Scale-up Manufacturing of Next-Generation Cementitious Binders Using Non-Carbonate Rocks

Project Innovation

The overarching goal of this project is to develop first-of-a-kind (FOAK) pilot demonstration to turn >20 ton/day naturally-occurring abundant “non-carbonate” rocks such as zeolite to cementitious binders for replacing 100% of Portland cement in cast-in-place concrete. Phase 1 objective (Task 1-5) is to design, install, commission, and operate a pilot 20 tons/day feed facility at the C-Crete site. Phase 2 Objective (Tasks 6-9) is to perform a full parametric study and long runs (>6 months) in the FOAK pilot facility to find the optimum range conditions for creating representative zeolite-based binder/ concretes, followed by fabrication and thorough technical testing to meet all key ASTM/ACI standards for such concretes. Phase 3 objective (Task 10-13) is incorporate the scaled-up activated zeolite binder in a ready mix batch plant and pour >20 ton cast-in-place concrete for a real-world application (a prototypical small single floor concrete house), followed by process modeling, techno-economic analysis (TEA), life cycle analysis (LCA), environmental product declaration (EPD) developments to facilitate modular commercial plant design, market penetration and commercialization