Cement and different types of binders

Our services for binder chemistry are consulting meetings, identification of new materials, reactivity tests, validation of SCM, regulation & standardization, the potential of new SCM, and characterization of alternative binders.

Purpose

Presently, Portland cement is the most important material used in concrete, and in enormous quantities, more than 4 billion tons globally. It is also a significant contributor to the total anthropogenic emissions of carbon dioxide, standing at 8% nowadays. There is a large interest in finding new sources for potential materials that can be used in two different ways: binders and alternative binders.

For the cement industry, a binder is an ordinary Portland cement (OPC) based material where a part of cement is substituted by supplementary cementitious materials (SCM). An SCM can be a natural material such as clay or a by-product from other industries such as fly ash or ground granulated blast furnace slag. The substitution of cement by SCM can be between 5 and 65%. The replacement by SCM leads to a reduction of the CO₂ emission link to cement production as less OPC is used.

An alternative binder is a material that has similar properties that ordinary Portland cement (OPC) but does not contain any OPC. They are becoming increasingly important for the transition to climate climate-neutral construction industry. There is a need to develop new alternative binders with low CO₂ -footprint.

RISE has expertise in the entire binder value chain starting from chemical analyses to large-scale structural implementation.

Our services

If you are interested in the development, testing, and evaluation of any potential material that can be used as an SCM or alternative binder, RISE can offer a consulting discussion before any testing starts. The services we offer are listed below:

• Consulting meeting

Talk to our experts at RISE if you think you have a resource that can be potentially used as supplementary cementitious materials SCM or alternative binder
Our experienced experts will propose a plan of action by validating your ideas, understanding your perspective, and theoretically evaluating the actual potential

• Our general services include:

Identification of new material sources for the production of SCM or alternative binders
Testing the reactivity in cement
Validation testing of SCMs in concrete applications
Possibilities according to the regulation and standardization for the introduction of new materials in concrete in Sweden (link to a description)

• Testing properties of conventional SCMs (fly ash (FA), granulated ground furnace slag (GGBS)): While GGBFS and FA have been used for decades, their properties need to be tested for new sources, applications, markets, and conditions. Approach us for testing and analysis if you have:

New sources of conventional SCMs
New applications of conventional SCMs
Introduce your SCMs in new markets

• Assessment of potential new SCMs (high-volume materials rich in Al₂O₃, SiO₂, Ca, Mg, Fe, etc.): Availability of conventional SCMs is decreasing as we move to greener sources of energy production (thereby reducing coal FA) and ferrous metal production (thereby reducing conventional GGBFS). There is a push to develop new SCMs, even if at additional cost of production and development.

Approach us for testing and analysis if you have high-volume materials rich in Al₂O₃, SiO₂, CaO, MgO, Fe₂O₃, etc. Examples of such products are:
- Calcined clay
- Metallurgical industry wastes
- Mining wastes
- Incineration ashes
- Paper/Pulp production wastes
- Dredging sediments
In addition to test reactivity, we develop activation methods for different selected materials to be used as SCM. Some materials cannot be used as it is. A pre-treatment such as calcination, grinding, washing, … is necessary to enhance the properties of the materials

• Characteriztion of alternative binders: RISE can provide materials characterization and property testing of alternative binders ie. calcium sulfoaluminate cement (CSA), Belite-Ye'elimite-Ferrite Cement, prehydrated calcium silicate cement, magnesium silicate cement, etc.

Composition and particle size analysis by micro-XRF, XRD, and particle analyzer
Heat of hydration by isothermal calorimetry
Setting time and strength testing
Durability testing such as testing for shrinkage/expansion, resistance to freeze-thaw cycles, chloride ion penetration, and sulfate attack
Compatibility testing with other binders, SCMs, and additives

Welcome to contact us if you want to know more about what RISE does in cement, SCM, and alternative binders.

Deliveries

Consulting services and reports from testing

More information

Potential new materials

Testing/validation of new materials such as calcined clays, metallurgical wastes, mining wastes, incineration ashes, pulp/paper industry wastes, dredging sediments, etc.
Extraction of valuable resources (critical, high value metals, etc.)

Characterization of SCMs to determine if it can be a good potential

Mineral phase identification
Micro-XRF for elemental quantification and mapping
Specific surface area, and particle size distribution
Thermal behavior using TGA/DSC

Activation of new SCMs
(CO₂,chemical, thermal, mechanical, etc.)

CO₂-mineralization as activation method
Controlled thermal activation
Mechanical activation to increase reactivity
Acid/chemical activation

Evaluation of the SCM reactivity in a cement matrix

Bulk reactivity tests (R3, isothermal calorimetry, portlandite consumption, etc.)
SCM reaction and mechanisms: development of application methods accordingly
Particle-level hydration behavior
Activity index on mortar
Mechanical properties on mortar (compressive strength)

Validation testing of SCMs in concrete

Validation of SCMs for different regulatory cement types (CEM II, CEM III, etc.)
Concrete mix design development with SCM-cement.
Testing them according to desired exposure class
Concrete mechanical, durability, and environmental properties

Characterization and testing of Alternative binders

Materials characterizations (XRD, micro XRF, TGA, Particle size analyzer)
Reactions of alternative binders (hydration)
Properties of alternative binders (compressive strength, setting time, shrinkage-expansion, etc.
Durability (carbonation, resistance to freeze-thaw, chloride peneration, sulfate attack)
Compatibility testing with other binders, SCM and additives

Regulatory/Market assistance

Assistance in identifying regulatory and compliance requirements for new SCM
Regulatory assistance for introduction of new SCMs in Swedish market, including testing and validation
Developing new industry collaborations

Our analysis are: