Displaying items by tag: US

Belgium: The World Steel Association (WSA) forecasts that total global steel consumption in 2020 will be 1.65Bnt, down by 6.4% year-on-year from 1.77Bnt in 2019, due to the impacts of the coronavirus outbreak on steel-intensive industries. The WSA estimated that demand will decline by 17% in developed countries, with the steepest falls in Japan, South Korea and the US, and by 18% in India. China’s steel consumption is expected to rise by 1% due to increased infrastructure spending and a swift post-coronavirus recovery. Construction, a mostly seasonal sector, had already reached full productivity in April 2020.

The WSA expects steel demand to increase by 3.8% year-on-year in 2021 to 1.72Bnt globally. The sharpest recovery is expected to be in developing countries, where the WSA says that total demand will increase by 9.2%, following a fall of 11.6% in 2020.

US: The Slag Cement Association (SCA) has announced the recipients of its 2019 Slag Cement Project of the Year Awards. A total of 12 construction projects from across North America were chosen to showcase the broad applications of slag cement. Two research projects on slag cement use have also been recognised in the program. The winning project teams include four state Departments of Transportation (DOT), two Canadian procurement authorities, one bridge authority and the Florida Army National Guard.

“The rise in DOT and infrastructure projects we are seeing reflects the increase in demand for materials that enhance concrete’s durability, resiliency, and ultimately the value of concrete,” said SCA board president, Ed Griffith.

The event was originally scheduled to be held at the American Concrete Institute (ACI) Spring Convention in early April 2020 but was postponed due to coronavirus-related state lockdowns.

The winners included:

Project: Brooksville-Tampa Bay Regional Airport Aircraft Mooring Apron Replacement
Slag Cement: Argos
Award: Sustainability

Project: Chase Center
Slag Cement: Cemex
Award: Architectural

Project: Court and Walnut Parking Garage
Slag Cement: Skyway Cement
Award: Architectural

Project: Dr Phillips Center for the Performing Arts
Slag Cement: Lehigh Hanson
Award: Durability

Project: Dublin Ohio Pedestrian Bridge
Slag Cement: Skyway Cement
Award: Green Design

Project: Estates at Acqualina
Slag Cement: Cemex
Award: Durability

Project: Giant Mine Underground Stabilization
Slag Cement: LafargeHolcim
Award: Innovative Applications

Project: HWY 50 Paving Florida Hernando County
Slag Cement: Argos
Award: Sustainability

Project: I-41 Interchanges and Bridge
Slag Cement: St Marys Cement
Award: High Performance

Project: Peace Bridge
Slag Cement: St Marys Cement
Award: High Performance

Project: Sarah Mildred Long Bridge
Slag Cement: LafargeHolcim
Award: Innovative Applications

Project: Summa Hospital West Towers
Slag Cement: Lehigh Hanson
Award: Green Design

Project: Bio-friendly Slag Cement Benefit to the Drainage Systems
Researcher: Arash Rahmatian, University of Houston

Project: Blast Furnace Slags - Rapid Reactivity Testing and Effects of Varying Replacement Levels on Cement Paste Properties
Researcher: Sivakumar Ramanathan, University of Miami

US: The Slag Cement Association (SCA) data shows that slag cement shipments rose by 10.8% year-on-year to 3.8Mt in 2019 from 3.5Mt in 2018. This is the fourth consecutive year that slag cement shipments have increased at a rate of 10% or greater. The SCA collects shipment data from its members.

“We have seen a substantial increase in slag cement use as concrete professionals become more and more familiar with the product” said Ed Griffith, president of the SCA.

US: Researchers from the University of Southern Florida (USF) testing the resistance to deterioration of cements containing between 30% and 70% of slags of various aluminium oxide (Al₂O₃) and magnesium oxide (MgO) contents when exposed to sulphates have discovered a general decrease in resistance with increased Al₂O₃ content. Real Estate Weekly News has reported that increased MgO was found to increase resistance, especially at 30% slag replacement.

Australia: Harsco Environmental, the environmental division of US-based Harsco Corporation, has announced its partnership with numerous producers and consumers in a pan-industrial steel standards and certification initiative called Responsible Steel. The initiative ‘promotes responsible practice,’ with the aim of improving sustainability in emissions, water usage and community and employee relations. This will include developing circular economic practices, including slag deals with cement plants. Harsco Environmental vice president Cope Willis said, “This collaboration is another step in Harsco’s continuous efforts to lead the steel industry to a more sustainable future.”

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.

US: Cemex USA has unveiled a new cement which uses blast furnace slag as a binder. The company has stated that the product, called CemSlag, reduces greenhouse gas emissions and extends the workability of concrete compared with normal cement.

US: Shawn M Garvin, secretary of the Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control (DNREC), has issued a Secretary’s Order granting an air quality construction permit for Walan Specialty Construction Products to build a slag grinding plant at Wilmington in Delaware. Walan, also known locally as Penn Mag, is required to use best available control technology (BACT) to control particulate emissions from the drying and grinding operations and to limit truck activity at the site to paved surfaces. The permit has approved a throughput limit of 150,000t/yr of slag, a reduction of 43% compared to the original application.

US: Vallejo Marine Terminal (VMT) has decided not to appeal against the Vallejo City Council’s decision in 2017 to deny it planning permission to build a marine terminal. VMT and Orcem Americas were planning to build a marine terminal and a slag cement grinding plant, according to the Vallejo Times Herald newspaper in Vallejo, California. Orcem Americas have not commented on the situation but the lack of an import terminal may make building a cement plant unviable, although the site does have rail and road links.