NUST MISIS partnered with PJSC Severstal to explore a road-ready concrete made from metallurgical byproducts. This collaborative approach targets a practical solution for constructing infrastructure in extremely cold climates, including Arctic conditions. The project was shared with socialbites.ca by representatives from NUST MISIS, highlighting a pathway to turning waste into durable building material for challenging environments.
In conventional concrete production, cement and bitumen serve as the primary binders. Cement yields a gray concrete type, while bitumen is used for asphalt-based paving. Yet cement production is resource-intensive and costly, prompting researchers to investigate an alternative binder strategy. The team proposes using blast furnace slag heaps, a byproduct of iron and steel operations, as a mineral binder to replace a portion of traditional cement in concrete mixes.
Early estimates indicate a notable drop in energy consumption for cement-related processes when slag binders are employed. Specifically, energy intensity could fall from the typical 5-8 gigajoules per ton to around 2.3 gigajoules per ton. This reduction translates into lower greenhouse gas emissions and mitigates waste disposal challenges, while also potentially lowering overall project costs and improving supply chain resilience for road construction projects facing remote site limitations.
To assess how the new binders perform in real-world conditions, a laboratory stand was designed to emulate long-term seawater exposure and accelerate corrosion testing. This setup mirrors environments where concrete elements are subjected to seasonal water level changes, alternating between submersion and exposure above the waterline. Over a period spanning more than two years, model samples placed on a pier have shown increasing compressive strength, moving from 10-20 MPa in the early tests conducted within five months to current values in the 25-30 MPa range. These results, reported by Bekzod Khaydarov from the Functional nanosystems and high-temperature materials division at NUST MISIS, indicate that slag-based concrete can gain integrity over time under marine-like conditions.
The ongoing research focuses on developing mineral slag binders and slag concretes that can support port and civil infrastructure investments in Arctic regions. The aim is to establish reliable, cold-weather capable materials that help local communities maintain critical transport links, support economic activity, and withstand extreme seasonal cycles. While the work is still progressing, the findings point toward a future where waste-derived binders contribute to safer, more sustainable construction practices in northern climates, reducing the environmental footprint of road networks and expanding the options for resilient infrastructure development across cold regions.