Progressive Planet Solutions Inc (TSX-V:PLAN) announced the launch of PozGlass 100G SCM — the company's new and proprietary supplementary cementing material (SCM) made from 100% recycled glass. Having received breakthrough initial test results, PozGlass 100G SCM is designed to dramatically reduce cement's carbon footprint while increasing its performance.
Natural pozzolans are prevalent in western North America as a result of volcanic activity but are generally not found along the eastern seaboard.
In an effort to seamlessly gain entry into larger urban markets from coast to coast without requiring natural pozzolan to be shipped and then blended with locally sourced recycled glass, Progressive Planet quietly developed and tested its new version of PozGlass. The name, PozGlass 100G, reflects the fact that this revolutionary SCM uses 100% post-consumer glass, which is micronized to a fine powder and permanently sequesters CO2 through proprietary processes, the company said in a statement.
READ: Progressive Planet advances PozGlass SCM commercialization efforts with strong formula test results
"It is well known in the cement industry that one of the biggest challenges with using ground glass in concrete is its inability to pass ASTM test C1567 as a stand-alone pozzolan," said Steve Harpur, CEO of Progressive Planet.
He added: "The fact that our proprietary treatment of post-consumer glass has resulted in exceptional ASR mitigation results is a game-changing achievement. With this technical breakthrough, our next focus is to confirm we can produce PozGlass 100G economically at scale. This is a significant milestone for PLAN."
The Vancouver, British Columbia-based company said that PozGlass 100G SCM's introduction comes on the heels of Progressive Planet’s October 18, 2021 announcement that it successfully completed third-party testing of its flagship supplementary cementing material, PozGlass SCM, as a superior replacement to fly ash.
PozGlass SCM is a mixture of micronized, post-consumer glass and natural pozzolan harvested from Progressive Planet’s Z1 Natural Pozzolan Quarry near Cache Creek, BC. and can be used to replace significant levels of fly ash and Portland Cement, one of the greatest sources for CO2 emissions in the world.
Estimates suggest that the concrete industry is responsible for roughly 7% of total global carbon emissions.
Post-consumer glass exists as a waste problem in every major city in North America, opening up the exponential market potential for Progressive Planet’s technology. Incorporating PozGlass' post-consumer waste glass formula into concrete as a Portland Cement replacement will help the environment by both reducing the amount of CO2 emissions as well as reducing the amount of waste glass disposed of in landfills.
To date, the biggest hindrances to using 100% ground glass as a supplementary cementing material have been its inability to fully mitigate alkali-silica reactivity (ASR) and its lower early strength gains in concrete compared to other pozzolans.
Nine samples of PozGlass 100G SCM, utilizing a 25% replacement of Portland Cement, were exposed to ASTM C1567 Standard Test Method for Determining the Potential Alkali-Silica Reactivity of Combinations of Cementitious Materials and Aggregate (Accelerated Mortar-Bar Method). All nine easily passed the allowable limit of 0.10% mortar bar expansion at 16 days after casting, averaging only 0.05% expansion.
In addition, the company said that PozGlass 100G SCM samples passed important testing requirements for the seven-day Strength Activity Index (SAI) and water requirement for C618 Class N pozzolan.
"The seven-day SAI values for the treated ground glass samples reported in PozGlass 100G SCM are significantly higher than the values previously obtained in our laboratory for untreated ground glass," states Dr. Michael Thomas, who heads the third-party C&CS Atlantic, and professor at the University of New Brunswick. "Two previous tests on the untreated ground glass gave seven-day SAI values of 79% each time, while PozGlass 100G SCM registered a seven-day SAI value of 88.3%."
Progressive Planet will continue the development work on PozGlass 100G SCM with a focus on confirming that this product can be produced economically at a commercial scale.
Progressive Planet is an emerging technology company providing innovative circular solutions and earth-friendly micronized minerals that naturally unlock sustainability benefits across the construction and agriculture industries.
Contact Ritika at ritika@proactiveinvestors.com