Displaying items by tag: slag cement

Indonesia: Suvo Strategic Minerals has reported successful laboratory tests in collaboration with Makassar State University (UNM) in Indonesia, transforming nickel slag into a ‘high-strength, low-cost and low-carbon’ cement, according to The Sydney Morning Herald. The trials used slag from PT Huadi Nickel-Alloy Indonesia's operations in South Sulawesi, achieving a compressive strength of 37.5MPa after seven days. The company is now looking to conduct further testing and will provide the results to PT Huadi, with the aim of forming a partnership for the commercialisation of low-carbon cement using nickel slag.

Aaron Bank, executive chair of Suvo Strategic Minerals, said “We are excited to have commenced this workstream in Indonesia testing the byproduct of one of the country’s largest mining companies, with our ultimate goal being to manufacture an environmentally-friendly and low-carbon alternative to Portland cement. Achieving up to 37.5MPa after only seven days is an outstanding first round trial result for the company and could provide an entry into a large industry.”

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."

US: St Marys Cement won three national awards at the Slag Cement in Sustainable Concrete Awards 2023. The producer won the awards for supplying its slag cement for the construction of Wixom Assembly Park in Wixom, Michigan; of 333 North Water in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and of Excellerate Manufacturing in Appleton, Wisconsin.

US: Eagle Materials and Heidelberg Materials North America, through their joint venture Texas Lehigh Cement Company, are currently building a new slag cement plant in Houston, Texas. When operational, the plant will have a production capacity of 500,000t/yr. Texas Lehigh Cement Company expects it to enter operation later in mid-2024. The plant's production will supplement that of the company's existing Buda cement plant in Texas.

Netherlands: Ireland-based Ecocem has agreed a deal with Overslagbedrijf Moerdijk (OBM) to expand production and storage capacity at the company’s Moerdijk slag cement grinding plant. The project is intended to allow the unit to both produce and store the company’s advanced cement technology (ACT) product. It will quadruple the storage capacity for key materials at the site up to 40,000t. Ecocem has signed a long-term agreement to lease the site from OBM, who will manage the handling and storing materials on Ecocem’s behalf.

This expansion of the Moerdijk plant is part of Ecocem’s plans to expand its manufacturing and storage capacity to support the commercialisation of ACT across all its plants. It follows the expansion of its Dunkirk plant in France, which was announced in June 2023. These expansion plans will be supported by licencing and partnership strategies to accelerate availability and adoption of scalable low clinker cement at speed.

Conor O’Riain, Managing Director (Europe), at Ecocem, said: “We are increasing our capacity at all of our locations and our deal with OBM is a hugely important aspect of our expansion strategy. It will accelerate our ability to manufacture ACT our low clinker cement technology and make it available commercially by 2026. At the same time, we are actively pursuing licensing and partnership agreements in the construction industry to ensure the benefits of this technology are shared widely and we accelerate progress to Net Zero.”

In February 2024 Ecocem said that its ACT technology received an ETA (European Technical Assessment), which provides the technology with a route to full commercialisation by 2026.

Finland: Boliden says it has a developed a 95% reduced-CO₂ alternative cement production process based on the use of slag. Nordic Daily News has reported that the process has received verification from ‘established players in the cement industry.’ A preliminary study is underway, wherein Boliden will establish a 250,000t/yr production plant. Additionally, the process extracts usable metal from slag.

US: The Department of Transportation has announced a US$5m initiative to investigate the use of steel slag in cement and concrete. This will take the form of a collaboration between the Department of Transportation and a selected US-based steel producer and university partner. The initiative seeks to reduce CO₂ emissions in the production of building materials. Prospective participants may view the grant opportunity here.

Transport secretary Pete Buttigieg said "We're proud to make this funding available to help develop the next generation of construction materials so that the future of our transport infrastructure is more resilient, more sustainable and made in America.”

Robert Hampshire, deputy assistant secretary for research and technology and chief science officer, said “This funding initiative will develop and advance innovative materials and technologies that support the nation’s goals to decarbonise the transportation sector by 2050, strengthen resilience of the nation’s transportation infrastructure, and address adverse environmental impacts created by the transportation system.”

India: JSW Cement has appointed Finland-based Coolbrook to install its RotoDynamic Heater electric kiln technology at the Vijayagar steel works and slag and cement grinding plant in Karnataka. The Press Trust of India has reported that the partners expect the technology to reduce the CO₂ emissions of the plant’s slag cement.

Read about the applications for the RotoDynamic Heater in cement production in this Global Cement interview with Coolbrook CEO Joonas Rauramo.

US: Heidelberg Materials North America has inaugurated the Port Canaveral slag cement plant and terminal in Florida, following an expansion. MENAFN News has reported that the producer invested US$24m in the installation of a new roller press at the facility.

Heidelberg Materials North America said "Heidelberg Materials' investment in the Port Canaveral slag cement facility is reflective of our commitment to supporting sustainable and resilient construction projects in the state of Florida and throughout the country. It is also aligned with our goal to significantly reduce our carbon footprint by 2030 and another milestone in our overall strategy to grow our portfolio of more sustainable products, technologies and customer-focused solutions on the path to Net Zero."

India: Construction is underway on a section of National Highway 66 in Maharashtra which is being built of concrete made from ground granulated blast furnace slag (GGBFS) and slag cement. India Today News has reported that the Central Road Research Institute developed the technology, in partnership with the National Institute for Transforming India Aayog and the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research.