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Pozzotive Pozzolan -- As Good as it Sounds?

Misha Semënov-Leiva

Senior Architect & Sustainability Coordinator

Centerbrook Architects and Planners

LEEDuser Basic Member

0 thumbs up

June 28, 2021

Hi SDL!

Our CM recently offered up the possibility of substituting Pozzotive into our structural and paving concrete mix (www.pozzotive.com) on a large public building. Apparently it is on a level with the cost of standard cement.
We are eager to reduce the project's embodied carbon, and this seems almost too good to be true.

Has anybody here used this (or something similar) on a project before? Any particular struggles/idiosyncracies we should be aware of? Any reservations about their accounting and production processes?

Thanks for everyone's help,

Misha

Misha Semënov, AIA, LEED AP BD+C

Senior Architect

D: (860) 581-2713

semenov@centerbrook.com

Pronouns: he/him/his

Centerbrook Architects & Planners

67 Main Street, PO Box 955
Centerbrook, CT 06409

(860) 767-0175

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Kimberly Reddin

Director of Sustainability

Flad

LEEDuser Premium Member

0 thumbs up

Tue, 06/29/2021 - 17:23

Hi Misha, Just curious (and only if you are comfortable sharing) -- what region of the country is your project in? We asked a contractor on a project of ours in the New York area if this was an option for cement replacement and we were told no, it wasn't a proven technology for use in buildings. I wasn't sure how much to push back on that answer. I know this is not at all an answer to your question, so apologies for the tangent. I hope others might have answers, I am curious about the same thing.

Misha Semënov-Leiva

Senior Architect & Sustainability Coordinator

Centerbrook Architects and Planners

LEEDuser Basic Member

0 thumbs up

Tue, 06/29/2021 - 17:42

Hi Kimberly, The project is in the Northeast, so the proximity to their manufacturing facilities might be the reason for the cost parity. But neither we nor our structural team have ever used this in a concrete mix. If it really is as good as it sounds, I'd love to do this in every project--the fact that it isn't the default has me wondering if there's something we're missing!

Chris Flint Chatto

Principal

ZGF Architects

LEEDuser Premium Member

9 thumbs up

Tue, 06/29/2021 - 18:08

Full disclosure, I don't have the answers to your questions either, but I've been looking into this product myself. My observations / opinions: 1. I think this is truly the environmental win. Amanda Kaminsky of Building Product Ecosystems sent me a link to this EPD which testifies to this (Pozzotive® Screen LCA - Pre-Production), she is a great resource. 2. I think there's two limiting factors: * One is just industry inertia, and legitimate concerns about the long-term performance of this product. However, a number of projects have continued to push its usage (Suplementary Cementitous Material | Industrial Filler | Pozzotive), and in more structurally-integral ways * Right now there's just one supplier of the ground glass, and its limited to the NYC/SW Connecticut area. I was trying to suppliers in NJ to use the product, so farm no dice. I'm really hopeful about this product; please continue to share what you learn. -C Chris Flint Chatto AIA, LEED AP BD+C Principal ZGF ARCHITECTS LLP T 503.863.2324 E chris.chatto@zgf.com 1223 SW Washington Street, Suite 200 Portland, OR 97205

Chris Flint Chatto

Principal

ZGF Architects

LEEDuser Premium Member

9 thumbs up

Tue, 06/29/2021 - 18:51

Mike let me know the link got dropped: For the EPD, try googling: "Pozzotive-Life-Cycle-Assessment" -C Chris Flint Chatto AIA, LEED AP BD+C Principal ZGF ARCHITECTS LLP T 503.863.2324 E chris.chatto@zgf.com 1223 SW Washington Street, Suite 200 Portland, OR 97205

Nadav Malin

CEO

Green Commons, LLC

LEEDuser Expert

586 thumbs up

Tue, 06/29/2021 - 19:05

We (BuildingGreen) recogized this product as a Top-10 for 2019--we're also very excited about it. Since then Amanda's group has even succeeded in developing and releasing an ASTM standard for the use of ground glass as an SCM. As coal gets phased out and fly ash more scarce, this could be an ever-more-imporant new cement substitute.

Brent Ehrlich

Products and materials specialist

BuildingGreen

LEEDuser Expert

21 thumbs up

Tue, 06/29/2021 - 19:16

Fwiw, Urban Mining has been making CMUs using finely ground glass for more than a decade. They then started selling it as a pozzolan on its own. We gave it a top 10 product award a few years ago as well as one in 2009 for the CMU. Note, there is an ASTM standard now for ground glass pozzolans, which should make it easier to get it into projects. Note: Pozzolan is a viable pozzolan, but it does not have quite the same performance as fly ash or slag so you have to find the appropriate mix/end use. Besides years CMUs, Pozzotive has already been used extensively in sidewalks, so that could be an good application until people become more comfortable using it elsewhere.

Brent Ehrlich

Products and materials specialist

BuildingGreen

LEEDuser Expert

21 thumbs up

Tue, 06/29/2021 - 19:34

Oh…and pardon the rushed response. I really should proofread those before hitting send. F

Mike Manzi

Bora Architects

LEEDuser Basic Member

0 thumbs up

Sun, 07/11/2021 - 19:01

Here's some additional information I received from Amanda Kaminsky while I was out last week: Ground-glass pozzolan is being used in high rise buildings, bridges, and flatwork. Many concrete contractors are averse to change. Others understand that demand for well-performing, lower carbon concrete is not going away, and that slag and fly ash are going away over time. There is a need for us to carefully diversify options. Ground-glass pozzolan is now readily available at scale in the Northeast since Urban Mining Industries opened a full-scale plant in CT Dec. '20. Given we have ASTM Standard Spec C1866, we also have careful QC guidance on how to utilize it. The NY contractor who said it "wasn't a proven technology for use in buildings" might be averse to change in concrete technology, or just unaware of implementation and testing over the past 5 years. Linking here to a recent paper on performance considerations including freeze-thaw (file size is large, so didn't want to load down your inbox!). See attached for more, including a good recent (Nov. '20) overview article from Concrete International. If you haven't contacted Amanda already, I'm sure she'd be happy to discuss further. Thanks! Mike Manzi RA, CSI, CDT, LEED BD+C Associate Principal he/him Bora Architecture & Interiors Working from home, please use email