Displaying items by tag: US

UK: SteelPhalt, a subsidiary of US-based Harsco Environmental, has been awarded a research grant through the Industrial Energy Transformation Fund (IETF). The grant is part of a government effort to distribute funding to help energy-intensive industries cut their carbon emissions and energy costs. The grant funds will enable the company to conduct a feasibility study on energy-efficient solutions for asphalt production. The research will seek to identify ways to capture the waste heat in the exhaust gases and transform it into electrical power, with the objective of reducing the energy demand and carbon impact of the process. The company uses steel slag as a main component of its asphalt products.

US: The Slag Cement Association (SCA) has announced the winners of its 2022 Slag Cement in Sustainable Concrete Awards program at the ACI Concrete Convention that took place in San Francisco in early April 2023.

Eighteen construction projects from across the US were chosen to showcase the broad applications of slag cement. These construction projects were awarded in six categories: infrastructure, high performance, architectural, durability, innovative applications, and lower carbon concrete. Two research projects on slag cement use were also recognised in the program. The slag cement and concrete suppliers included Argos, Heidelberg Materials, Holcim, Ozinga, Skyway Cement and St Marys Cement.

US: Research by the United States Geological Survey (USGS) estimates that local sales of iron and steel (ferrous) slags were 15Mt in 2022 with a value of around US$795m. This is a slight decrease from the 15.7Mt reported in 2021. 49% of the volume sold in 2022 was blast furnace slag and this accounted for the majority of the total value of the slag. Steel slag produced from basic oxygen and electric arc furnaces accounted for the remainder of sales. Around 2Mt of slag was imported for consumption.

The USGS said that slag was processed by 25 companies servicing active iron and steel facilities or reprocessing old slag piles at about 123 processing plants in 33 states, including facilities that import and grind unground slag to sell as ground granulated blast furnace slag (GGBFS). It added that domestic GGBFS remained in limited supply in 2022 because granulation cooling was available at only two active US-based blast furnaces and only one local plant produced pelletised slag in limited supply. It noted that granulated blast furnace slag was only ground domestically by cement companies.

US: Harsco Environmental’s Total Recordable Incident Rate (TRIR) fell by 27% year-on-year to 0.45 in 2022 from 0.62 in 2021. The division of Harsco Corporation says it is its third consecutive year of improvements in workplace health and safety. It was attributed this to its Visible Felt Leadership program, which launched in 2021. The initiative is focused on engaging and empowering employees to take personal responsibility for safety and communicate with their peers and leaders when they spot health and safety concerns.

In 2022, Harsco Environmental added four International Organization for Standardization (ISO) 45001 certified sites. With the addition of these four sites, Harsco Environmental has a total of 65 ISO 45001 certified sites globally.

US: Royal White Cement has leased a site on the Houston Ship Channel in Houston, Texas. Local press has reported that the company plans to build its second cement terminal in the city there. The Houston Peninsula Terminal will operate unloading systems for the storage of cement across three facilities at the site. It is also equipped with multiple railway tracks and heavy truck loading facilities. Royal White Cement owner Marcel Fadi said that the move would help the producer to expand its footprint in Houston and beyond.

Fadi said "We have long operated in the Houston market, but this direct access to storage and bulk unloading along the channel will provide greater efficiencies and flexibility, allowing Royal White Cement to handle and store approximately 100,000t of multiple cementitious products such as slag, grey cement, and white cement."

US: The Slag Cement Association (SCA) has released the curriculum for its Slag Cement University. The initiative is intended to be an educational resource on slag cement use in concrete construction for university professors and students. Teachers are encouraged to incorporate the content into existing construction management course material. The educational material was curated and developed by SCA members and staff to provide an overview of the applications, uses, and benefits of slag cement use. Content includes syllabus, exam questions, slide decks, and pre-recorded presentations on various topics.

US: The Slag Cement Association (SCA) has announced the recipients of its 2021 Slag Cement in Sustainable Concrete Awards program. Thirteen construction projects were chosen to showcase the broad applications of slag cement and its impact on creating more durable and sustainable concrete. The infrastructure winners included projects with slag cement supplied by companies including Argos USA, Cemex, Lehigh Hanson, Ozinga, Skyway and St Mary’s Cement. These projects included work on roads, bridges, residential construction, a concert venue, a sport stadium, airports, a theme park and a hydroelectric dam. Two research projects on slag cement from Cleveland State University and Florida State University were also recognised.

US: Cementos Argos subsidiary Argos Florida Cement has won the Slag Cement Association (SCA)’s Durability and Infrastructure awards at its 2022 Sustainable Concrete Project of the Year Awards. The producer won the awards for its supply of slag cement to two projects in Florida in 2021. Its involvement in the American Bridge Company’s SR 679 Pinellas Bayway Bridge – Structure E replacement won it the Durability award, while its involvement in Superior Paving’s State Road 52 realignment. Argos Florida Cement congratulated its customers, who also received the awards.

US: Harsco’s Environmental division has driven its parent group’s revenue in 2021 as services and product demand increased. Its revenue rose by 17% year-on-year to US$1.07bn in 2021 from US$914m in 2020. Its operating income grew by 75% to US$103m from US$59m. Overall group revenue and operating income increased by 20% to US$1.85bn and from a loss of US$3.3m in 2020 to a profit of US$88.4m respectively.

“For the fourth quarter, our businesses continued to benefit from increased environmental solutions demand, and I'm pleased to have met our expectations for the quarter. However, steel volumes slowed through the fourth quarter in some markets, inflation pressures persisted, and labour-market tightness and Omicron impacted productivity. We were able to offset these pressures by controlling our overall spending in the fourth quarter,” said chairman and chief executive officer Nick Grasberger. He added that the group expects to see further improved operating results from its Environmental division in 2022.

US: The United States Geological Survey (USGS) estimates that the US sold 17Mt of ferrous slags in 2021, a rise of 31% year-on-year from the estimate in 2020. Blast furnace slag represented about 49% of the volume sold and accounted for 87% of the total value ofslag, most of which was granulated. Steel slag produced from oxygen and electric arc furnaces accounted forthe remainder of sales. Slag was processed by 28 companies servicing active iron and steel facilities or reprocessing old slag piles at about 124 processing plants, including some iron and steel plants with more than one slag-processing facility, in 33 States, including facilities that import and grind unground slag to sell as ground granulated blast furnace slag (GGBFS).

A further 2.2Mt was imported, a slight decline from 2020. From 2017 to 2020 the USGS reports that 42% of imported slag came from Japan, 18% from Brazil, 11% from China and 10% from Italy.

The USGS noted that during 2021, domestic GGBFS remained in limited supply because granulation cooling was known to be available at only two active US blast furnaces while, elsewhere, only one domestic plant produced pelletised slag in limited supply. Grinding of granulated blast furnace slag was only performed domestically by cement companies. However, following Covid-19 related decrease in availability in 2020, supply of steel slag increased in 2021.