Admixtures for the use of Calcined Clay-based cements
The construction industry is constantly seeking innovative materials to enhance the performance and sustainability of concrete.
With the depletion of natural resources and the imperative need to reduce carbon emissions, the limited availability of traditional SCMs, which are mainly by-products of industrial processes, is a growing concern.
The use of calcined clays in concrete (produced by heating natural clays) is gaining interest as a sustainable alternative to traditional supplementary cementitious materials (SCMs).
The cement industry is exploring more sustainable options, and calcined clay stands out due to its availability in abundance worldwide and the simplified calcination process compared to clinker production, resulting in a lower carbon footprint.
Calcined clay material, has emerged as a promising supplementary cementitious material (SCM).
CHRYSO experts are developing a specific EnviroMix®C-Clay range of innovative admixtures designed to enhance the performance and versatility of calcined clay cements used in ready-mix concretes.
Cement manufacturers are striving to exploit calcined kaolinite clays across all continents, recognizing their significant potential in concrete production.
Calcined clay is emerging as a significant player in the construction industry, offering a greener alternative to traditional Portland cement. When clay is calcined, it undergoes a transformation that enhances its physical properties, making it suitable as a supplementary cementitious material (SCM).
This process not only makes the clay more reactive but also replaces part of the clinker used cement production, thereby reducing the environmental footprint of building materials.
The use of calcined clays, particularly kaolinite, in concrete offers a sustainable alternative to traditional materials.
New emerging cements such as CEM VI (35 to 49% of clinker content), and CEM II/C-M (50 to 64% of clinker content- ie. LC3) can lead to a CO2 reduction up to 50% compared with conventional Portland cement, by incorporating calcined clay*.
The use of calcined clays in cement poses specific challenges, mainly linked to their high water demand.
To address these challenges, appropriate admixtures, such as EnviroMix®C-Clay, are required. These admixtures help optimize the performance of cement containing calcined clays ensuring concrete’s workability compressive strength.
*Source:www.infociments.fr
A new range of concrete admixtures, EnviroMix®C-Clay, for concrete producers is being developed.
These new products make it possible to adapt materials to the new characteristics of calcined clay without compromising quality.
While the integration of calcined clay into concrete mixes presents several challenges, the development of EnviroMix®C-Clay offer effective solutions.
In addition to offering cutting-edge admixture solutions, CHRYSO is committed to providing comprehensive technical support and expertise to develop and facilitate the seamless integration and optimization of products with technical specifications and local materials.
In addition to its recognized expertise in cement, CHRYSO’s dedicated R&D team has worked extensively on the characterization of over 30 calcined clays, originating from around the world, using in-house and patented methodologies, such as the CHRYSO®Clear test, to determine the optimum EnviroMix®C-Clay formulation for each configuration.
Our R&D teams have developed their knowledge and expertise by forging international partnerships with universities and expert groups, such as Innovandi – the Global Cement and Concrete Research Network.
They have also collaborated on co-development projects with players in the concrete and cement industries worldwide, who have been working for several years to perfect solutions based on calcined clays.
Our experts have developed innovates solutions backed by new patents filed by our R&D teams on calcined-clays based concrete admixtures .
These new admixtures, meticulously engineered after years of research and development, overcome the technical challenges associated with using calcined clay, mainly due to its high-water demand, by improving both concrete workability and compressive strength.
The characterization methodology implemented by our R&D teams enables us to determine for each calcined clay studied, an “identity card” of the characteristics that have the most significant impact on its use in cement, and therefore on the concrete mix-design.
Our methodology empowers our teams to create customized solutions for the diverse calcined clays used in cement and concrete in the various markets where Chryso operates.
The EnviroMix®C-Clay range provides a suitable admixture solution for each calcined clay-based cement used in our customers’ concrete.
EnviroMix®C-Clay solutions enable us to achieve comparable performance to our conventional range of admixtures, even when incorporating cements containing substantial quantities of calcined clays, whatever the type of clay used
Enviromix®Impact is a pre-diagnosis tool calculator, it allows to:
The robustness of PolyCarboxylate Ether (PCE) superplasticizer performance is challenged by the variable amount of clay minerals in aggregates. It will be shown here how a swelling clay like Montmorillonite interacts with polymers, interfering with their ability to disperse cement particles thus influencing the rheological behavior of concrete.
Discover our latest LabNews scientific article and the impact that the different sources of calcined clay will have in your concrete mix design.
