First Graphene has announced a third trial with one of the United Kingdom’s largest cement producers, Breedon Group, which will test an optimized formulation of the Company’s PureGRAPH-CEM® product under full-scale production conditions. This trial builds on the work recently conducted in exclusive collaboration with Breedon at its Hope Plant, which confirmed the Company’s ability to produce graphene enhanced cement at an industrial scale.
The third trial incorporates the technical and practical experiences obtained in the first two trials to further optimize the performance of First Graphene’s graphene nanoplatelets. The trial will primarily focus on testing a new grade of graphene, PureGRAPH-CEM®, under full- scale cement production conditions at Breedon’s Hope Cement Works facility in Derbyshire, United Kingdom.
The new product from First Graphene is based on a PureGRAPH® grade with a particle size distribution and morphology optimized for use in cement grinding mills, enabling the graphene to be added directly to the mill without any additional processing equipment.
Scheduled to start in Q1 of the 2024/25 financial year, the trial will use just over two tonnes of the specialized aqua-dispersed product, which could produce up to 1,000 tonnes of cement.
The new graphene product will be used as an additive in the cement production process, complementing traditional cement grinding aids throughout the trial.
The trial will last eight hours and involves close monitoring of cement fineness before and during the addition of the PureGRAPH® grade product.
The trial has two objectives:
1. Validate the mechanical improvements demonstrated at the pilot scale
2. Confirm whether milling throughput can be improved using the new product, reducing energy consumption
Results from this trial are expected in the second half of 2024.
The development of the PureGRAPH-CEM® product is also set to be trialed with cement producers in other global markets including Europe, South East Asia, Australia and New Zealand.
First Graphene Managing Director and CEO, Michael Bell, said: “This is an exciting development in our Joint Development and Commercialization Agreement with one of the UK’s largest cement producers, Breedon Group. The creation of a devoted PureGRAPH® grade for use in cement production reinforces First
Graphene’s commitment to delivering ‘green’ cement solutions for the global construction market. The adoption of this new and improved graphene product by Breedon shows we are both on the same journey towards decarbonization of the cement and concrete sector. I look forward to providing further updates, including results from this trial in the second half of 2024.”