JV commences concrete-grade, nanofibrillated cellulose production

Sources: Performance BioFilaments Inc., Vancouver, B.C.; CP staff Performance BioFilaments reports start-up of the world’s largest nanofibrillated cellulose commercial production plant. Co-located at Resolute Forest Products’ Kénogami paper mill in Quebec, the operation is equipped for daily output of 21 metric tons of product suited for use in concrete or mortar reinforcement and workability improvement, plus mineral consolidation, industrial fluid…

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ICC-ES veteran to spearhead ACI NEU, NEX certification work

Sources: American Concrete Institute, Farmington Hills, Mich.; CP staff  The American Concrete Institute has enlisted Mahmut Ekenel to support development of certification and conformity assessment programs, primarily those of two ACI Centers of Excellence: NEU for Carbon Neutral Concrete and NEX for Nonmetallic Building Materials. He brings extensive experience in acceptance criteria for building material evaluation in accordance with the…

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Concrete Contractors charter Sustainability Committee

Sources: American Society of Concrete Contractors, St. Louis; CP staff Former American Society of Concrete Contractors Executive Director Bev Garnant, HACI, and Technical Director Bruce Suprenant, FACI, P.E., have been retained to develop and manage the group’s recently formed Sustainability Committee.   “This initiative has two purposes,” says Garnant. “The first is to collaborate with the Portland Cement Association, National Ready…

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Blair Block starts up CarbonBuilt-equipped CMU production line

Sources: CarbonBuilt, Los Angeles; CP staff Childersburg, Ala.-based Blair Block is the first mover at commercial scale to adopt the carbon dioxide-capturing and -mineralizing technology of CarbonBuilt, enabling promotion of concrete masonry units whose embodied carbon characteristics are 70-100 percent lower than traditional blocks. The CarbonBuilt technology replaces most of the portland cement typically used in CMU mix designs with…

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Solidia applies decade of CO2 utilization R&D to charter dry cast line

Sources: Solidia Technologies, San Antonio, Texas; CP staff Solidia Technologies plans a Q3 2024 start for its first concrete production line, configured in an existing 53,000-sq.-ft. building at Alamo Junction in Elmendorf, Texas—near the company’s new San Antonio headquarters. The operation will produce pavers and other concrete units using Solidia Cement, a pioneering technology credited with dramatically reducing (≥ 50…

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Lafarge Canada shifts 4Refuel renewable diesel program inland

Sources: Lafarge Canada Inc., Calgary; CP staff  After a successful demonstration in British Columbia concrete operations, Lafarge Canada is extending to its Manitoba fleet the use of renewable diesel from waste oil and fats processor 4Refuel. The migration from petroleum diesel equates to lower carbon dioxide emissions tracked in material deliveries. “Switching to renewable diesel (R50) is a significant step…

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Carbon, concrete testing lead ACI Foundation 2023 Technology Forum agenda

Source: American Concrete Institute Foundation, Farmington Hills, Mich. The ACI Foundation’s Concrete Innovation Council 2023 Technology Forum, August 29-31 in Portland, Ore., will offer 15 sessions on new material and processing technologies, research advances, plus test standards. Event organizers note especially these topics or themes and their presenters:

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Cement Association of Canada delivers Concrete Zero

Sources: Cement Association of Canada, Ottawa; CP staff Along with member producers and downstream partners, the Cement Association of Canada has released Concrete Zero, an action plan for carbon emissions reduction measures up and down the industry’s value chain. The document builds on formal CO2 benchmarks that CAC and Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada officials outlined last fall in Roadmap…

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NPCA CEO Grubbe to replace ACI EVP Burg

Sources: American Concrete Institute, Farmington Hills, Mich.; National Precast Concrete Association, Carmel, Ind.; CP staff National Precast Concrete Association President and CEO Fredrick Grubbe, MBA, CAE, has been named successor to American Concrete Institute Executive Vice President Ronald Burg, who is retiring after 13 years with the Institute.  “As one of the premier global authorities on all things concrete, ACI…

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