The ongoing climate change has forced concrete industry to actively seek ways to reduce its carbon dioxide footprint. Concrete as the most used construction material is mostly based on Portland cement, which is known for its high emissions. Also, the shotcreting technology in Sweden only uses Portland cement.

The aim of this pre-study was to investigate the possibility to partially replace Portland cement with Calcium Sulfoaluminate cement. This replacement should primarily reduce the carbon dioxide footprint and at the same time improve concrete properties, specifically from the shotcreting perspective, i.e., shorter setting, faster strength development and lower shrinkage. The pre-study was divided into two main parts, i.e., a literature review along with some laboratory tests.

The project was performed at Luleå University of Technology in the research subject of Building Materials, the project leader was Andrzej Ćwirzeń, while laboratory tests were performed by PhD students Ankit Kothari and Thanyarat Buasiri. The project was done in close cooperation with Tommy Ellison from BESAB and Hans Hedlund from Skanska. The reference group included Staffan Carlstrom (Swerock), Giedrius Zirgulis (Rise), Patrik Vidstrand (BeFo), Per Tengborg (BeFo), Lisa Hernqvist (TRV), Stefan Sandelin (Cementa), Jonas Magnusson (NCC) and Lars Wikstrom (LKAB). 

It is our belief that this pre-study is a first step towards significant reductions in the carbon dioxide footprint produced in the rock engineering industry. The research was co-financed by BeFo, SBUF and LTU.

Stockholm

Patrik Vidstrand