Taking a Hard Look at Concrete's Carbon Footprint

If there was any thread of hope for skeptics that global warming could be controlled by merely incremental changes to industrial processes and our way of life, the United Nation’s blue-ribbon Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change dashed that permanently in August.

As U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres said in releasing the group's report, it was “a code red for humanity. The alarm bells are deafening, and the evidence is irrefutable.”

The report said the scientific consensus the brink of reaching the global increase of 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels was “… perilously close. We are at imminent risk of hitting 1.5 degrees in the near term. The only way to prevent exceeding this threshold, is by urgently stepping up our efforts, and pursuing the most ambitious path.”

Solidia uses a new formula for cement. Its hydrothermal liquid-phase densification (rHLPD) process uses less limestone (50% vs. 66%) and operates at significantly lower temperature (1200 degrees F) to bond and harden the particle mixture, cutting greenhouse gases by up to 30% while also saving energy. Another money saver is that it can be used in existing kilns.

In the concrete curing process, the Solidia Cement reacts with, and traps, CO2 instead of using water, consuming up to 240 kg of CO 2 , leaving 3-5% of the finished product as solid CO2 and allowing recovery of the water that’s used.  The company also claims that, “Unlike traditional ordinary portland cement (OPC), Solidia precast products can be recycled before curing, potentially eliminating tons of concrete landfill waste every year.” 

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CarbonBuilt Closes $10 Million Series A Financing

LOS ANGELES (October 6, 2021) CarbonBuilt has raised $10 million in Series A funding, led by Grantham Environmental Trust’s Neglected Climate Opportunities, with participation from Tony Pritzker, Lime Street Ventures, Climate Capital, YouWeb IV: Impact, Foundamental and others. This injection of capital will be used to expand the CarbonBuilt team, further enhance its ReversaTM technology, and develop its first commercial projects.

“We are honored to have such stellar investors standing behind the company,” said Rahul Shendure, CEO of CarbonBuilt. “They share our conviction that carbon dioxide utilization has a critical near-term role to play in humanity’s path towards a zero carbon future. Enabled by CarbonBuilt’s technology, the concrete products industry is uniquely positioned to deliver on this promise.”

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L.B. Foster Narrows Focus to CXT Concrete and Rail Products

CXT Concrete Ties, CXT Concrete Buildings and Carr Concrete owner L.B. Foster has sold its steel Piling Products business assets to J.D. Fields & Co. in a $24 million transaction. The deal includes all inventory associated with the line of business, as well as related fixed assets, topped by a Petersburg, Va. fabrication facility.

“The Company has begun narrowing its investment focus in the more profitable areas of Rail Technologies and Precast Concrete Products,” says L.B. Foster CEO John Kasel. “There is substantial opportunity in these markets to build on the capabilities we have and drive greater scale. As transportation systems evolve and infrastructure demands increase to meet the needs for environmentally-sustainable solutions, these business areas are expected to benefit the most and will receive incremental capital to fuel enterprise growth.”

“The transaction will help us improve shareholder value by allocating capital to businesses with better growth and profitability outlooks,” he adds. “Our Piling Products business model was working-capital intensive and presented constraints on our ability to increase profit margins.”
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Feds Stipulate Asset Sale Tied to General Shale’s Meridian Takeover

The Justice Department Antitrust Division calls for General Shale Brick and Meridian Brick LLC to divest three plants, 14 showrooms and distribution yards, plus six mines in a proposed settlement of an antitrust lawsuit challenging the producers’ merger. The agency filed the settlement and suit-triggering complaint in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, contending the action is aimed at keeping competition for residential brick in Southern and Midwestern markets.

“Residential brick is an essential building block in American home construction,” says Antitrust Division Acting Assistant Attorney General Richard Powers. “As originally proposed, the transaction would have led to higher priced and lower quality residential brick, making it more expensive for millions to build and purchase homes. The settlement preserves competition for the manufacture and sale of residential brick to the benefit of American homebuilders and homebuyers.”

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Europe Aggregates Market to Grow 4.2% in Next Seven Years

The Europe construction aggregates market is predicted to expand by a CAGR (compound annual growth rate) of 4.2% from 2020 to reach a value of US$23,327.3m by 2027.

The market size stood at US$17,788.1m in 2019 according to the report, which covers the construction aggregates market in Europe (including crushed stones, sand & gravel, and recycled aggregates).

"The increasing demand for high-rise buildings in urban areas can have a tremendous impact on the global market," the report states. "The expansion of buildings and infrastructure such as schools, colleges, industries, and transportation structures can simultaneously improve the market prospects. Moreover, urban hubs such as London and Paris have increasingly used Europe construction aggregates prior to industrialisation. Besides, the demand for high-quality construction materials, including aggregates, will foster the market’s growth."

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GEIC Hosts First Exterior Pour of Graphene-enhanced Concretene

The Graphene Engineering Innovation Centre (GEIC) at The University of Manchester was the venue for the latest piece of pioneering work in using advanced materials in construction to promote sustainability in the sector.

Nationwide Engineering, Tier 2 partners of the GEIC, relaid parking bays on the service road adjacent to the Centre on Thursday 2 September, using its graphene-enhanced Concretene product as a ‘living lab’ to test performance in exterior conditions.

Graphene provides sustainability benefits by producing denser, stronger concrete, which allows for the removal of approximately 30% of the volume of material used and removal of all steel reinforcement from the floor slab, while achieving comparable or improved performance to standard concrete. This enables reductions both in carbon footprint and in cost for users.

These tests will help towards the development of standards and certification for Concretene to enable roll-out to the wider building industry supply chain.

In May, Nationwide Engineering undertook the first pour of Concretene in a commercial setting at the Southern Quarter gym in Amesbury, Wiltshire.

“Now we are exploring the use of Concretene in road and pavement design to provide a concrete with a higher wear resistance, lower water porosity to prevent frost and salt damage and an increased wear resistance," said Rob Hibberd, director of Nationwide Engineering. "This will provide a longer life-span to the road and require less maintenance.”

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World-First Resurfacing Project Mixes Graphene into Freshly Laid UK Road

As reported by the BBC, this new trial differs in that National Highways will be adding the graphene to the mix on site. The road authority will scrape up the existing asphalt along a three-mile (4.8-km) section of the A1 in the north, add in the raw graphene on site and then apply the fresh mixture to the surface, a technique it bills as a world-first.

"Laboratory trials have been a success and the on-site trials in Northumberland will be a world first use of graphene in road production, which enforces our commitment to innovation and helps to push the industry towards more carbon-friendly maintenance with longer-lasting solutions which we all benefit from," says National Highways Asset Needs Manager Graeme Watt.

The trials are being carried out with researchers at the University of Manchester, where graphene was first isolated back in 2004. Since then, scientists at the university have continued to uncover exciting new properties of the material and broaden its applications, which recently included putting it to use as the world's first graphene-enhanced concrete slab.

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Silica Sand Sector to Grow by 5% in Next Decade

Silica sand is used as a primary structural component in a wide variety of building and construction projects. It is an essential raw material in glass products to provide strength, colour, clarity, and other physical properties to the glass.

The Fact.MR report projects the value of the sodium silicate market will reach around US$9bn by 2031. Potassium silicate is projected to record above 4% CAGR over the decade.

Regionally, the market in China is expected to record 3% CAGR over forecast period of 2021-2031; North America is the most lucrative region and will generate over 50% revenue by 2031, according to Fact.MR.

The market in Germany projected to expand at above 4% CAGR through 2031.

“Increasing industrial activities in major countries and growing efforts to strengthen infrastructure have propelled demand for industrial silica sand,” according to a senior research analyst at Fact.MR.

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County Materials Corporation Acquires Green Bay, Wisconsin-Based Concrete Industries

Building on our reputation as a leader in production of concrete construction and landscape products, County Materials Corporation announced it has acquired the Green Bay-based manufacturing assets and real estate of Concrete Industries Inc., effective August 2, 2021. 

The acquisition of Concrete Industries Inc., an established company since 1995, adds to County Materials’ manufacturing capabilities in pipe and structural precast products, including box culverts. 

“The acquisition of Concrete Industries Inc. positions County Materials for long-term growth and market leadership in pipe and precast production throughout Eastern Wisconsin,” says Tim Sonnentag, President of County Materials. “County Materials and Concrete Industries Inc. have much in common, as we have both grown our family businesses through the years because of hard work, talented employees, and valued customers.”

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Thomas Swan Announces Graphene Deal with Mason Graphite to Create a New Venture, Black Swan Graphene, for Bulk Graphene Production

Thomas Swan & Co. Ltd. today announced that it has completed a joint venture transaction with Canadian-based Mason Graphite Inc. to launch a new company, Black Swan Graphene (BSG), that aims to establish a large-scale commercial production facility in Québec, Canada. BSG, has acquired the graphene patent and know-how from Thomas Swan in return for £3M in cash, 33.33% of the shares in BSG and a back-license that allows Thomas Swan to continue to manufacture and sell smaller quantities, up to 1000T per year, of graphene. Two Thomas Swan directors, Harry Swan, CEO and Owner and Michael Edwards, Business Director for the Advanced Materials Division, will also join the Board of BSG. In addition, Thomas Swan will provide its exclusive technical, production and commercialization expertise through a Services Agreement to ensure BSG’s rapid growth and success.

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Researchers Find a Way to Cure Concrete with CO2

Researchers from Saudi oil company Aramco and the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) have found a way of introducing more CO2 into concrete at the curing stage, saying it could be an important use for emissions captured from industrial processes, including cement-making.

Carbon-cured concrete sets much faster than the industry norm, and is more durable, they say.

They claim that if the global precast concrete industry implemented CO2 curing technology, it could recycle at least 63 million tons of CO2 every year, the equivalent of taking around 14 million cars off the road. The actual figure may be as high as 246 million tons of CO2, the equivalent of approximately 53 million cars, they add.

“This is all the more worthwhile given the manufacture of cement—the principal ingredient of concrete—produces around 7% of annual global greenhouse gas emissions,” says Aramco senior research scientist Issam Amr, who led the industry-academia research project, in a note to GCR.

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Watermelon Seeds to Cement Concrete Structures, Heal Cracks

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Watermelon seeds, known only for its nutrient qualities until now, can also be used to strengthen and heal concrete structures, thanks to a new technique developed by a team of civil engineering researchers at Visvesvaraya National Institute of Technology.

Led by associate professor Madhumati Latkar, the researchers proved that biocementation using watermelon seeds can strengthen and heal concrete structures in cost-effective and eco-friendly manner.

Following the study, a patent has been granted by the Indian Patent Office to principal investigator Latkar and her team. The research was carried out in view of the increased demand of durable building materials and the need for efficient techniques to augment the physio-mechanical properties of cementitious materials.

“Durability of structures is a prime issue, and large amount of money has already been invested in it. Presently, a number of chemical admixtures are used for crack healing as well as to increase the durability of structures. Using chemical admixtures has many drawbacks such as high cost and environmental pollution.” said Latkar.

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How do you make concrete more environmentally friendly?

Concrete is expected to contribute 12 per cent of global greenhouse gas emissions by 2060, thanks in large part to one of its main ingredients, cement, which is currently responsible for as much as eight percent of emissions.

But there's a movement to make concrete greener by reducing its carbon footprint. The Global Cement and Concrete Association has promised carbon-neutral concrete by 2050, a goal Canada wants to help the industry achieve.

"We live in a world that's still going to need cement and concrete," said Keith Brooks, programs director with Environmental Defence, citing the physical infrastructure necessary to create denser, more energy-efficient cities. "The industry's going to have to do its part to get there. But it is possible." 

There are two reasons why manufacturing cement releases a lot of carbon: the combustion of fossil fuels typically used to heat the kiln, and the chemical reaction that releases carbon stored in limestone. 

Reducing the carbon currently used to fire the kilns is already in progress. Adam Auer, vice-president of environment and sustainability with the Cement Association of Canada (CAC), said that almost all cement producers in Canada use some portion of lower-carbon fuel, such as waste biomass, which is mostly wood leftover from things like construction and demolition. 

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Lafarge and Carbon Upcycling Technologies Sign MOU to Reduce Carbon

The MOU allows for the potential integration of Carbon Upcycling’s CO2-embedded concrete additive into Lafarge operations, while exploring opportunities to expand Carbon Upcycling’s operating capacity by developing larger processing facilities.

Carbon Upcycling produces a unique additive that makes concrete both stronger and more sustainable with the ability to reduce the carbon footprint of concrete by up to 25% on a lifecycle basis. Carbon Upcycling’s foray into construction materials began in 2018 through its participation in the LafargeHolcim Accelerator program, which aimed to accelerate the growth of innovations in the building materials industry.

“The results we’ve seen with Carbon Upcycling are really promising,” says Brad Kohl, President, and CEO of Lafarge Western Canada. “Across our industry, we are all driven to capture and utilize CO2 wherever we can.”

“By collaborating with Lafarge we are taking a meaningful step towards providing the construction community with the tools that will define the circular carbon infrastructure and the impending Carbon Age,” says Apoorv Sinha, CEO and Co-Founder of Carbon Upcycling Technologies.

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Using Graphene to Improve Roads

The GEIC is investigating whether graphene can be put into bitumen when resurfacing roads. We already use an innovative technique for resurfacing, where we employ a specialist machine to break-up the existing road surface. It then mixes the old surface with bitumen and additives to produce the new road surface. The GEIC is trialing whether adding graphene will improve the life of the new road surface. If trials are successful, and we’re able to use it, it’ll be a world first!

The GEIC is testing whether graphene can be used in asphalt. This is the stuff that’s used for the top surface of a road, sometimes called tarmac.

Ultraviolet radiation from the sun damages the asphalt, making it brittle. The road surface then cracks, creating potholes and eventually the road has to be resurfaced. We’re hoping that graphene will make the asphalt stronger and less likely to be affected by sunlight. In turn, this will mean we need to repair the road much less often, so road and lane closures will be less frequent too.

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Oldcastle APG Acquired EP Henry

Oldcastle APG today announced its acquisition of EP Henry, a privately owned manufacturer of hardscape and masonry products in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. Operating from seven manufacturing and distribution facilities across New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and Maryland, EP Henry provides pavers, segmental retaining walls, masonry block, and wet-cast products to the building materials market.

"I am thrilled to welcome J.C. Henry and the entire EP Henry team to Oldcastle APG," says Tim Ortman, President, Oldcastle APG. "Across four generations, EP Henry has stood the test of time as a thought-leader in the hardscapes and masonry industries, bringing families together through best-in-class outdoor living spaces. I look forward to working with the EP Henry team to ensure a seamless transition for the customers we serve."

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PCA Releases US Regional Cement Consumption Forecasts

The Portland Cement Association (PCA) Market Intelligence Group released their Spring 2021 Regional Forecasts for the Northeast, Central, West, and Southeast United States. These forecasts cover cement consumption and real put-in-place construction spending.

West:

As the economy continues to recover from the impacts of the coronavirus, the Pacific and Mountain region’s cement consumption forecasts have been slightly upwardly revised from the Winter release. Some states in the West (Idaho, Utah, and Oregon) have returned to pre-pandemic employment levels. Full Western Outlook

Central:

In the West South Central census division, PCA Market Intelligence expects cement consumption to grow 2.3% in 2021, following a decline of 2.5% last year. The regional decline in 2020 was largely attributed to a drop in oil-well cement demand. Excluding oil-well cement, construction-related cement consumption grew 2.9% in 2020. The region maintains very strong construction fundamentals given demand from strong in-migration and an expanding tax base. Full Central Outlook

Northeast:

The Northeast has been hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic and had some of the most severe responses. Despite this, cement consumption was able to grow 0.6 percent in 2020, largely due to a strong start to the year, and PCA projects a flat growth of 0.1 percent in 2021. The Middle Atlantic was down nearly 3 percent in 2020, however, the East North Central and New England were up 1.9 percent and 4 percent, respectively. Following this, 2021 PCA Market Intelligence expects cement consumption in the Northeast to rise by 1.1 percent in 2022. Full Northeast Outlook

Southeast:

Cement consumption in the South Atlantic Census division will be strong. PCA Market Intelligence expects cement consumption to grow by 6.8 % in 2021 and 2.1% in 2022. Full Southeast Outlook

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Westlake Significantly Expands its Presence in the Growing North American Home Construction Materials Markets by Acquiring Boral’s North American Building Products Businesses

Westlake Chemical Corporation (NYSE: WLK) today announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement with Boral Industries Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Boral Limited (ASX: BLD), under which Westlake will acquire Boral’s North American building products businesses in roofing; siding, trim and shutters; decorative stone; and windows for $2.15 billion in an all-cash transaction. The proposed transaction has been unanimously approved by the boards of directors of both companies and is expected to close in the second half of 2021, subject to the receipt of regulatory clearance as well as other customary closing conditions.

“This transaction will bring well-established and high-quality architectural solutions and premium product brands in roofing; siding, trim and shutters; decorative stone; and windows to complement our existing businesses, including Royal Building Products’ siding, trim and molding, DaVinci composite roofing, NAPCO Pipe and Fittings, and specialty PVC compounding business,” said Westlake President and Chief Executive Officer, Albert Chao. “The combination of Boral North America’s product lines with Westlake’s building products businesses will greatly expand our housing-related building products business and extend our presence in North America. We look forward to welcoming the Boral employees to the Westlake family and realizing the tremendous opportunities to grow the combined businesses.”

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SigmaRoc to Offer Cement-Free Alternative for All Precast Concrete Products

SigmaRoc says that, as part of its commitment to reducing the construction industry’s dependency on cement, it will start offering a cement-free ultra-low carbon alternative for every product in its precast concrete portfolio.

The cement-free range, which also extends to bespoke solutions, will be manufactured at SigmaRoc's five sites located across the UK. The company says this will provide the broadest geographical reach of any precast concrete product supplier in the country, while also minimizing carbon emissions throughout the supply chain.

Michael Roddy, managing director of Sigma Roc PPG, comments: “Greenbloc set the bar for bringing a cement-free alternative to a traditional building material into mainstream use, but it was only ever the start of our low-carbon journey."

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Homebuilder Sentiment Drops to 10-Month Low, as Construction Costs Drive Prices Higher

Builder sentiment in June fell to its lowest level since August, as construction costs pushed new home prices higher, sidelining buyers and making it harder for some builders to get loans.

The National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index dropped 2 points to 81, down from a recent record peak of 90 last November. Anything above 50 is still considered positive.

“Higher costs and declining availability for softwood lumber and other building materials pushed down builder sentiment in June,” said NAHB Chairman Chuck Fowke, a homebuilder from Tampa, Florida. “These higher costs have moved some new homes beyond the budget of prospective buyers, which has slowed the strong pace of home building.”

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