Testing of CarbonCure Technologies’ carbon dioxide injection method for cement optimization and imparting strength development in ready mixed concrete has proved compliant with American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials M194, Standard Specification for Chemical Admixtures for Concrete. Verification by SGS TEC Services provides state transportation agencies, engineers and contractors with confidence to integrate the CarbonCure process into their concrete practice. Technicians at the Lawrenceville, Ga. accredited laboratory followed the Unique, Patented, Proprietary Products testing protocol managed under AASHTO Product Evaluation & Audit Solutions auspices.
Thomas Concrete’s CarbonCure-equipped Doraville, Ga. batch plant provided testing material. Properties of three control and three CarbonCure mixtures were measured in accordance with AASHTO M194, a companion of ASTM C494, Standard Specification for Chemical Admixtures for Concrete. SGC TEC evaluated specimens’ slump, temperature, density, yield, air content, compressive and flexural strength, plus resistance to rapid freeze-thaw cycles. The CarbonCure mixes performed similarly to the controls and met or exceeded AASHTO M194 requirements. In additional durability testing, technicians a) observed no negative impact on hardened concrete properties from mixing stage CO2 injection; and, b) confirmed the efficacy of CarbonCure in meeting and, in some instances, besting industry standards.
“This validation underscores CarbonCure’s effectiveness and reliability, opening doors for its widespread adoption in highway and transportation projects across the United States,” says CEO Robert Niven. Ahead of the M194 testing, he adds, the company had attained department of transportation approvals in the Carolinas, Colorado, Hawaii and Iowa. Public and private construction projects to date have seen producers log CarbonCure concrete order volume approaching 45 million cubic yards.
