What Is a Foam Concrete Blowing Agent?

Cement foaming agent, also referred to as foam cement foaming agent, the cement foaming agent is an additive which can lower the area strain of the liquid and produce a lot of even and stable foam for the creation of foam concrete. The foaming agent is a group of substances that may produce its aqueous solution in case of mechanical energy introduced into the air to generate a large amount of foam; this group of compounds may be a surfactant or surface-active material. The essence of the blowing agent can be its surface active role. Without the role of surface action, it can not be foamed; it can not be an expanding agent; surface action is the core of foaming.

The Working Principle of Foam Concrete Foaming Agent

Foam cement expanding agent is able to make its aqueous solution in case of mechanical action, the introduction of air, but also creates many foam and so on substances; this kind of substance may be the surfactant or surface-active materials. We can additionally create a large number of even or reliable foam now on the industry. A lot foaming agents, whether it is the type of ranking, etc., are dazzling; we get from numerous media statistics, is essential with concrete additive production experience people shall be hard to distinguish whether it is excellent or bad for a while.

Classification of Foam Concrete Blowing Agent

The foaming agent is in fact divided into negatively charged or non-ionic, amphoteric, and so on according to the ionization characteristics of the aqueous solution, this classification; then there are synthetic foaming substances, rosin resin-based foaming agents, protein-activated foaming substances, and so on.
Foaming substances because they are surface-active agents or surface-active substances; therefore, according to their ionization properties of, the aqueous solution can be divided into anionic, cationic, non-ionic, and amphoteric four categories. But this classification is too academic and abstract. We can divide the types of foaming agents according to the composition of the components, which are broadly divided into rosin resin type, synthetic emulsifier type, protein type, compound type, other type, an overall five types.

Two Main Methods of Foam Concrete Production

There are two main ways to produce foam concrete: one is physical foaming, and the other is chemical foaming.

Physical Foaming Process

Physical foaming refers to the mechanical method of introducing air, nitrogen, hydrogen, carbon dioxide, or oxygen into the slurry formed by cement, cementitious materials, foam stabilizer, and water to make it form a greater stable liquid slurry system. The stabilization time of the slurry system should be greater than the initial setting time of the cement. For foam concrete, physical foaming is commonly used with cement expanding substances through the cement foaming machine to introduce air into the foam to join the paddle body and mix to make foam concrete.

Physical foaming technology is used more in the field of floor heating, flooring, roof slope, prefabricated panels, and so on. Its key technology, in addition to the need for an excellent foam stabilizer, is the structure design of the foam generator. In the formulation design of the stabilizer, the interaction with the foaming agent need not be considered, and thus the freedom of choice is greater. In terms of equipment, the chemical foaming process also uses an additional air compressor and foam generator.

Chemical Foaming Process

Chemical foaming is a material that can chemically react and generate gas (foaming agent) with cementitious materials, foam stabilizer, and water, etc., together with mixing and then pouring and molding, control the temperature so that the reaction of the expanding substance to generate bubbles, the best reaction state is almost no reaction during the mixing and molding, and after the molding and before the initial setting of cement gradually reaction is completed. The principle of chemical foaming of foam concrete is the same as the principle of steamed buns. Now the more common foaming agent on the market is aluminum powder and hydrogen peroxide.

The machinery used in the chemical foaming process is relatively simple. As the cement slurry in the pouring, before the initial set of the foaming agent continues to generate bubbles, and therefore has an expansion effect, the chemical foaming process is mostly used for filling, plugging, reinforcement, and other occasions. It can also be used in the field of prefabricated panels.

Application Areas of Cement Foaming Agent

In industrial production and daily civil use, the use of expanding agents is very different; different applications have different technical requirements for the concrete foaming agent. For example, the fire extinguisher expanding substance only requires its instantaneous foaming volume and oxygen barrier capacity, but not its high stability and fineness. Such as the mining industry with flotation expanding agents only requires it for the purpose of strong adsorption and good frothing power; the foaming multiplier and foam stability requirements are not high. And so on, not to list. The expanding substance is used in almost all industrial fields; the use is very wide. The performance requirements of each industry on the blowing agent are obviously different; one industry can use the blowing agent, another industry can not be used, or the effect is not good. Similarly, foam concrete foaming agent is used for concrete frothing to put forward the technical requirements. It is in addition to the ability to generate large foam, pay special attention to the stability of foam, foam fineness, foam and cement and other cementitious materials such as adaptability. Can meet this requirement of narrowly defined blowing agent is also Liao, few and far between; most of the expanding agent is not used in the actual production of foam concrete.

Therefore, foam concrete foaming agents must be a few surfactants or surface-active substances that meet the above technical requirements.

1. Insulation layer of radiant floor heating and roof thermal insulation;
2. Filling wall blocks inside and outside buildings, sound insulation walls;
3. municipal pipelines such as water supply, heating, oil pipelines and other insulation, moisture-proof, anti-corrosion;
4. construction of plant cultivation greenhouse and storage cold storage;
5. filling of internal voids in tunnels and gaps in buildings;
6. Pavement, sports fields, courts of grassroots paving, and so on, specific areas.

Addressing the Global Cement and Concrete Association in Zurich on Tuesday, UN Secretary-General António Guterres laid out his vision for change in the industry, which he said was “fundamental to building a better world.”

Guterres issued a “call to action” to executives in attendance, asking for strong commitments from the concrete industry, and then laid out his triple aim: to ban the use of coal-fired power generation in cement production, to encourage governments and industry to hasten decarbonization efforts and to further advance higher emissions reduction targets and other programs in line with UN policy guidelines.

The CEO of the Global Cement and Concrete Association, CEO of the Global Cement and Concrete Association, added: “We applaud all the actions our members have taken to implement carbon reduction measures, and the latest figures show that emissions are falling. However, there are still many challenges that we must overcome if we are to achieve net zero emissions, including favorable policies and regulations from governments around the world that often do not yet exist.”

Earlier report: The association has developed a blueprint to achieve net-zero concrete by 2050.

The organization previously announced its own commitment to cut CO2 emissions by a quarter by 2030. The “roadmap” plan presented at the time called for a total of 10 large carbon capture plants to be built by association members by 2030. Globally, 7% of emissions can be attributed to cement and various types of concrete (a point highlighted by Guterres) and, along with coal, is seen as an important aspect in keeping global temperature rise below the 1.5°C threshold by 2030.

“The transparency and rigor inherent in the standard is critical. In short: We need concrete commitments from the concrete industry. These will provide clarity and predictability for your shareholders, supply chain, and customers. Shady offsets or betting it all on undiscovered technologies won’t get us there. Real, deep emissions reductions are what matter,” Guterres concluded.

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