Seminar Spotlight

John Twitchen, Director, Xeroc Ltd, highlights why concrete recycling is important and why the current situation is inadequate to meet the future needs of developers. He discusses how Xeroc has explored various technologies before it was satisfied that old concrete could effectively be separated into its constituent materials to enable recycling. John will explain the recent innovate UK trial and its results.

Stuart Manning, Technical Director, Shotcrete Services - Shotcrete Services is renowned for its expertise in sprayed concrete design and construction, in both civil engineering and tunnelling industries completing high-profile projects. Stuart shares his latest pioneering research with an overview on the use of GGBS combined with powdered accelerator to reduce embodied carbon within accelerated sprayed concrete. 

Damian Thomas, Commercial Development Manager, Infrastructure, Imerys - With an increased focus on sustainability and ageing existing infrastructure, the construction industry needs materials with better durability, offering long term solutions that also allow the rehabilitation and reuse of existing assets while delivering lower carbon and environmental footprints and more resilience. Calcium aluminate concretes and mortars provide long term protection from combinations of heat, abrasion, and chemical environments.

Dr Omar Hamza, Associate Professor in Civil Engineering, University of Derby - Recent research into innovative bio-self-healing concrete has largely focused on above-ground structures. However, underground structures, such as tunnels and water tanks, face unique challenges due to their interaction with soil environments, which can also offer a solution.

Deiniol Williams, Area Sales Manager, South West, Fosroc, past President of The Concrete Society, and Craig Hannam, Market Sector Manager UK & ROI, Fosroc - As UK industry moves towards 2050 carbon targets, the built environment clearly has a significant part to play. With this in mind, Craig Hannam and Deiniol Williams speak about incorporating concrete repair and restoration into a carbon emission reduction strategy, taking into account the ‘whole life’ carbon cycle.

Kathy Calverley MBE, Managing Director, The Concrete Society - A guide to The Concrete Society, your route to independent advice, support on all matters concrete past, present and future, and including a UK wide network of technical and social networking events.

Dr Lisa Scullion, Applications Manager, Graphene Engineering Innovation Centre - The University of Manchester - Graphene is a one-atom-thick layer of carbon atoms arranged in a hexagonal lattice which was first isolated from graphite at The University of Manchester in 2004. Over the past 20 years scientists at the University of Manchester have found that it is possible to utilize graphene’s unique properties across a range of products and applications.

Ian Riley, CEO, World Cement Association - We have become used to the idea that concrete has a large carbon footprint, but does that really have to be the case? Ian argues that we already know how to make concrete with much lower carbon footprint and significantly better resource efficiency. We are seeing innovation progress in 4 key areas and taken together these developments offer the prospect that for at least some applications we may be able to reach carbon neutrality or even net sequestration of CO2.

Paul O'Hanlon, Global R&D Project Manager, Holcim - This seminar explores the intersection of digital innovation and sustainability, focusing on low-carbon concrete. Gain insights on cutting-edge technologies, showcasing how digital tools enhance decision-making, improve project performance and mitigate risks. Learn how these tools enable the use of low-carbon concrete, reducing environmental footprints.

Dr Andrew Smith, Head of Materials Development, Forterra PLC, and Associate Professor of Mineral Product Technology, University of Derby - The question for most concrete product manufacturers is, "is it really possible to deliver more for less?" Can we ever achieve this 'Holy Grail' of matching existing performance with real green credentials, and maintain or reduce the cost to the customer? This presentation looks at some of the more viable potential solutions for delivery of, or at least a glimpse, of the 'Holy Grail'.

Sam Draper, CEO & Co-founder, Seratech gives an overview of Seratech’s approach to decarbonise cement production. Seratech is a spin-out company from Imperial College London that mineralises CO2 within naturally abundant magnesium silicates to produce a siliceous supplementary cementitious material (SCM) for use in ready mix concrete, and magnesium carbonate – a binder for concrete products.

James Bullock, CEO, ConSpare, and President, MHEA, discusses what ‘social’ means in practice for batch plants, the challenges associated with understanding how to create better, cleaner and safer conditions at each of the UK’s nearly 2,000 batch plants, and three of the main problems that must be addressed – dust, cleaning and manual interventions. Using case studies and testimonials from plant managers, James ultimately explores how we can make the lives of batchers better – and how this benefits the industry as a whole.

James Thorne, Joint CEO IQ and MPQC - The Mineral Products Qualifications Council (MPQC) has developed and administers the MP Connect system to support the Mineral Products Sector in delivering safer and healthier outcomes. MP Connect is a state-of-the-art application that offers a fully integrated learner management system and will ultimately replace the amount of safety cards that drivers and contractors are required to carry.

Mike Phillips F.I.Q., CEO, British Aggregates Association - Safety leadership should not be simply Health & Safety focussed – why not I hear you ask? There are many differing factors to consider when evaluating the safety of your organisation, which when you very clearly understand, plan for, do and reflect can make Health & Safety an integral day to day norm.

Jonathan Goldsmith, Principal Scientist, Bluerinse - What is concrete wash water, how is it produced and why you should be concerned. Review of the Health Safety & Environmental risks associated with the production, storage, treatment and reuse of concrete wash water. Including guidance on options for treatment and off-site disposal (What is the correct EWC Code?).