Coal operator Alpha takes stake in Class C ash-based cement purveyor Ceratech

Sources: Alpha Natural Resources, Abingdon, Va.; CP staff

A major coal producer has acquired a 10.3 percent position in Alexandria, Va.-based Ceratech Inc., whose Ekkomaxx technology can yield concrete binding agents with performance characteristics reportedly matching ASTM C150 Types I–V powder.

Alpha Natural Resources can increase its Ceratech stake to 28.3 percent under certain future terms. It becomes the second coal producer to invest in prospective concrete technology offsetting carbon dioxide emissions from either portland cement production or fossil fuel-fired power generation. In April 2010, market leader Peabody Energy took a $15 million interest in Calera Corp., whose calcium carbonate precipitation processes—applied to power plants’ flue gas streams—are netting concrete-grade fine aggregate.

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Ceratech cites commercial system to match ASTM C150 product with Class C ash

Sources: Ceratech Inc., Alexandria, Va.; CP staff

By Don Marsh

A company known for packaged dry or pre-mixed concrete repair or mortar geared to specialty applications has announced a ‘carbon neutral system’ of liquid or powder agents imparting Types I–V portland cement performance characteristics in 100 percent fly ash binder mix designs.

With a green light-basked polar bear as trademark, Ceratech unveiled Ekkomaxx at the 2011 Precast Show (January 27–29, Charlotte, N.C.), noting initial testing efforts in manufactured concrete, where producers have greater control over specifications than their counterparts in ready mixed. The company is promoting the technology’s potential for rapid deployment at existing plants, with Class C fly ash charged from dedicated silo compartments and five Ekkomaxx admixtures dispensed from conventional ground or floor tanks.

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