Two-year project will develop low-carbon concrete manufacturing

A two-year, $6 million project linking Boral, UTS and Southern Highland Concrete Construction will focus on low-carbon concrete production, formulating products that use a large amount of alternative, lower-CO2 binders.

Core research will happen at the UTS Boral Centre for Sustainable Building, then be trialled with Southern Highlands Concrete Construction. Work is being supported by a $770,000 Innovative Manufacturing CRC grant.

Boral’s Envisia concrete has a high proportion of supplementary cementitious binders (SCMs) said Boral General Manager – Innovation Development, Dr Louise Keyte. These are a substitute for ordinary portland cement, which is a major greenhouse gas contributor. Such substitutes include ground granulated blast-furnace slag, fly ash and calcined clay.

The work would speed up R&D for the next generation of Envisia, developing new binders with a higher level of SCMs while maintaining the performance of regular concrete.

“Our aim is to push the technological boundaries of binder and chemical admixture technology and lift the maximum replacement rate of OPC while maintaining the fresh and early hardened properties of concrete for optimum construction efficiency,” said UTS’ Professor Vute Sirivivatnanon, the project team leader.

“In addition, all durability properties critical to the achievement of design life for concrete structures will be optimised to deliver truly sustainable building.”

Picture: supplied