Using Recycled Concrete and Alternatives for Cement
While being the most expensive raw material for making concrete, cement is also one of the largest CO2 sources in the world. Additionally, crushed concrete is a waste material which is especially problematic in markets like China, where concrete structures are replaced at a very fast pace and the demand for concrete is huge. Caidio is currently developing new methods to enable the use of alternative binders for concrete to replace cement as well as to utilise and recycle crushed concrete for creating, high-quality, low-carbon concrete.
Recycled Concrete
Recycled Concrete Aggregate (RCA) or Crushed Concrete is a waste material from demolished buildings and other concrete structures. Today, it can mainly be re-used for driveways and pavements, which don't have a high structural quality requirements. When crushed concrete is used as an aggregate to produce new concrete, the non-homogenous nature of the material is typically a huge problem, resulting in low-quality concrete.
Alternatives for Cement
Cement is the main source of CO2 emissions in the concrete industry so there are many incentives to reduce or eliminate its use in concrete production. Today, many industrial waste streams such as fly ash from coal plants, mining slag, or various plastics are already used to partially replace cement. However, it is very difficult to produce high-quality concrete when using these alternative binders.
Eliminating Problems with Raw Material Variation
Caidio's digital quality control solutions allow for the producers to utilise precise quality data to compensate for the material variation in their recipes and production processes. Our products ensure that the concrete produced from such industrial waste material streams has high quality properties and is safe to use while remaining cost-effective.
Environmental Impact
Utilizing recycled cement and alternative binders instead of cement can cut up to 80-90% of all the CO2 emissions in concrete industry. Additionally, we can help with reducing the use of virgin raw materials. Good quality sand and gravel for concrete construction is running out. This is an issue especially in developing countries and places like China, where the demand for concrete is massive.
