Concrete has shaped much of our built environment, however, it accounts for about 8% of the world’s carbon emissions. PBC Today spoke to Brandon Hess, UK country manager at Volumech, about how volumetric mixers can make the concrete industry more sustainable
We all know concrete is a contributing factor to carbon emissions. But it’s also the literal foundation of our society and infrastructure. It keeps people safe and housed and it carries thousands of people and goods across countries and continents. It’s vital. What we want to do at Volumech is be part of the ongoing conversation in finding ways to reduce that impact.
We are leaning into our technology to continue producing the most efficient concrete mixer on the market. And, we want to hear from our partners who are contractors, architects, civil engineers to keep the conversation and our industry-focused on solutions.
One ‘frontier topic’ at the moment that our technical services division is working on is the move to low-CO2 cements. We are building a portfolio of evidence that shows how low-CO2 blends work effectively with volumetric mixers, demonstrating to the market that they are a sustainable investment for the future.
How can the carbon footprint of concrete be lowered?
To dramatically reduce the CO2 emissions of concrete innovation is needed in all facets of the business. We’ve identified three areas we can contribute as the leading supplier of volumetric mixers in the UK.
The first is proving low-carbon cements are viable in a volumetric mixer. With more than 10% of the concrete poured in the UK coming from a volumetric it’s important for our customers to be able to take advantage of these as they become more prevalent.
The second is working with our customers that use recycled materials to find the right application and increase the quality of the concrete they’re pouring. One of the inherent challenges with recycled material is variability in the aggregates that you don’t see in virgin materials. We work with our customers to identify the range of that variability and put together mix designs that ensure they still hit strengths.
The third is getting more people to take advantage of the benefits of a volumetric mixer, which in the right applications will help to lower emissions. As well as time and cost efficiency no concrete is prepared until it is needed, it is always fresh and always delivered in the quantity needed. The benefits start from there with material cost savings. This, via the fact that concrete contains cement, ultimately reduces CO2 emissions. There is no pile of wasted concrete in the corner of the site.
Cemen Tech continues to invest in new technology around ease of use and accuracy of the equipment to open up this technology to a wider range of customers and applications. It used to be that new operators would take weeks to become proficient operating a volumetric mixer, but with the new technologies on the mixer this can be done in days.
How resource-efficient is concrete?
Volumetric mixers are very efficient with concrete, more so than traditional means of mixing and pouring (barrel trucks). To start with, you only mix and pour what you need so there is less waste. With barrel trucks contractors often have to buy a minimum amount for delivery which can result in a lot of concrete that is wasted because it simply isn’t used or needed for the job.
A lot of jobs are also inaccurately estimating resulting in wasted material or a second trip being required. Volumetric mixers result in less waste for concrete’s important ingredients – less cement waste, water waste, etc. There is currently a shortage of Portland Cement so that’s a big deal simply from a supply/demand side.
Water waste is also diminished on the cleaning and maintenance side of concrete trucks. In order for the parts to not get clogged and ruined with dried concrete, all trucks should be washed out at the end of every day. Drum trucks take about 180 litres to wash out. Volumetric trucks only need 23 litres. When you start adding that up over time the water savings are huge.
Last year we saw the COP26 conference. In light of this, how is the concrete industry tackling climate change moving forward?
The concrete industry’s involvement to reduce carbon plays a vital role in helping the UK achieve its sustainability targets of reaching a net zero carbon society by 2050.
The problem is that concrete’s main ingredient, cement, which is mixed with sand, gravel and water uses a process that is responsible for large amounts of greenhouse-gas emissions. However, concrete is recyclable. It’s durable, low-maintenance and long-lasting, meaning structures that are built well can last for generations.
It’s locally produced and can even be made using waste materials. It also has built-in properties, such as thermal mass and carbonation, that help to avoid and reduce carbon emissions during the life of a building.
Building well designed more efficient buildings and extending their lifetimes, will have a massive impact. This means working together with engineers and architects and looking at retrofitting old buildings rather than knocking them down and designing new ones.
Brandon Hess
UK country manager
Volumech
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