Sound walls

Image: Staff at Muja Power Station inspect a Colliecrete noise wall panel prototype.

Commercialisation opportunities

Three different geopolymer concrete mix designs based on fly ash from the three power stations in Collie were successfully developed, tested, and found to be viable.

Collie fly ashes were successfully used in more than 100 batches of experimental mix designs, including batches using using:

  • Bauxite-refining residues (Red Mud and Bayer Liquor)
  • Recycled aggregates from construction & demolition wastes
  • Waste glass to produce a sodium silicate replacement

Compressive strengths of 15Mpa, and up to 25MPa, were regularly obtained with ambient curing across the three main Colliecrete mix designs. 50MPa was achieved with oven curing.

A complex online mix design software tool was developed and named the Colliecrete Mix Designer (CMD). Mix designs can now be evaluated online prior to pouring.

Of the numerous geopolymer concrete products that were trialled and tested, the Colliecrete team has demonstrated a range of products as suitable for commercial application.

 

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Geopolymer concrete pre-cast products manufacturing

A local industry producing geopolymer concrete from Collie fly ash:

  • Geopolymer reactor 
  • Concrete batching plant
  • Large pre-cast moulding, curing and storage areas
  • Economic feasibility data for blocks and panels

Approximately 300,000 t/a fly ash currently being produced in the power stations plus up to 5m tonnes of available deposit in fly ash dams.

No competitors.

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Geopolymer concrete batching

A local industry producing geopolymer concrete from Collie fly ash:

  • Small-scale geopolymer concrete batching plant integrated into existing OPC facility
  • Large-scale batching of geopolymer cement as an ingredient for others to buy and make concrete from elsewhere
  • Conceptual designs for various site locations

Approximately 300,000 t/a fly ash currently being produced in the power stations plus up to 5m tonnes of available deposit in fly ash dams.

No direct competitors.

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Geopolymer concrete products incorporating waste materials

A local industry producing geopolymer concrete and incorporating other industrial by-products:

  • Manufacturing of artificial coal ash-based aggregates
  • Lithium industry processing waste
  • Silica fume
  • Biomass or hemp processing waste
  • Potential for other materials

No competitors.

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Bayer-derived Geopolymer Concrete Products

A local industry producing geopolymer concrete from alumina refinery by-products:

  • Bauxite refining residue (BRR or red mud) into building/retaining/paving blocks
  • Bayer liquor bleed stream as sodium hydroxide replacement and/or to manufacture artificial aggregates
  • Potential production rates: 0.1 - 10 million t/a

No competitors.

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Fly ash collection & processing

A local industry producing bulk/bagged ‘quality-assured’ Fly-ash - pre-mix ready for market:

  • Feedstock for producing geopolymer cement
  • Includes the fly ash, solid caustic pellets and powdered recycled glass.
  • Value-added and quality assurance guaranteed certification
  • Supply to product manufacturers with exclusive license

Current competitors or partners to Colliecrete include Flyash Australia, Cement Australia, Boral.

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Chemical manufacturing

A local industry producing chemicals for geopolymer concrete and other applications:

  • Feedstock for producing geopolymer cement
  • Sodium hydroxide (caustic soda) made from brine through electrolysis
  • Sodium silicate made from recycled glass and sodium hydroxide

Current competitors or partners to Colliecrete include Coogee Chemicals, Redox, All Chemical, Nalco - an Ecolab Company.

PROCESS FLOW

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CONCEPTUAL GEOPOLYMER CONCRETE PLANT FLY-THROUGH

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