The aggregate shortage and high alkali cement in a changing energy situation

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Abstract
Shortages of good quality concrete aggregate may be experienced in the larger urban areas, across Canada, during the next 25 years. The potential shortfall in the supply of aggregate will be aggravated in many regions by legislation restricting the operation of pits and quarries. Potential supplies of aggregate will also be affected by the increasing cost of energy. The rising cost of fuel will result in higher haulage costs, which will make transport of aggregate from remote areas, where it is more plentiful, increasingly uneconomic. Some aggregates react with alkalis and are therefore unsuitable for use with high alkali cement. The increased cost of operating a cement kiln due to rising energy costs may be offset by increasing the alkali content of the raw mix, which then clinkers at a lower temperature and produces a cement with a higher alkali content. In some regions this might result in some aggregates, now acceptable, becoming unsatisfactory for use in concrete that is exposed to moist conditions. Potential shortages of good quality concrete aggregate point to the need to conserve supplies; one way of doing this would be to make concrete last longer by improved quality control of concrete exposed to harsh environments.

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