Tuesday, April 29, 2008 Taiheiyo develops cement for water-associated structures
A JAPANESE cement manufacturing company will introduce a unique cement which will be used for water-associated infrastructures like bridges, dams and ports.
Taiheiyo Cement Phils. Inc. (TCPI) also aims to support President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo’s nautical highway project
through its new cement mix, which will be out in the market by June.
Still to be given a brand name, the product is called a type 1S cement, an “almost Pozzolan cement” mixed with an additive called a furnace blast slag, making the mixture even stronger than Portland cement, said Cerwin Eviota, TCPI press relations consultant. A blast furnace slag is a waste product of steel mills.
No seeping
The corrosiveness of the type 1S cement will also not allow water to seep into a structure’s binding material, he added.
Unlike the regular Portland cement, the Type 1S, technically referred to as the Portland Blast-Furnace Slag, will not generate much heat so that when mixed with water, it will not create any crack, Eviota explained.
Though there is no demand for the product yet, Eviota said the company is confident that it will have a market considering that the government has lined up a number of infrastructure projects, especially the nautical highway—which aims to connect the whole country through the construction of roll-on-roll-off terminal ports.
Cheaper
The type 1S cement, which was developed by the TCPI’s research and development team in the Philippines, is also cheaper compared to the Portland cement although it will have the same curing period as the Portland mix.
With the introduction of the new product, TCPI inaugurated yesterday its third silo, which will hold a capacity of 10,000 metric tons of ready mix cement.
President Arroyo visited the TCPI plant yesterday and led a group of guests in the ribbon-cutting.
The silo, which costs P105 million, stands 30 meters high and has an inside diameter of 18 meters. It will be commissioned by the last week of May.
The silo will also comprise the third production line of the cement storage facility.
More cement
With the introduction of the new product and the completion of the silo, TCPI is now expected to produce a total of 70,000 metric tons of ready mix cement daily, said Eviota. (DME)
