Our solution:

Reduce Portland cement use

The manufacturing industry is the largest source of human-created CO₂ – of which, Portland cement is a major contributing factor (Exhibit 1).  For every ton of cement produced, approximately a ton of CO₂ is emitted (Exhibit 2). This process contributes up to 8% of global CO₂ emissions annually.

Exhibit 1

Exhibit 2

Coal fly ash & concrete

At one time, almost all coal fly ash was landfilled, leading to millions of tons of waste in impoundments across North America. Now, more than half (60% in 2019) of the fly ash produced gets used beneficially in concrete instead of being disposed of – a recycling success story. Fly ash was first used as a cheap filler, but engineers learned quickly that ash can give concrete important engineering properties, such as higher long-term strength, reduced heat of hydration, resistance to alkali-silica reaction, and more. Over the past 60 years, the benefits of pozzolanic materials have been rediscovered and refined. The concrete industry has come to rely on fly ash as the go-to pozzolan.

The problem with coal fly ash: It’s going away.

A global transition to cleaner energy sources is underway. Coal-fired power plants are closing (or switching to natural-gas and renewable energy) at a record pace, creating an unintended problem for the concrete industry. There are now fly ash shortages in many markets!

Lack of fly ash supply is becoming an engineering problem for concrete, but it’s also a CO₂ problem. Without cheap SCM in the form of fly ash, Portland cement content in concrete will likely need to increase. Higher Portland cement content means higher CO₂ emissions.

What alternatives can fill the fly ash void?

Fly ash has been especially useful to the concrete industry because quality ash has traditionally been available near many concrete markets at a low price. Existing alternatives to fly ash include metallurgical slags, natural pozzolans such as volcanic ash, and metakaolin. Unfortunately, existing products cannot replace fly ash at large scale due to limited supply volume, geographical constraints, and most concisely: higher delivered price.

Are new technologies available to replace fly ash?

Many new technologies are being deployed that could help address the fly ash gap. For example, CO₂ injection during concrete mixing can provide extra strength (leading to 10%+ reduction in cement content). Portland Limestone Cement achieves about 10%+ reduction in cement content by partial replacement with unheated limestone. These, and other new technologies, have their place, but the performance and environmental impact of fly ash as an SCM is arguably larger than alternatives since it routinely replaces 10-30% of Portland cement content in modern concrete, an impressive and underappreciated fact.

Terra’s solution is to manufacture a cost-competitive and eco-friendly synthetic “fly ash” that looks and performs like traditional Type F fly ash: OPUS SCM.

OPUS products support the transition to low-CO₂ concrete.

Could we keep burning coal to make fly ash?

Yes, but we shouldn’t. “Manufacturing” a ton of fly ash requires burning about 14 tons of coal, which causes 31 tons of CO₂ emissions¹!

The value of electricity produced by burning coal is worth several times more than the ash produced (supposing it is suitable quality for concrete), so the fly ash is traditionally considered a by-product.

It may be more useful to think of fly ash as a co-product of coal energy because fly ash has become a market commodity in its own right with distributors, resellers, and a formerly robust supply chain. Concrete industry demand for fly ash has never been higher, yet supply is dwindling. Our response to this problem is the development of OPUS SCM: a “synthetic fly ash” that can be produced locally without burning coal.

What does the decline in fly ash supply mean for concrete?

1. The end of widespread cheap & effective by-product pozzolan.
2. The price of fly ash will go up.
3. If there is not a viable cost-effective substitute for fly ash, more Portland cement will be used in concrete, further increasing CO₂ emissions and cost and decreasing performance.

Improved quality and longevity of concrete due to pozzolans and advanced chemistry

Improved durability of concretes produced with pozzolanic materials (vs. only Portland cement) and significantly increased longevity is expected from advanced cements.

Reducing truck traffic

Existing Portland cement and fly ash can be moved great distances for use in concrete production. Haul distances over 100 miles can be common. Terra’s cementitious products for use in concrete can be produced close to end-use markets, substantially reducing heavy truck movements from the roadways yielding three core benefits:

1. Reduced emissions from a smaller transportation footprint
2. Less wear and tear on our horizontal infrastructure
3. Enhanced roadway safety by reducing heavy truck traffic

Mine tailings stabilization

Glassy cementitious reagents (made from mine tailings themselves in Terra’s process) are a promising route for economical permanent chemical and physical stabilization of mine tailings. Possible applications are site dependent, but include the following: reducing cement requirements for cemented backfill, stabilizing sulfide concentrates and other tailings with high-leaching potential, producing valuable construction materials from mine tailings, remediating legacy sites, and more.