JOIN USFor long, cement has been looked upon as a mundane part of the construction process. But thanks to technology, new avenues are being defined in this industry, to cater to the varied needs of the modern world, writes Bindu Gopal Rao.
As I stand gazing at a huge white structure outside Italcementi’s i.lab in Bergamo, Italy, I cannot help but wonder how the marvellous geometric-patterned white structure was put together. On making further enquiries, I am told that the
in-house research and development team’s efforts have yielded an innovation that has resulted in a new material for innovative and sustainable architecture: the
biodynamic cement. This is just a small example of how the new-age cement is utilised. Cement is usually associated with mundaneness. But not anymore. Today, this concrete material is evolving and cement majors are investing seriously into research and development with innovation being high on the agenda.
Products galore
One of the many testaments to this newfound interest are the ACC concrete value added products, which are not only sustainable and affordable, but also highly durable. Ecosand replaces natural sand with finely powdered crystalline silica made from rejected limestone. “It helps in replacing natural sand usage in concrete and plastics and also ensures a comparatively denser concrete than those made only with natural sand and quarry fines, resulting in a significant increase in
compressive strength and durability,” says Anil Banchorr, chief executive, ACC
Concrete Business.
Likewise, Ecobricks replaces clay bricks with a more eco-friendly, technically
superior, fly-ash-based composition. They are superior in quality when compared to other bricks available in the market in terms of strength, water absorption,
efflorescence and various other parameters. Companies are banking on these superiors qualities to the point where you can actually add texture by printing or stamping to make decorative surfaces on porch, paving, footpaths and walkways. In fact today, you can also find high performance concrete in the market, which is porous to permit water drainage to lower surface, thus improving groundwater table.
Cement is an undifferentiated product and the demand is highly cyclic. Various market factors drive the input price as well as the price for cement. For business
sustainability, players need to constantly innovate to help improve efficiencies in the manufacturing and logistics. The market of cement as a commodity is highly
competitive, and over the last decade it has increases due to the entry of several players – both regional and national.
Coming up with innovative products in cement is a challenge. Carlo Pesenti, CEO, Italcementi says, “We started strategising our innovation plans way back in 2000 and cement is a commodity in which we are trying to provide services that the market wants. Secondly, this is an industry where change is slow. But we are committed and achieving results faster. Given that each market is in a different stage of development, we can transfer technology from one market to the other. We are first working on products, then with our customers and then with these markets.”
Superior qualities
This year, Italcementi is launching the biodynamic cements and it will be showcased in Expo Milano 2015. The new cement contains a patented active ingredient called TX Active and in direct sunlight, the active principle contained in the material “captures” certain pollutants present in the air and converts them into inert salts, helping to purify the atmosphere from smog.” The mortar to be used with biodynamic cement uses 80 per cent recycled aggregates, including scraps of carrara marble. The marble provides a “superior brilliance” compared to other white cements. The other significant characteristics of the biodynamic cement are its high fluidity and workability, which make it suitable for use in designing the complex shapes in buildings.
Innovations just haven’t focused on new designs. Many have also attempted to
optimise costs, especially the logistics cost, which traditionally was 33 per cent of the total delivery cost of cement. “Earlier, satellite grinding units used to be set up near market places, as transportation of clinker was cheaper than cement. Then, satellite bulk terminals were set up to transport bulk cement and pack them near the markets. To effectively augment the entire logistic chain, blending option has been introduced now, wherein OPC (Ordinary Portland Cement) is transported from the main plant to the satellite units near the markets or near the source of fly ash or ground slag, where the two are blended to produce PPC (Portland Pozzolana Cement) or PSC (Portland Slag Cement) cement,” says Krishna Kumar YV, chief executive, cement business, Jindal Steel and Private Limited (JSPL).
Innovations in the manufacturing process of clinker include use of alternate fuels such as paints sludge, olive residue, rice husk and cut tyres to optimise the fuel cost, which is 35-45 per cent of the variable cost of clinker production process.
“Additionally, petroleum coke usage also helps in optimising the manufacturing cost. Traditionally, fly ash was used by Ready Mix Concrete (RMC) players for making ready mix concretes. Now, Ground Granulated Blast Furnace slag (GGBS) is used as a substitute for the fly ash, which has received great acceptance amongst RMC players,” adds Krishna.
Sustainability has been a major thrust as well. “The photocatalytic nature of our
cement ensures you use lesser cement. Also, concrete drains water and this
ensures we can collect a large volume of filtered water without any pollutants. To
improve sustainability and reduce cost ,we have started 3D printing, which is now slowly starting to yield results.
Nanotechnologoy and using fibres like graphene are some aspects that we are working on,” says Enrico Borgarello, research and development manager,
Italcementi.
“We have brought Speedfloor, an advanced flooring system from New Zealand that results in cost saving of 20-30 per cent over traditional flooring and reduces the floor thickness. Additionally, we have introduced EPS panel, a renowned Italian building technology from Schnell, for load-bearing walls (G+3), external wall cladding in traditional reinforced concrete structures, non-load bearing partition walls, floors and roofs that helps in staying cool in summer and warm in winter. The technology is 50 per cent faster than traditional modes and helps to save up to 30 per cent in electricity consumption. Jindal Panther cement is currently being produced at JSPL’s Raigarh facility with a production capacity of 0.7 mtpa (million tonnes per annum) and we plan to ramp up the capacity to three mtpa,” says Krishna.
The entry barriers for the new cement players due to the stringent regulations in the acquisition of the limestone mines and other regulatory approvals would also help in the consolidation of the industry.