First Graphene has provided an update on its pathway to commercialization of graphene in the global cement and concrete industry.
Pallets of PureGRAPH-CEM ahead of shipping to UK. Image by FGR
More than three tonnes of First Graphene’s dedicated PureGRAPH-CEM® product has arrived in the United Kingdom ahead of the next phase of trials with the nation’s largest cement producer, Breedon Group. The project will see the Company’s graphene used in a permanent real-world environment, which forms part of a major road infrastructure project in the UK. The graphene enhanced concrete is scheduled to be produced and poured in May.
This work will aim to validate at an industrial scale the results achieved through laboratory work by Kirton Concrete Services, which showcased an increase in compressive strength of up to 16%.
Importantly, this application will also be using a simplified process of adding PureGRAPH-CEM® to cement, which will reduce both the overall cost and complexity for future commercial opportunities.
The permanent concrete slabs using the enhanced cement will be verified through material testing to industry standards and will support larger scale programs scheduled for mid-year.
Data collected will be compiled and distributed to other potential end users to validate future commercialization opportunities of both the simplified mixing process and the Company’s PureGRAPH-CEM® product.
In addition, First Graphene has supplied PureGRAPH® enhanced mortar to a leading fine chemical manufacturer, Lianhetech Seal Sands, based on Teesside, Northeast England. The material will be used to assess the durability, cost-effectiveness and ease of application in a live environment under controlled conditions in a small-scale trial. Its performance will be closely monitored over several months and benchmarked against commercial repair mortars over 28 days.
The trial will test whether the material will show improved chemical resistance in a challenging environment, whilst also delivering additional potential benefits to the site, by trialing a product with a lower carbon footprint.
First Graphene also supplied PureGRAPH® to develop a graphene enhanced concrete slab as part of a large-scale working platform for a fire testing project in Southern Africa, in collaboration with Stellenbosch University, Glade Chemicals, AFRIMAT, and Kindling Inc. Graphene enhanced cement was poured alongside a reference concrete slab and tested for permeability by measuring oxygen penetration.
Results showed a significant reduction in permeability of more than 33% between the PureGRAPH® slab and the reference slab, further validating the ability of First Graphene’s product to increase longevity of concrete structures.
First Graphene Managing Director and CEO Michael Bell said: “First Graphene is making exceptional progress in the cement and concrete sector, with trial results and subsequent commercial interest further reiterating the need for our PureGRAPH®. We look forward to collaborating with all of our partners involved in these projects as we collectively work towards delivering graphene products to this growing global industry.”
