Displaying items by tag: rebar

US: Chemicals company Cortec has recommended its MCI Technology range of admixtures, surface treatments and speciality solutions for reinforced concrete structures. The products contain amine carboxylates, which migrate through concrete to form a protective layer on steel reinforcements. Cortec says that the product is suited to use in vulnerable desalination plant components such as concrete piping and brine discharge chests. Product include USDA-certified bio-based MCI-2005, which meets ANSI/NSF Standard 61 for drinking water system components.

Saudi Arabia: Al-Kifah Precast says that it is preparing to expand into other Middle Eastern countries, having more than tripled its sales since 2020. CEO Ehab Abu Salim says that the producer was a strategic supplier of precast concrete for Red Sea Global’s Red Sea Project in Tabuk Province, and now aims to support other major projects like the Neom new city and Amaala resort, also in Tabuk Province. Gulf Construction News has reported that the company has invested in research and development to establish best practices, as in its partnership with a UK-based company to produce marine concrete elements. It has reduced its CO₂ emissions through the use of alternative materials such as fibreglass, steel rebar and pozzolans.

Abu Salim said “Having a facility in the Red Sea Project was a strategic move. The plant produces all types of precast elements and we are also looking to improve the facility. We have an expansion planned; very soon it will be serving the entire region." He added “Precast technology helps to speed up projects, is more sustainable, offers higher quality, and the price is on par and sometimes even lower than using traditional construction solutions.”

US: A team from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) has developed a new method to sequester CO₂ in concrete before curing it. The method is based on the addition of bicarbonate of soda, which reacts with cement to produce a calcium carbonate-calcium silicone hydrate composite. The Journal of Engineering has reported that the method adds the benefits of CO₂ mineralisation during production and casting, doubling the mechanical performance of early-stage concrete. It also eliminates the effects of carbonation reactions in cured concrete, which weaken the concrete by lowering its alkalinity, which accelerates the corrosion of rebar. The method has the potential to sequester 15% of CO₂ emissions from cement production.

The team said “The pre-curing capacity of concrete to sequester CO₂ has been largely underestimated and underutilised. Our new discovery could further be combined with other recent innovations in the development of lower carbon footprint concrete admixtures to provide much greener, and even carbon-negative, construction materials.”