Eden Energy Ltd (Eden) announced commencement of the first field trials in the United States for a new concrete additive technology that adds super strength and performance to concrete but with very little extra weight.

The Company’s award-winning EdenCrete500 is a carbon-enriched concrete additive technology that can potentially generate economic benefits by reducing the volume of concrete required; environmental benefits are also delivered from the lower consumption of cement with global cement production accounting for around 5% of the world’s total annual greenhouse gas emissions. EdenCrete500 also won the Australian Civil Contractors Federation’s 2014 Environment Award in October 2014.

EdenCrete500 concrete additive is formulated to deliver several advantages to concrete including higher ultimate tensile and compressive strengths; improved abrasion resistance; reduced tendency for corrosion of steel reinforcement; improved concrete workability and effectiveness of water-reducer; and reduced cracks from concrete shrinkage. Laboratory tests prove the EdenCrete500 admixture can increase the compressive strength of cement paste by up to 27% and tensile strength by up to 14%.

Eden’s US subsidiary, Hythane Company has commenced the first EdenCrete500 enriched concrete field trials involving a full-scale concrete pour at Denver, Colorado in collaboration with Metro Mix, a US-based commercial concrete company.

Eden Energy’s Executive Chairman, Mr Greg Solomon explained that the structures built for the trial pour comprised of new aggregate storage bins at the Metro Mix facility, constructed with two truckloads of approximately 20 cubic metres (about 48,000kg) of concrete.

The new aggregate bins, constructed with mild steel reinforced concrete walls, half of which were made using EdenCrete500 and the other half using ordinary concrete, will be used to store hundreds of tonnes of sand, gravel or crushed rock. Front-end loaders will be frequently moving aggregate in and out of the bin, making strength and abrasion resistance in the concrete extremely important.

According to Mr Solomon, the challenging application, combined with Colorado’s harsh weather, makes the Denver project an ideal first commercial field trial for the performance-enhanced concrete where its performance against ordinary concrete can also be assessed.

A number of test cylinders of the same two forms of concrete used in the trial (including some with embedded steel reinforcing) were also produced for testing at periodic intervals over the next two months to accurately measure the relative strengths of each form of concrete as well as the level of corrosion of the reinforcing steel in each.

Based on the level of success of the tests, and subject to Eden having first secured US Environmental Protection Authority approval for the commercial sale of the CNT enriched EdenCrete500, Eden plans to progressively ramp up its production and commence commercial marketing of EdenCrete500 in the US to a potentially very large customer base.

Mr Solomon said EdenCrete500 with its higher tensile and compressive strength is expected to provide an effective solution for use in concrete beams, elevated slabs and walls. The additive’s improved abrasion resistance makes it suitable for high traffic applications, such as parking lots and roads, especially for surfaces that support heavy equipment or where scraping or snow ploughing would be frequently required, resulting in wear and tear and high maintenance cost.

In addition to EdenCrete500, Eden produces several admixtures to enhance the performance of concrete in a wide range of infrastructure, and coastal and marine applications. These admixtures are engineered to reduce permeability, improve concrete durability and resistance to chemical attack, or reduce the tendency for corrosion of steel reinforcement.

Eden’s suite of concrete admixtures could substantially optimise project costs by reducing the requirement of steel reinforcement and concrete, lower frequency of maintenance, and increase service life.