Displaying items by tag: sustainability

Finland: Betolar has procured a patent for a new accelerator solution for use in CEM III/B slag cement mixes. The company says that the product enables the achievement of conventional demoulding times in the production of concrete elements using slag cement with a clinker content of 20 – 34%. It will also enable its use in hollow-core slabs and as shotcrete in the mining industry.

President and CEO Tuija Kalpala said "Our patented innovation paves the way for the large-scale use of cement mixtures in the production of concrete elements and products, significantly reducing CO₂ emissions."

Finland/Germany: Heidelberg Materials and Metsä Wood have launched a concrete-based wall element designed to replace conventional walls in construction. The product is comprised of insulation and laminated veneer lumber, sandwiched between two layers of reduced-CO2 concrete. The Cool Down News has reported that the element has 30 – 50% lower CO₂ emissions than conventional concrete walls, according to its developers. It also reduces the total weight of the wall by 60%.

Metsä Wood business development manager Håkan Arnebrant said "One of the advantages of this hybrid element is that builders do not have to change their way of building with concrete elements, but can still lower their emissions. At the same time, the walls can be made 50 – 75mm thinner than walls built with concrete elements, which can give quite a few extra square meters in a building."

Brazil: Gerdau Graphene has launched NanoCONS, a new line of graphene-based admixtures for concrete. Graphene-Info News has reported that NanoCONS increases the durability and strength of concrete, while lowering its CO₂ emissions by 20%, according to the developer. Gerdau Graphene noted that the first product in the line, water-based NanoCONS W104, offers faster drying times, making it well-suited to use in precast concrete production.

Poland: Heidelberg Materials has inaugurated its new construction and demolition materials (CDM) recycling plant at Katowice, Silesia. The plant will use a patented crusher to separate and sort 100t/hr of CDM. It will then recycle the materials in new concrete using its ReConcrete circular concrete production technology.

Chief sustainability officer Nicola Kimm said "Thanks to our strong commitment to continuous innovation, we are now introducing a revolutionary and commercially viable technology combining circularity with decarbonisation on our path to net zero. Innovations like this help to accelerate our transformation and highlight our ambition of closing the loop offering circular alternatives for 50% of our concrete products by 2030.”

UK: Low Carbon Materials has participated in a trial project to build roads with lower embodied CO₂ emissions. The company supplied its ACLA carbon-negative aggregate for use in repairs to the M11 in Essex. National Highways has reported that CRH subsidiary Tarmac and Sweden-based construction firm Skanska also collaborated in the project.

National Highways’ research, development and innovation director Joanna White said "Solutions like this could have a real impact on our road to net zero carbon, so we are delighted that we have been able to accelerate the development of the product and get it on one of our roads for testing.”

US: Vulcan Materials has secured approval from the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality for its upcoming aggregates quarry in Comal County. The approval is based on the company’s water quality protection plan for the 607 hectare site situated in the Edwards Aquifer recharge zone, which supplies water to 2 million people. The plan involves the use of vegetation strips, berms and flood plain areas, while excavating a total 387 hectare (64%) of the site in nine successive stages.

Vulcan Materials said that it plans to operate the site in a ‘safe, socially and environmentally responsible’ manner, and will ‘protect and conserve’ water.

Singapore: Pan-United Corporation has introduced a Sany electric-powered concrete mixer truck into its fleet. The truck has a 350kWh battery with a peak power of 360kW and a two-hour charging time. The move will reduce the CO₂ emissions per journey by 45%, in line with Pan-United Corporation’s goal of net zero ready-mix concrete production and distribution by 2050.

Pan-United Corporation CEO Ken Loh said "Pan-United is excited to welcome electric vehicles into Singapore’s built environment industry. We hope to eventually operate a substantial fleet of electric concrete mixer trucks for our day-to-day operations. This step marks an exciting new venture in exploring alternative fuel technology and a deepening commitment to accomplish Pan-United’s aim of being a carbon-neutral ready-mix concrete company by 2050."

New Zealand: Recycling company Central Environmental has secured a US$972,000 grant from the Ministry for the Environment. Local press has reported that the grant will go towards a US$2.43m expansion of its construction and demolition materials recycling operations. The company says that this will allow it to expand its footprint across southern and central North Island.

Managing director Ian Butcher said that the company has diverted 60 – 70% of parent company Central Demolition’s waste from landfill. It processes 80,000t/yr of concrete into materials for roadbuilding.

Europe: In 2023, 29.7Mt of slag entered the built environment in building materials in the EU and the UK. 20.3Mt (68%) of the slag was granulated blast furnace slag, of which 18.3Mt (90%) was ground for use in cement production, with the other 2Mt (10%) serving as aggregates. The remaining 9.4Mt of the slag was steelwork slag, of which 600,000t (6.4%) was used in cement and concrete production, with the rest used for roadbuilding.

Between 2000 and 2023, slag substituted for 752Mt of limestone, clay and sand in clinker production and for 405Mt of aggregates across the EU and UK construction sectors.

Thomas Reiche, chair of the European slag association EuroSlag and managing director of the FEhS Building Materials Institute, said "Despite the tensions on the European steel market, ferrous slags were once again able to make an important contribution to resource conservation, climate protection and the circular economy in 2023."

Sweden: Peab has won a contract to build the new Gothenburg Grand Central station for US$870m. The construction firm will integrate its Eco-Betong reduced-CO₂ concrete in the building. MarketLine News has reported that the project is set to begin immediately, with the station opening progressively up to early-mid 2027.

Peab’s West regional head Stellan Haraldsson said "The new station building will serve passengers from all of western Sweden and is a testament to our commitment to sustainable community building.”