Recently we have heard a few people confuse D5 Green and silica fume or other Supplementary Cementitious Materials (SCMs).
This relates to another misunderstanding: that using low carbon concrete means compromising on some concrete properties e.g. early strength. In fact low-carbon Neocrete has superior properties compared to standard concrete.
While D5 Green and SCMs might look similar and have some overlapping benefits, they are fundamentally different in design, nature, production process, dosage, composition and most importantly performance – as set out in the table below.
We like to think that SCMs to D5 Green are what the Toyota Prius is to Tesla. Both reduce carbon emissions, but only one was specifically designed to improve performance while also reducing CO2.
SCMs are waste products from carbon-intensive industries recycled through concrete production. Examples are fly ash from coal power plants and slags and silica fume from metal production. They weren’t designed for concrete. That’s why using SCMs can have negative side-effects, like delaying early strength and setting time, and often require additional concrete additives.
In contrast, D5 Green was purposely designed by a concrete scientist. It’s made of hand-picked, materials, specially processed to make them hyperactive and outperform standard concrete. It is this hyperactive state which means you only need to use D5 Green at 2-3% of cementitious materials to achieve significant carbon reductions – compared with the 1:1 replacement that fly ash requires.
High early strength, accelerated setting time, complete water-proofing, improved sulphate resistance are among the advanced properties that D5 Green was designed for.
Like a Prius, using SCMs can be a good way to reduce carbon, if you are ok with waiting slightly longer to get to your destination, and some reliance on old fashioned fossil fuel technology.
But if you are looking for high performance and state-of-the-art technology, you don’t buy a Prius. You buy a @Tesla.
Too good to be true? Try Neocrete, explore the properties and get advanced concrete by design.
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