The Environmental Protection Agency recently announced a $400,000 Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program Phase II grant enabling Santa Ana, Calif.-based Hydrova Inc. to advance work on black dross—a material frequently landfilled after primary aluminum recycling—for applications including cement clinker raw feed. Themed “Complete Resource Recovery and Hydrogen Production from Secondary Aluminum Processing Waste,” the grant extends a $100,000 Phase…
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FHWA publishes portland limestone cement benchmark
The Federal Highway Administration’s new TechNote on Portland Limestone Cement (FHWA-HRT-23-104) provides state highway agencies, contractors and concrete practitioners information enabling broader adoption of a blended binder to which cement plants across North America are migrating. The 12-page document reviews the history of PLC in the U.S.; chemical and physical requirements for a binder combining portland cement + 5-15 percent…
Read MoreInstitute revises Federal Acquisition Regulation, Design-Build references
The Design-Build Institute of America has updated its Design-Build Done Right Federal Sector Best Practices, offering a comprehensive guide for teams navigating the intricacies of federal project delivery. Understanding the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) and adhering to the right practices can be the key to a successful design-build project, DBIA contends, and the revised Best Practices document provides such guidance.…
Read MoreAfinitas’ Duncan succeeds County Materials-bound CEO Schmidgall
Afinitas CEO Brad Schmidgall will shift from concrete plant equipment and accessories to ready mixed and manufactured concrete production in January, taking the helm of County Materials Corp. As CEO of the Marathon, Wis.-based producer, he will oversee a portfolio spanning concrete pipe and precast operations that Afinitas has equipped under his tenure. “Serving as the CEO of Afinitas and…
Read MoreABC, Texas chapter seek federal court relief from Davis-Bacon rule rewrite
An Associated Builders and Contractors and the ABC Southeast Texas lawsuit asks the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas, Beaumont Division to vacate the Department of Labor’s Updating the Davis-Bacon and Related Acts Regulations (DBA) rule, implemented in October and applicable to federal or federally assisted construction projects. Plaintiffs challenge the new rule’s prevailing wage definition, wage…
Read MoreGSA backs low embodied carbon material spec commitment
The General Services Administration has released a list of more than 150 federal building construction or upgrade projects across 39 states and District of Columbia where low embodied carbon (LEC) material specifications will be supported by $2 billion in Inflation Reduction Act funding. Contract language will favor LEC material use, net estimated deliveries totaling: The funding advances the Buy Clean…
Read MoreEPA, Commerce, Energy, FHWA officials empower Carbon Neutral Summit
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Department of Energy, Federal Highway Administration and National Institute of Standards and Technology representatives offered and compiled takeaways as participants in the first Summit on Accelerating Carbon Neutral Concrete Materials and Technologies. NEU: An American Concrete Institute Center of Excellence for Carbon Neutral Concrete hosted the early-fall event to engage public and private construction stakeholders…
Read MoreAASHTO M194 performance opens CarbonCure specs to new avenues
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…
Read MoreEmpire State sets Clean Concrete procurement and EPD submittal terms
Beginning in January 2025, concrete producers will be required to provide environmental product declarations for New York State agency project deliveries above $1 million and 50 yards, or NYS Department of Transportation work above $3 million and 200 yards. Under just-adopted Buy Clean Concrete guidelines, producers will also need to demonstrate that their mix materials exhibit environmental impact below certain…
Read MoreGSA stipulates low-carbon materials for Homeland Security contracts
The U.S. General Services Administration and Department of Homeland Security will steer nearly $288 million in Inflation Reduction Act funds to make the latter agency’s new headquarters campus buildings models for sustainability, starting with procurement prioritizing low-embodied carbon concrete, steel, and asphalt. The funding will enable GSA to complete the construction of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency Headquarters, Immigration…
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