A new low carbon concrete with 50% less emissions has been developed and is being used on a north Melbourne construction site.
Major Road Projects Victoria along with Arup, Hanson Australia, and The University of Melbourne, developed the mix that successfully replaced concrete’s cement binder with up to 30% of calcined clays.
The production of calcined clay for this project resulted in approximately 50% of the carbon emissions, according to the research team, compared to cement and the team says improvements to the calcined clay process could see this carbon factor drop even further.
In the concrete’s development, suitable clays were identified from an aggregate washing process and after analysis, a viable type was selected and heated to 650°C in a full-scale rotary kiln at Renex’s facility in Dandenong South.
Extensive testing of the concrete mix was completed to ensure it met industry standards and showed that the mix exceeded the target compressive strength of 32 MPa at 28 days. It demonstrated workability and durability, confirming its suitability for large-scale infrastructure projects.
MRPV is using the new mix on the Mickleham Road Upgrade project at Greenvale in Melbourne’s north.
About the author
Desi Corbett
Desi is the Editor of Concrete in Australia and at the helm of our magazine for 8 years. She was behind the Institute's weekly news bulletins from 2016-2021 and is now writing our focused news items. Desi has been an engineering news and features journalist/editor across all disciplines since 2013 - part of a 30-year career writing for a wide range of industries.