Formulation of low CO2 emission cements based on sulfoaluminous cements – Sulfocim

In the context of the ongoing search to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, sulfoaluminate cements, which production emits 30% less of carbon dioxide than that of Portland cement, constitutes an interesting development way. To broaden the field of application of this material, it is however necessary to incorporate organic adjuvants, at least one setting retarder and one superplasticizer, in order to control both its reactivity and its rheological properties. Recent studies carried out by the academic partners of the consortium show that competitive interactions between adjuvants exist and that these can compromise the rheological properties of the formulation obtained. The Sulfocim project, which brings together two industrial partners, a cement manufacturer (VICAT) and an adjuvant manufacturer (MAPEI) and two academic partners, the Georges Friedel Laboratory of the Ecole des Mines de Saint-Etienne and the Laboratory of Materials and Civil Engineering at IMT Mines Alès, aims to understand the interactions between adjuvants in these formulations and to study the impact of the parameters relating to these adjuvants on their interactions. The control of these interactions will make possible the development of materials containing both Portland cement and sulfoaluminate cement possessing rheological and mechanical properties suitable for new applications allowing thus the use of sulfoaluminate cement to be increased as a replacement for part of Portland cement. This work will be carried out as a doctoral thesis focused on the understanding and modeling of phenomena and followed by an 18-month post-doctoral work focused on the development of new formulations.