Master Builders Solutions® is launching the groundbreaking MasterCO₂re™ product range for the ready-mix and precast concrete industry in Europe. The new superplasticizer technology is one of the company's contributions to the challenges of CO₂ reduction in the construction industry. Global concrete production accounts for 8% of man-made CO₂ emissions worldwide. Although clinker, the main component of cement, accounts for only about 10% of the concrete volume, it is responsible for about 90% of the CO₂ emissions in concrete. New cements with less clinker or the substitution of standard cements with higher proportions of limestone filler or supplementary cementitious materials (SCMs) therefore offer the most significant potential for reducing the carbon footprint of concrete. However, CO₂-reduced concrete mixes also pose new challenges for concrete producers, as they affect robustness, workability, and strength development. The unique MasterCO₂re™ ICS technology effectively counteracts these limitations. Master Builders Solutions® latest innovation supports the achievement of challenging environmental targets by closing the performance gaps of low-clinker concretes compared to standard concrete mixes, supporting sustainable construction.
MasterCO₂re™ reduces the complexity of low-clinker concrete production and sets a new benchmark
The construction industry is actively called upon to contribute to achieving the ambitious CO₂ reduction targets by taking clear action. Therefore, lowering the percentage of clinker in concrete is a crucial goal to make construction more sustainable in the future. Admixtures are an integral part of industrial concretes and play a key role in reducing CO₂ emissions associated with concrete production. Reducing the amount of clinker in concrete can be achieved in three different ways: first, by using already clinker-reduced cement types, second, by reducing the content of conventional cements, and third, by replacing a significant portion of cement with SCMs. However, these measures require a proportional reduction in water content to ensure both the water-to-cement ratio and the desired mechanical properties, which is often not possible due to the resulting deteriorated rheology. The new MasterCO₂re™ ICS technology addresses this performance issue by improving the rheology of low-clinker concrete. It ensures that the expected workability and strength are consistently achieved despite changes in composition. The widely variable composition of the binder matrix in low-clinker concretes is usually accompanied by variations in chemical and mineralogical parameters and thus in the various surface interactions occurring in concrete. Such variations often lead to higher water absorption potential and undesirable interactions with admixtures. These properties can only be controlled to a limited extent with conventional superplasticizers currently on the market and therefore require more advanced technologies to ensure consistently high concrete quality. MasterCO₂re™ forms a clever cluster system that immediately releases a portion of its freely available engineering polymers for initial water reduction. The remaining parts of the various clusters, through their polymers of finely tuned chemical structures, optimize the maintenance of workability and hydration of the cement by adapting the release mechanism to the properties of the cement matrix. The ICS technology thus overcomes performance limitations by providing excellent flowability even at hot temperatures, allowing for easy pumping and placing of concrete. Both the required water-to-cement ratio and early and late strengths are reliably achieved, ultimately maintaining the durability of concrete structures. Customers benefit from a particularly robust concrete that is neither prone to segregation nor susceptible to material variations, thus enabling an easy transition to a more sustainable concrete.
“Innovation and sustainable responsibility have been at the heart of the brand's corporate philosophy since its inception, and the introduction of MasterCO₂re™ now further underpins our core values", says Olivier Bayard, Head of Marketing Admixtures Systems at Master Builders Solutions®. “The innovative product range has been developed to reduce the complexity of low-clinker concrete mixes and simplify our customers' processes to produce robust and efficient concrete at the highest technical level while increasing productivity and reducing CO₂ emissions", adds Olivier Bayard.
MasterCO₂re™ is suitable for all ready-mix, precast, and manufactured concrete product (MCP) applications and is the perfect choice to ensure stable concrete performance for challenging low-clinker concretes without compromising quality.
More information on MasterCO₂re™ is available here: https://info.master-builders-solutions.com/en/masterco2re
About Master Builders Solutions
Master Builders Solutions is a leading global manufacturer of concrete admixtures, as well as other sustainable solutions for the construction industry, focussed on delivering its vision: Inspiring people to build better. Master Builders Solutions provides value-added technology and market-leading R&D capabilities to improve the performance of construction materials and to enable the reduction of CO₂ emissions in the production of concrete. Founded in 1909, Master Builders Solutions has ca. 1600 employees operating 35 production sites globally, supporting their customers in mastering their building challenges of today – for a decarbonised future.