EDITORIAL

Welcome back to the first edition of ASA Connections 2023! Since our last connections at the end of last year, we’ve seen growth in new slag-related products and innovation with slag.

We begin this Connections at a fast pace, literally! Harsco has been busy contributing to racetrack resurfacing projects in Adelaide and Melbourne, which have been put on display in the Australian Supercars and Formula One World Championships.

We revisit our Formula One theme with ASA members Infrabuild, who have also played a critical role in the resurfacing of the Albert Park Grand Prix circuit.

Moving overseas into the UK and a newly enhanced steel slag solution is being developed in a strategic move to utilise the 62 million tonnes of steel slag going to landfill each year in the UK. This is being developed in a project called Mevocrete, in collaboration with Teesside University and industry partners.

Moving into Africa, and South Africa is steaming ahead with Slag! The South African concrete industry is leading the charge, championing the use of blast furnace slag, resulting in a substantial reduction in its clinker factor without compromising the quality of products.

From one continent to another, we then visit the USA where slag is literally improving road safety. Researchers reporting in the American Chemical Society (ACS) Omega have filled microcapsules with a slag-based mixture, designed to be added into asphalt before roads are paved, providing long-term snow melting capabilities in a real-world test.

Have you seen the new Cement 2 Zero project launched recently in the UK? It was officially launched in February as a pilot of the Cambridge

Electric Cement (CEC) process.

We then head back home to Penrith, which has become the first suburb in Australia to input a road that included recycled coffee cups in in construction. The fibres from the cups will aid in creating a road that is reported to be safer and much quieter than regular asphalt, and also accounts for a 24% reduction in carbon footprint.

Following this, we then explore how cement manufacturers can immediately reduce their carbon footprint. We’ll give you a sneaky hint, use slag!

We then explore three reasons how companies can utilise slag in a circular economy, exploring the benefits and reasons to use slag in the modern day.

Finally, we check out Australian Steel Mill Services’ new ABF222 product which has been recently launched. And guess what? They have another exciting product coming. You’ll have to check out the next ASA Connections for that one!

The Australasian (iron and steel) Slag Association would like to say a massive thank you to our members for their support and contributions to this edition of Connections. Connections would not be possible without our members, and we would love to report on your stories for the Connections to follow!