Displaying items by tag: Canada

Canada: Concrete block producer Canal Block has integrated CarbiCrete’s cement-free concrete production technology at its Port Colborne plant in Ontario. CarbiCrete’s technology produces concrete from steel slag. The integration at the Port Colborne plant commands US$2.24m-worth of funding from the global innovation cluster NGen, towards a total project cost of US$5.97m.

CarbiCrete CEO Chris Stern said "We are tremendously grateful for NGen's continued support, which is helping Canada position itself as the undisputed world leader in low carbon concrete."

Canal Block president Durk Bylsma said "Canal Block has had a long history of developing sustainable products for the masonry industry. We are excited to partner with CarbiCrete to bring this truly revolutionary technology to market and further our commitment to be an ecologically and socially responsible manufacturer."

Canada: Carbon-negative concrete producer CarbiCrete has signed a deal with Holcim subsidiary Lafarge Canada. Under the deal, Lafarge Canada will process steel slag at its St. Constant cement plant in Québec for use as an ingredient in CarbiCrete’s CO2-cured cement-free concrete.

CarbiCrete partner Patio Drummond produces carbon-negative concrete blocks using CarbiCrete’s technology at its Drummondville concrete block plant in Québec. The company is on a drive to double the production of CarbiCrete blocks. It first partnered with CarbiCrete during trial production of its material in 2018.

Lafarge Canada vice-president of cement Andrew Stewart said “We are committed to reducing our environmental footprint and leading the way in sustainable construction. Our partnership with CarbiCrete is a testament to our dedication to offering sustainable solutions and actively participating in the circular economy.”

CarbiCrete CEO Chris Stern said “Collaborating with Lafarge allows us to leverage long-established infrastructure and years of expertise in processing steel-related by-products. This enables us to make an immediate climate impact as we scale the deployment of our technology which reduces embodied carbon in concrete by both avoiding emissions and removing carbon through mineralisation.” Regarding the on-going scale-up of production at Patio Drummond’s Drummondville plant, Stern said “Increased production of our carbon-negative blocks brings us closer to our common goal of decarbonising production of the world’s most consumed man-made substance.”

Canada: Enviri Corporation’s Harsco Environmental division has renewed a steel mill services and products agreement with ArcelorMittal Long Products for its plant in Quebec. Under the two-year deal, Harsco Environmental will continue to offer a range of services, including slag pit digging, metallic recovery, melt shop cleaning, support services and ad-hoc rentals.

Canada: Carbicrete has secured US$1.5m in funding from US-based SQN Venture Partners (SQNVP). The funds will finance research and development activities at its new Lachine laboratory, as well as operations at its Drummondville pilot plant in Quebec. It said that this brings its total funding received from major investors in 2020 to US$8m with investment already agreed from Harsco Environmental, the Quebec Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources and Sustainable Development Technology Canada (SDTC). The technology company is developing concrete products made with steel slag for the construction industry.

Chief executive officer (CEO) Chris Stern said, “This venture debt cash injection following our equity financing further underlines the thesis that the financial markets are believing in value-added, carbon-negative technologies such as CarbiCrete that mitigate CO₂ in our atmosphere. We are proud to have SQNVP as an investor in our company.”

Canada/US: Harsco’s Environmental division has invested US$2.3m in Carbicrete, a Canadian technology company developing concrete products made with steel slag for the construction industry. The investment will give Harsco Environmental a Board seat in Carbicrete and has been made in conjunction with a US$1.6m grant from the Government of Canada’s Sustainability Development Technology Canada Foundation and applications to further government grant programs. Harsco’s investment will aid the development of the technology through a demonstration program with support from a commercial concrete block manufacturer as part of a development consortium.

“This investment in innovation is aligned with Harsco’s on-going expansion into environmentally-focused products and services, and we are proud to support the development of this exciting technology,” said Harsco Environmental chief operating officer Russ Mitchell.

Carbicrete is developing a technology that allows the production of concrete without using cement by using steel slag instead. The concrete mix is poured into molds, like conventional concrete, and is then cured using CO₂. During curing, the gas becomes a solid, binding together the slag granules, and giving the concrete its strength. Carbicrete says the process can be implemented in any precast concrete manufacturing plant. It also says that the technology is ‘carbon negative’ because more CO₂ is consumed than emitted during the process.

Canada/US: TMS International’s sites in the US and Canada have received a total of 48 safety awards from the National Slag Association (NSA) for 2018. The NSA Safety Awards recognise superior performance as measured against occupational safety and health administration (OSHA) recordable injury rates. The awards were presented to the company during the NSA’s annual meeting in mid-September 2019.

North America: A survey by the North American Insulation Manufacturers Association (NAIMA) has revealed that its members used over 0.3Mt of recycled blast furnace slag in the production of thermal and acoustical insulation in 2017. The survey included data from both US and Canadian production plants.

Producers also used over 0.9Mt of recycled glass to produce residential, commercial and industrial thermal and acoustical insulation. Since the industry’s recycling program began in 1992, NAIMA estimates that its members’ plants have diverted an estimated 26Mt of recycled materials from the waste stream.

“Our industry is tremendously proud of the substantial use of recycled content in the production of energy saving insulation products,” said Curt Rich, president and chief executive officer (CEO) of NAIMA. “These products ultimately reduce building energy use and decrease our carbon footprint. Over the long term, the fibre glass and mineral wool insulation industry expects to continue using substantial amounts of recycled content in the production of insulation products.”

US/Canada: TMS International’s sites in the US and Canada have received 44 safety awards from the National Slag Association (NSA) for 2016. The NSA Safety Awards recognise performance as measured against Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) recordable injury rates. The awards were presented to the company during the NSA’s annual meeting held in Hollywood, Florida.

“TMS is honoured to receive these important awards and it is a testament to the quality management within this organisation,” said Raymond Kalouche, president and chief executive officer (CEO) of TMS International.

Notably, the company’s operation in Jewett, Texas received the award for ‘2016 Most Improved Job Sites for Safety.’ Sites at Middletown in Ohio, Glassport/Horsham in Pennsylvania, PA; Freeport in Texas, Jewett and Texas and Petersburg in Virginia received safety awards for ‘Job Sites that have Exceeded 200,000 Hours Since Last Recordable Incident.’

In addition, Chad Wolfenbarger of TMS’ Portage, Indiana operation was recognised for winning the 2018 safety slogan contest with ‘Working Safely Today For Family Tomorrow.’ Sergio Mendoza of TMS’ Puebla, Mexico operation was recognised for a Best Practice award for the team’s effort in developing a slag market at the newly established site with a steel company in Sahagun, Mexico.

UK: Rio Tinto’s production of titanium dioxide slag has fallen by 24% year-on-year to 246,000t/year in the first quarter of 2016. The company said that its Iron and Titanium division had optimised production in line with demand. It reported that two of nine furnaces at Fer et Titane, Canada and one of four furnaces at Richards Bay Minerals, South Africa are currently idled due to low demand for high-grade feedstocks.

"In the face of a testing external environment, our focus remains on delivering further cost and productivity improvements, disciplined capital management and maximising free cash flow, to ensure that Rio Tinto remains strong," said chief executive officer Sam Walsh. Production in iron ore, bauxite and aluminium increased in the quarter but production in copper and coal decreased.