Increase Manufactured Sand Usage

Acti-Gel^® 208 additive revolutionizes concrete to help concrete producers realize material cost savings on every cubic yard. This robust additive enables the concrete producer to increase the use of manufactured sand up to 100%, thereby replacing the higher cost and scarcer supply of natural sands.

The product maintains the quality and workability of the concrete while saving money on every batch. It works well with most additives.

Potential benefits of Acti-Gel 208 additive use with manufactured sand in concrete include:

• Consistent air content
• Improved compaction
• Increased density
• Enhanced finishability, workability, and pumpability
• Increase the quality of the mix
• Designed to save $/yd³ on every batch

Concrete Block

Acti-Gel^® 208 admixture stabilizes dry cast mixtures, improves paste quality, and provides efficient cement hydration. Acti-Gel 208 additive reduces cement content by up to 15% while maintaining strength, stability, and durability.

• • Designed not to impact cycle times
  • Similar swipe and durability
  • Achieve Strengths
  • Designed not to impact cure time
  • Stays durable during transport
  • Works with colors and most cement types

Pumpable Cementitious Mixtures

Acti-Gel^® 208 admixture works in many applications as a pump aid by creating a lower-viscosity lining in the pipe/hose wall to lubricate the mass being pumped. The product thereby increases the pumpability of the mixture while also eliminating segregation of the paste from the water or the paste from the sand.

Common pumpable cementitious mixtures:

• • Grouts
  • Lightweight Concrete
  • SCC
  • High-Strength Concrete
  • Flow Fill

Shotcrete and Gunite

Acti-Gel^® 208 additive promotes a cohesive concrete that stabilizes nearly the instant energy is removed from the system. This natural phenomenon is perfect for shotcrete and gunite where high lifts, thick walls, and one-pass overhead applications are desired.

Pool Plaster

Acti-Plex^® Pool Plaster Additive is used to increase the lifetime of pool plaster and allow for easy plaster repairs. Acti-Plex particles have a unique lattice architecture which reduces settling and sagging, yet allows flow without retarding or accelerating cure. The product provides good handling with no tears, air bubbles or shrinkage, while it increases strength, improves workability and clings well to vertical surfaces. Acti-Plex multi-functional admixture is meeting the needs of pool plasters. It makes the plastering job easier and provides a better finished plaster.

Hydraulic Mine Backfill

Acti-Gel^® 208 additive is a thixotropic material that suspends particles, reduces segregation, and dramatically stabilizes mine backfill. During mixing or emplacement flow is greatly enhanced due to its shear-thinning behavior. This allows solids to be increased significantly and binder levels to be reduced. The admixture continues to suspend particles under flow, which prevents segregation, reduces abrasion and eliminates blocking.

Mine Seals

Acti-Gel^® 208 product is a thixotropic material that suspends particles, reduces segregation, and dramatically stabilizes concretes. During mixing or emplacement flow is greatly enhanced due to its shear-thinning behavior. On removal of shear, the rate of thixotropic rebuilding of the lattice structure is exceptionally fast, which provides superior cohesion and reduced rebound, rapid development of green strength and shape stability, and reduction in hydrostatic pressure.

When used in an optimized mix design, Acti-Gel 208 additive has been shown to increase green strength, decrease rapid chloride permeability, and reduce efflorescence – all with outstanding stability and compaction.

Acti-Gel® 208 product complies with ASTM C 494, Type S.

Acti-Gel® 208 product complies with AS 1478-2000 Type SN.

High Performance Shotcrete

Acti-Gel^® 208 additive promotes a cohesive concrete that stabilizes nearly the instant energy is removed from the pumping system. The Acti-Gel 208 performance benefits are perfect for high performance shotcrete where high lifts, thick walls, and one-pass overhead applications are desired.

Shotcrete formulations treated with Acti-Gel 208 additive are proven to decrease rebound and improve air quality while spraying.  Formulations utilizing the additive can reduce/eliminate silica fume, and reduce nozzle accelerators by up to 50% while increasing quality, workability, and the ability to reach 100% application thickness in one pass.

Tailings

Acti-Gel^® 208 admixture is a thixotropic material that is engineered to suspend particles, reduce segregation, and dramatically stabilize mine backfill. During mixing and transport flow can be greatly enhanced due to the Acti-Gel 208 property of shear-thinning behavior. After the tailings are deposited in the tailings dam, Acti-Gel 208 product prevents segregation which enables better particle packing, denser beds, and improved water recovery.

Agriculture

Sprayable and pumpable liquid mixtures offer many efficiency advantages to the farmer and rancher in applying treatments to their crops and herds. The economics and efficiencies of these liquids depend on achieving a stable suspension of high-solids.

Acti-Gel^® 208 additive can suspend a higher solids content with little to no increase in viscosity and yet provide a more easily sprayable and pumpable end-product, as demonstrated in the attached video. Let us show you how to reduce the water content of your products – increasing caloric concentration – and thereby reduce transportation and handling costs.

Ceramic Glazes

In many different types of glazes Acti-Gel^® 208 additive has demonstrated improvements in processing, raw material reduction and, most importantly, the finished quality of the glazed piece. Acti-Gel^® 208 additive offers greater formulating latitude to replace other ingredients that are known to create certain quality problems, like pinholes. Some examples are:

Frit Tile Glaze –  Allows an up to 50% reduction in kaolin and complete removal of Bentone EW & sodium hexametaphosphate.

Rotary Disc Tile Glaze – Can eliminate the use of Bentonite and STPP and reduce kaolin and CMC by up to half. Grinding times are lower as well due to less kaolin in the formula.

Let us show you how Acti-Gel 208 additive can improve your production with these benefits in glazes:

• Reduce dry times by up to 75%
• Smoother, glossier surface finish
• Reduce blistering or “pop-off’s” and pinholes.
• Higher glaze-body adhesion
• Better spray properties
• Reduce or eliminate CMC, HMS, bentonite, and kaolin while achieving the same density and viscosity.
• Excellent anti-settling, with reduced segregation and no hard packing
• Reduce glaze dripping and sagging and eliminate glaze runoff
• Potential lower costs

Paints & Coatings

Acti-Gel^® 208 rheology modifier and suspension agent is a unique formulary tool. It is a highly purified magnesium aluminosilicate that suspends and homogeneously disperses other particles in liquid systems creating a very stable mixture, yet enables higher loadings of solids without increasing viscosity.

Acti-Gel 208 additive is a simple fix for syneresis, pigment float & flooding and sedimentation problems in a wide range of water-based coatings. Its low dosage, and extremely low residue make a pre-dispersed Acti-Gel 208 a quick “post-add” solution for stability problems in existing coating formulas without changing its rheology, paint formula or packaging label.

Acti-Gel 208 imparts thixotropic properties that enhance pumping, spraying, and flow and leveling. Its extremely fast rate of viscosity recovery reduces misting and over-spray. It also increases adhesion and cohesion which improves vertical hold and sag reduction. Thicker layers can be applied more quickly and easily if desired. Acti-Gel 208 additive can help create a more homogeneous thin film which can reduce the application cost of chemical and catalyst coatings.

The product is available as a dry powder (spray-dried bead) and as Liquid Acti-Gel^® 208 predispersed grade making it easy to add anywhere in the production process.

Color Concentrates

Acti-Gel^® 208 rheology modifier and suspension agent is a unique formulary tool. It is a highly purified magnesium aluminosilicate that suspends and homogeneously disperses other particles in liquid systems creating a very stable mixture, yet enables higher loadings of solids without increasing viscosity.

Acti-Gel 208 specialty mineral product outperforms attapulgite products as a suspension agent for pigments in color concentrates. Acti-Gel 208 has a lower residue than the leading attapulgite grades and requires a lower dosage level in color concentrates. It disperses easier and the low dosage level makes it easy to use and eliminates any changes in the formula or labelling.

Acti-Gel^® 208 specialty additive  is used in both consumer and factory products providing the following benefits:

1. Improves flowability providing excellent droplet formation critical for adding small doses to tint paint
2. Long term stability
3. Little to no negative impact on color
4. Use 25-30% of typical attapulgite dosage or about 0.3-0.5% Act-Gel 208
5. Increase pigment loading by 5-10%

The product is available as a dry powder (spray-dried bead) and as Liquid Acti-Gel^® 208 predispersed grade making it easy to add anywhere in the production process.

Drilling Cement

Acti-Gel^® 208 additive is well proven in a myriad of cement-based applications for improving pumpability and workability while increasing density, chloride impermeability and strength of the cured cement composite. In drilling cement, these improvements are likewise valuable where pumping long distances without segregation and a stronger, more resistant barrier in the bore hole is needed.

Internal Concrete Lab Study

• The study used Georgia DOT Standard Manufactured Sand and Fine
  Manufactured Sand to determine %-replacement levels.
• Coarse Manufactured Sand = 70% replacement
• Fine Manufactured Sand = 100% replacement
• The Lower Cost Mixes achieved good workability and compressive strengths.

Our Results:

• Workable, pumpable concrete at 100% replacement of Manufactured Sand
• Lower Cost concrete mix
• No hassles with shipping Natural Sand long distances to the plant
• Acti-Gel® 208 provides a robust paste to create stable concrete

External Concrete Study

A three-phase research study was carried out to

• Investigate the performance of pumped concrete in field conditions
• Identify concrete properties affecting pumpability
• Assess the effects of pumping on the concrete air void system.

Our Results:

• Addition of nanoclay particles [Acti-Gel® 208] led to a 28% pressure reduction.
• An enhanced lubrication layer caused by the addition of nanoclay is thought to promote pressure reduction in the pipeline.