Displaying items by tag: concrete block

India: Mahabal Cement has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) for a US$1.26bn investment at the Advantage Assam summit.

The investment will have several phases. The first phase will be the construction of an integrated cement plant in Assam's Dima Hasao district, followed by a ready-mix concrete plant, which will produce autoclaved aerated concrete blocks. More than 3000 jobs will reportedly be created through the investment.

Kyrgyzstan: The state-owned Bishkek heat and power plant has secured a US$437,000 contract to supply its waste ash and slag to two cement plants in Kemin, Chüy Region. The cement producers party to the contract will be responsible for extraction and transport, commencing in August 2024.

The Bishkek heat and power plant has previously invested US$280,000 in clearing its waste dump. The government says that it has also received interest from a China-based autoclave aerated concrete blocks producer in its waste.

US: Block-Lite plans to install a system to cure concrete blocks using direct air capture (DAC)-sourced CO₂ at its Flagstaff, Arizona, concrete block plant. The upgrade will implement CarbonBuilt’s low-CO₂ concrete production technology and AirCapture’s modular DAC technology, across five or six capture units. Direct air capture will thus remove 500 – 600t/yr of CO₂ from the atmosphere, while process changes will reduce CO₂ emissions from the Flagstaff plant by over 2000t/yr. The project has attracted fundraising from the 4 Corners Carbon Coalition (4CCC), with a goal of US$50,000. The Arizon Daily Sun newspaper has reported that Block-Lite plans to supply its first shipment of low-CO₂ blocks to a 50-home development by Habitat for Humanity in Flagstaff.

UK: A team at Imperial College London has won a US$1.27m grant for its research into developing carbon negative cement from silica. The research won the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ)’s Carbon Capture, Usage & Storage (CCUS) Innovation 2.0 competition. The Imperial team sources its silica from natural olivine. It says that the compound behaves in the same way as other supplementary cementitious materials. Meanwhile, magnesia from the decomposition of the olivine can serve as a carbon sink in the form of magnesium carbonate. It, in turn, could serve as a raw material for concrete block production.

The DESNZ’s Net Zero Innovation Portfolio, of which the CCUS Innovation 2.0 competition is a part, has a budget of US$1.29bn.

UK: SigmaRoc subsidiary CCP has launched Greenbloc Standard, Ultra and Premium. The new designations correspond to 50%, 80% and 100% cement substitution. Professional Builder News has reported that Using Greenbloc Standard reduces structures’ CO₂ emissions by 77% compared with structures built with conventional ordinary Portland cement (OPC)-based blocks. For an average semi-detached house, this is equivalent to 2.7t of CO₂.

CCP general manager Phil Rotheram said “The expansion of our Greenbloc range continues our commitment to sustainable alternatives to our product offering as we fully commit to the challenges of removing embodied carbon from the built environment.”

Greenbloc Ultra featured in a gold medal-winning garden at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show 2023 in May 2023.

UK: Breedon Group has acquired concrete block producer Broome Bros., construction firm Minster Surfacing and concrete block and aggregates producer Robinson Quarry Masters. Breedon Group said that the businesses will strengthen its presence around Doncaster in South Yorkshire, in Antrim, Northern Ireland, and 'from the Midlands to London.'

CEO Rob Wood said “Many of our transactions come to us through our local knowledge and personal engagement with the owners. As a result, our active mergers and acquisitions pipeline has continued to yield high quality, earnings-enhancing opportunities that will enable us to progress our sustainable growth strategy." He added "Each of these independent family-run businesses is aligned with our vertically-integrated operating model, providing further opportunity to pull through upstream building materials while extending our downstream footprint to deliver profitable growth.”

Business Live News has reported that the group has also completed its transition to the London Stock Exchange from the AIM exchange. Breedon Group said that this will enhance its corporate profile by helping to attract greater international investment.

Belgium: The EU Innovation Fund has awarded Euro4.5m to a consortium consisting of Lhoist, gas provider Fluxys Belgium, concrete products company Prefer and carbonation technology developer Orbix. The collaborators are working on a project called CO2ncrEAT. The project will carbonate steel sector by-products with captured CO₂ from Lhoist's Hermalle lime plant to produce alternative building materials. CO2ncrEAT will be the first project to employ Orbix's innovative technique for the purpose. Fluxys Belgium's pipeline technology will convey the Hermalle plant's emissions over a distance of 2km to a Prefer concrete blocks plant.

The consortium said that it will use 12,000t/yr of CO₂ to produce 100,000t/yr of reduced-CO₂ concrete blocks. The use of alternative raw materials in the blocks will further reduce their carbon footprint by 8000t/yr.

Lhoist Western Europe managing director Vincent Deleers said “The project fits perfectly with our willingness to actively develop CO₂ capture and sequestration technologies that are essential to the sustainability of our industry. We are delighted that our work on innovative solutions has been recognised by the European Innovation Fund and we look forward to working with our partners to bring CO2ncrEAT to the next level.”

Ecuador: Encapsulation in concrete served to destroy 110t of cocaine in Ecuador during the first nine months of 2022. The figure corresponds to 61% of cocaine seized by authorities during the period. Local press reported that the mixed slurry forms strong precast concrete elements, from which the cocaine is impossible to extract. Encapsulation accelerates destruction of the drug by a factor of 20 compared to incineration, with removal rates of up to 1500kg/hr.

Ecuadorian cocaine seizures at ports alone increased by 42% year-on-year throughout 2022, necessitating the operational improvements in disposal methods.

India: Siam Cement Big Bloc Construction Technologies has bought 60,000m³ of land at Ramosadi in Gujarat's Kheda District. The concrete producer informed the BSE Exchange that it plans to build an autoclaved aerated concrete (AAC) panel and block plant at the site.

India: CK Birla Group’s fibre cement roofing subsidiary HIL has agreed to acquire Fast Build Blocks for US$8.22m in a ‘slump sale.’ Fast Build Blocks produces autoclaved aerated concrete (AAC) blocks in Cuttack, Odisha. Press Trust of India News has reported that HIL is using the acquisition to establish a leadership position in the Eastern Indian market.