash producers in September 2021.

UK: DB Group has supplied its Cemfree concrete product to a site in Birmingham, West Midlands for use by the Environment Agency in a flood defence project. It says that the agency will use the concrete “for kerb bedding and backing over several kilometres in conjunction with various recycled products in an effort to reduce the projects’ carbon footprint.” Cemfree is a low carbon concrete made using ground blast furnace slag (GGBS) and pulverised fly ash.

US: CRH subsidiary Ash Grove Cement says that it is undertaking an upgrade of its Port Manatee, Florida deep water cement terminal to install a high capacity FLSmidth Kovako unloader and modernise existing material transfer and electrical systems, as well as establishing self-loading capabilities. The aim of the upgrade is “to improve Ash Grove’s capacity to import cement clinker, slag and fly ash to meet the existing and future needs of customers in the Florida and South Georgia markets.

Regional president Monica Manolas said, “The underlying fundamentals in the Florida market are positive with good population and employment growth. The upgrade of the Port Manatee import terminal will expand our capabilities and strengthen our ability to meet growing demand in the region.”

The company says that construction will begin in early 2021 and the upgraded terminal will open in late 2021.

Australia: Researchers from the University of New South Wales (UNSW) and CRC for Low Carbon Living (CRCLCL) are testing a geopolymer concrete made from fly ash and blast furnace slag on a road in Sydney. A 30m stretch of road is being trialled with 15m of traditional concrete and 15m of a geopolymer concrete. Nine sensors have been positioned under the concrete to monitor and compare how the geopolymer concrete performs. The results from the trial will be used to create the first set of industry guidelines for geopolymer concrete.

“While we’ll monitor the road performance for up to five years, a lot of the data collected in the first three to 12 months of this world-first trial will be used to confirm our models and strengthen our predictions,” said Professor Stephen Foster, Head of the School of Civil and Environmental Engineering at UNSW and the CRCLCL project lead.

US: Charah has opened a slag grinding plant at the Port of Coeymans near Albany, New York. The unit uses the company’s proprietary process to grind granulated blast furnace slag (GBFS) to create supplementary cementitious materials (SCMs). The site is accessible by ship, truck and rail and will sell materials to concrete producers in the northeast of the country.

The new plant will also produce slag cement that is marketed under the MultiCem brand. Slag cement will be distributed throughout Charah Solutions’ MultiSource materials network, a nationwide distribution system of more than 30 sourcing locations that provide ready mix concrete (RMX) producers and other customers SCMs, including fly ash and slag cement.