Wacker opens competence centre for cement and concrete applications in Shanghai

The Wacker Group opened a new competence centre for cement and concrete applications in Shanghai, China.

The laboratory will develop novel silicone based products and solutions, which are able to improve the performance of cement and concrete and to make these materials more sustainable.

Special focus is on silicone admixtures and performance enhancers.

According to market experts, China is the world’s largest producer and consumer of cement and concrete.

However, due to high energy consumption, as well as a strong call for environmentally-friendly products and carbon dioxide reduction, the huge cement and concrete industry is also facing a number of challenges.

For example, cement and concrete products should become more durable and corrosion resistant.

"Wacker’s new R&D lab in Shanghai will support our customers to cope with these challenges and to seize the market opportunities which have opened up,” said Paul Lindblad, President of Wacker Greater China.

"As a regional innovation platform focusing on cement and concrete, the new lab will cooperate with leading Chinese universities, research institutions and the industry.

"Its goal is to develop innovative products and solutions that support the sustainable development of the Chinese construction materials industry.”

At its new competence centre in Shanghai, Wacker will be able to investigate how silicone chemistry can effectively protect cement and concrete against environmental influences and at the same time improve the durability of these materials.

For example, waterproofing technologies for cement and concrete are a hot topic in both academia and industry.

Existing surface treatments with silicones are well known and established.

For example, they are capable of protecting the concrete surface from alkali-silica reaction, efflorescence, graffiti and corrosion.

However, the surface treatment also has its limitations.

"One of the goals of our lab is to develop silicone products that improve hydrophobicity, durability and other unresolved problems in cement and concrete.

"For example, silicones are capable of making cement hydrophobic.

"Already, several thousand tonnes of cement have been made using one of our products developed by the competence centre for cement and concrete at Wacker’s subsidiary in India,” said Dr Peter Jerschow, Head of Global Product Development for the Business Unit Construction Silicones at Wacker Silicones.

"As Wacker’s first competence centre that will deal exclusively with silicone-based cement and concrete admixtures, the new lab will leverage our worldwide technological expertise and resources to serve China’s growing cement and concrete industry”

Thanks to their unique properties, silicones are widely used for the protection of construction materials.

Water repellent, vapour permeable and resistant to chemicals and UV radiation, they are available as solid powders, solvent-free liquids or water-based emulsions.

Applications include waterproofing of inorganic insulation materials, protective coatings, damp proofing, pH adjusters for coatings and waterproofing agents for concrete.