Displaying items by tag: Additives

It’s been a good week for graphene usage in the cement and concrete industries, with a trial set to take place at Breedon Group’s Hope cement plant and the inclusion of four graphene projects in the Global Cement & Concrete Association’s (GCCA) shortlist for its second second Innovandi Open Challenge.

The trial at the Hope cement plant was scheduled to take place on 28 June 2023, alongside First Graphene, Morgan Sindall Construction and the University of Manchester. The plan was to use 1.2t of First Graphene’s PureGraph product by testing different dispersion methods and dosage rates. The graphene was going to be prepared as a grinding aid and then added to cement grinding mill feed. Dispersion into the cement production line was planned to occur over a 24-hour period using traditional grinding aid dosage lines, with minimal operational or mechanical change required to the existing plant.

The cement produced was then going to be validated by Breedon’s quality control team to assess its performance enhancement. Overall the trial was going to produce around 2000t of graphene-enhanced cement during the trial. This cement will then be passed to Morgan Sindall Construction for real-world construction demonstrations. First Graphene reckoned that the trial was going to produce the largest volume of graphene-enhanced cement manufactured to date.

First Graphene and the other partners haven’t released any information yet on how the trial went. However, the results will be used to build on data obtained from smaller scale trials previously conducted at a concrete processing laboratory in the UK.

Elsewhere, the 15 projects shortlisted by the GCCA, as part of the Innovandi Open Challenge, were set to pitch their ideas for access to the scheme. The benefits of inclusion on the scheme include access to industry plants, laboratories, networks and the expertise and infrastructure of the manufacturer members of the association. 70 applications were made for the second Innovandi round. The first round in 2021 was focused on carbon capture and utilisation and two projects eventually made it to the pilot stage. This time the emphasis is on low-carbon concrete.

The graphene-related contenders for Innovandi in the current round include Nano Crete, Nanospan India, SeaMix and Versarien Graphene. All four companies are promoting concrete admixtures that use graphene. Given the brief for this Innovandi round, these projects are focused on concrete production as opposed to the trial at the Hope cement plant, mentioned above, which is testing graphene addition during cement grinding.

Nanospan India, for example, is promoting its Spanocrete product. It says that its admixture acts as a superplasticizer and accelerator, allowing for reduced cement and water consumption, a shorter curing cycle and an increase in compressive strength. US-based SeaMix (part of MEP Group), meanwhile, has developed its own concrete admixture that uses chopped basalt fibres and graphene. It too offers greater compressive strength and reduced cement consumption for the resulting concrete. However, it also allows for the use of any non-potable water source, a compelling selling point for construction companies trying to minimise the use of drinking water.

It is early days yet for the application of graphene in the cement and concrete sectors. Graphene was first produced at the University of Manchester in 2004. Just under 20 years later and various products are emerging with test projects slowly gathering pace and even commercial applications, such as SeaMix and others, building up their portfolios. Various challenges such as reduced workability, the high cost of graphene or even concerns about simply handling graphene get raised in discussions about the wider adoption of graphene-based admixtures but so far these do not seem insurmountable. We await the outcomes of the trial at Hope and the selections of the second round of Innovandi.

For more on Seamix read the interview with Rey Rubio, the Vice President of MEP Consulting Engineers, in the July - August 2023 issue of Global Cement Magazine

Europe/India: Finland-based Betolar has secured EU-wide and Indian patents for a new waste-based alternative concrete produced without cement and capable of storing energy. Betolar said that the material, which is already patented in Finland, is especially suited for use in renewable energy infrastructure, where it can provide a storage solution for dealing with short-term peaks. Chief commercial officer Ville Voipio said that the company will now seek to establish a partnership for commercialisation of its new alternative building material.

Betolar produces and markets the Geoprime additive used to produce cement-free concrete from supplementary cementitious materials, including ground granulated blast furnace slag (GGBFS), in regions that include India and the EU.

UK: Oscrete UK has appointment three new sales managers and two new trainee concrete technicians as part of on-going growth at the company. David Todd has joined as Area Technical Sales Manager (North), David Taylor as Area Sales Manager (Midlands) and Karl Mobley Area Technical Sales Manager (South East). Keiron and Michael Todd have joining the new product development (NPD) and technical team. Todd worked previously as an account manager for Cemex.

Oscrete is a specialist construction chemical suppliers, manufacturing a range of concrete admixtures for the pre-cast and ready-mix market and developing and supplying additives for the manufacture of dry bagged mortars and adhesives.

Finland: Geoprime producer Betolar has named Riku Kytömäki as its new president and CEO. Riku's professional background is in materials technology, having served as president and CEO of Exel Composites and held senior positions in Switzerland-based ABB. Kytömäki holds board positions in several international companies and organisations, including polymers producer Teknikum Group. He has management experience in Asian markets where Betolar has expanded during the past few years.

Betolar said "Riku will lead Betolar through its next growth phase as its Geoprime solution is entering active production. Geoprime is a next-generation, low-carbon solution and sustainable alternative to cement: it delivers 80% fewer emissions and 100% cement-free building materials with the same performance as traditional concrete."

India: Finland-based Betolar has launched its first concrete products manufactured using Geoprime on the Indian market. Geoprime is an additive designed for use in cement-free concrete production with ash and ground granulated blast furnace slag (GGBFS). The new concrete product range consists of precast blocks, paving slabs and tiles, and is currently on display at World of Concrete India in Mumbai, Maharashtra.

Betolar's India managing director Abhishek Bhattacharya said "We are happy to introduce our first products to our customers for the Indian markets. We have now moved from laboratory tests into the production phase, and can show concretely how well this solution works. It is great to hear the feedback from the concrete industry in the region to our sustainable solution. Decarbonisation of the concrete industry is a very current and important topic."

UK: Breedon Group, together with Australia-based First Graphene, Morgan Sindall Construction & Infrastructure and the University of Manchester, is developing a new reduced-CO₂ graphene-enhanced cement. The consortium is currently formulating the cement using varying doses of First Graphene’s PureGRAPH graphene-enhanced grinding aid. The project received a research grant from the UK government earlier in 2022. First Graphene says that the study involves one of the largest commercial trials of its kind to date globally. It is simultaneously collaborating on another similar trial with a Europe-based speciality chemicals producer.

On 29 September 2022, First Graphene launched its latest range of graphene-enhanced cement grinding aids and concrete additives. These join recent launches PureGRAPH AM, an admixture developed in collaboration with South Africa-based Nanoproof/Glade Chemicals, and HexMortar, a dry mortar mix which will be distributed by New Zealand-based GtM Action.

First Graphene says that its cement and concrete segment’s order pipeline totals US$113m in value. Managing director and chief executive officer Michael Bell said “It is pleasing to see our efforts, and those of our collaboration partners, coming to fruition at a commercial scale. One of the primary drivers for the adoption of graphene solutions in this segment is the reduction of CO₂ emissions. We’re seeing considerable benefits both in the immediate reductions that can be achieved through the use of graphene-enhanced grinding aids, as well as the potential reductions in concrete usage because of the enhanced physical properties these products provide.” Bell concluded “Working with industry-focused partners such as Nanoproof/Glade Chemicals, GtM Action, Breedon Cement and Fosroc opens the way to an estimated addressable market of more than 12,000t of PureGRAPH across the medium to long term.”

India: Three new Indian concrete companies have separately secured agreements for the use of Finland-based Betolar’s Geoprime alkali-activated slag and fly ash additive. Reuters News has reported that the companies are Balaiji Cement Products, Shiv Tiles and SNEH Precast. Engineering company Godrej & Boyce has also signed a letter of intent with the supplier for pilot production of concrete blocks, paving slabs and other elements.

Betolar expects producers to achieve global concrete production volumes of 250,000t/yr of concrete containing Geoprime by 2023.

Germany/Italy: Italy-based Buzzi Unicem has launched its CGreen reduced-CO₂ cement on the German and Italian cement markets. The product uses alternative raw materials to partially replace clinker and also optimises grinding and mixing conditions through the use of novel specialist additives. In Germany, the available range of CGreen cements will consist of Dyckerhoff Eco Comfort cement and Dyckerhoff Cedur cement.

Italy cemeny chief operating officer Antonio Buzzi said "The ecological transition calls for us to adapt our behaviors and actions in order to neutralise our carbon footprint. This transition implies the partial or total redesign of production processes, distribution systems and consumption patterns, heralding the start of a potential industrial revolution and a change in our habits."

Russia: Germany-based Wacker has opened an additional laboratory in Moscow. The development site will focus on water-repellent silicone additives for cement and concrete. Mechanical pressure tests and ultrasound and temperature measurements are among the services that the new laboratory offers for water-repellent treatment of cement and concrete. The site is part of Wacker’s Innovation Hub for Cement and Concrete.

Wacker opened its first technical laboratory in Moscow in 2003. Both Wacker Silicones and Wacker Polymers now operate multiple labs in Moscow for construction chemical products. The new laboratory also hopes to collaborate with local universities and testing facilities and the first projects have already been commissioned.

Australia: First Graphene has started a five year collaboration research and development agreement with construction chemicals manufacturer Fosroc International to develop its PureGraph graphene-based cement additive product range. First Graphene will provide access to its formulation and dispersion process technologies and Fosroc will take responsibility for additive raw material supplies and formulations, mixing and dispersion and extensive laboratory trials. The objective of the deal is to jointly develop a range of PureGraph-enhanced cement additives that Fosroc will add to its portfolio of specialty products.

Michael Bell, the managing director and chief executive officer of First Graphene, said, “The agreement with Fosroc is a significant further step for First Graphene as we implement our go-to-market plan to become the world’s leading supplier of graphene-enhanced cement and concrete solutions. Fosroc has significant penetration into multiple global markets that will be highly beneficial in helping expand our reach and educating the market on the significant benefits, including emission reductions, that graphene-enhanced products provide.”

First Graphene says that the clinker factor of cement can be reduced by up to 20% through the use of its PureGraph additive products during the final grinding phase of cement production.