Sika sets new standards in the recycling of concrete
Sika has developed a new process for recycling concrete. Old concrete is completely broken down into its components pebble, lime and sandstone. At the same time, 60 kilograms of CO2 per ton of demolition material can be bound.
According to a message from Sika , the Zug-based building materials group has "developed a new, groundbreaking recycling process for old concrete". With the help of additives, the demolition material is broken down into its components pebble, lime and sandstone. In addition, around 60 kilograms of CO2 per tonne of old concrete would be bound, writes Sika.
"In the five largest EU countries alone, around 300 million tons of old concrete are produced annually," Sika CEO Paul Schuler is quoted in the press release. "By completely recycling, up to 15 million tons of CO2 emissions can be saved."
The new process allows the complete recycling of concrete waste, explains Sika in the press release. Conventional processes, on the other hand, have only made it possible to recycle around a third of the raw materials recovered. The new concrete obtained in the reCO2ver process, on the other hand, comes close to that of new concrete in terms of quality.
According to Frank Hoefflin, reCO2ver is a unique method in the industry for recycling old concrete. "We are already working on developing chemical additives and means to continuously improve quality in order to further advance the industrialization of our technology," explains the head of technology at Sika in the message.