Global Slag News

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.

China: A new study from Hong Kong Polytechnic University showcases sustainable cement production methods, focusing on low-clinker cements and alternative solutions for incinerator fly ash (IFA). The research demonstrates that using carbonated-washed IFA mixed with slag, coal fly ash, or metakaolin can replace 60% of Portland cement, forming ternary blended cement. This approach reportedly reduces the carbon footprint of cement production.

The study found that slag was the most effective,improving pore structure and increasing ettringite and hemicarboaluminate formation with a blend of 40% slag and 20% IFA. It achieved 90% of the compressive strength of pure Portland cement after 90 days.

The researchers said "This study demonstrated the promising potential of the blended cements to simultaneously divert IFA from landfills and reduce the clinker content of cement."

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: Heidelberg Materials North America have supplied slag and Portland cement for the construction of TSX Broadway in New York City. The construction involved advanced demolition and building techniques, utilising concrete's properties for strength and stiffness.

Stan Trella, Sales Manager Metro New York/Long Island at Heidelberg Materials North America, said "The use of slag cement was beneficial in multiple ways. Not only does slag cement optimise concrete’s strength, but it reduced the environmental impact of this high-profile venue by lowering the percentage of ordinary Portland cement in the mix."