Material Evolution, the UK-based low-carbon cement innovator, has helped RPC Contracts cut carbon by 20% while improving strength in its precast products using MevoXL.
The results come from a new trial with the Environment Agency's Decarbonisation Technology Accelerator and RPC Contracts, and show how Material Evolution can help concrete producers immediately reduce carbon without affecting turnaround times and with almost no changes to existing processes.
The trial adapted MevoXL technology in RPC’s Dycel 150 interlocking precast blocks, which are designed for a range of applications in the water sector including reservoir spillways.
Concrete accounts for up to 25% of the Environment Agency’s embodied carbon footprint, making it a priority area in the organisation's decarbonisation efforts. The trial demonstrated how using MevoXL, a concrete admixture, can reduce that impact without compromising on strength and performance.
Working with the Environment Agency and RPC, Material Evolution took RPC's existing Dycel mix design and adapted it in the lab, to create a tailored MevoXL admixture. The trial blocks were then manufactured, tested and crushed to determine strength, ahead of real-world deployment on site.
By using MevoXL, RPC was able to more than double the amount of pulverised fly ash (PFA), a recognised and well-proven low-carbon supplementary cementitious material that is a byproduct of the coal industry, from 14% to 30%. Using MevoXL unlocked a technical solution for RPC that they were not previously able to achieve. Replacing more cement with PFA reduced the embodied carbon of the blocks by 20%, while increasing strength and without increasing the cost of the materials. There is an estimated 100 million t of legacy fly ash stockpiled in the UK, making it a good local replacement for cement.
The results from the trial included:
- Increasing PFA from 14% in control to 30% with MevoXL, per customer request.
- 20% lower embodied carbon with MevoXL compared to control.
- 56% increase in strength with MevoXL compared to specification (78N vs. 50N).
- Material costs unchanged
Andy Powell, Technical Assurance Lead, Environment Agency said: “Cutting carbon across all of our infrastructure projects is one of our biggest priorities as we move toward net zero. This simple change in formulation with RPC and Material Evolution is exactly the kind of solution we are excited about, one that delivers real benefits without compromise. Our trial not only cut carbon, but led to greater block strength, and with no impact on timelines or a rise in material cost, it’s a genuine no-brainer. We’re looking forward to taking what we've learned here into future projects together.”
Tony Maxwell, Managing Director, RPC Contracts: “During this trial what stood out the most was how little we had to change with MevoXL. The process stayed the same, the material costs stayed the same, but the blocks came out stronger and we saved carbon in the process. That's the kind of result that makes adopting lower-carbon materials an easy decision for us.”
Ian St. Hilaire, Technical and Commercial Director, Material Evolution, said: "This trial demonstrates that cutting embodied carbon can be simple and cost-neutral with respect to the materials. While ultimately we encourage the industry to move toward novel cement alternatives, we recognise that there is low-hanging fruit that can be adopted in the near term.
“MevoXL enables concrete producers to use more of the materials they’re already familiar with, while solving the early strength challenges that usually limit high-SCM replacement mixes. This is an easy, simple switch for manufacturers like RPC, who are under pressure to answer demands from specifiers for lower-carbon materials, without hurting their margins or taking on any big risks on new materials.”
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