MASTEREASE - RHEOLOGY MADE EASY

ERMCO – The European Ready Mixed Concrete Organization – held its 2018 conference in Oslo on 7 and 8 June. This is the ideal platform for dialogue with experts and customers. This year, BASF focused on rheology – with a technical paper and the presentation of two new products. In his paper “Rheology made easy”, Piotr Bazuła, Customer Segment Manager Ready Mixed Concrete Europe with BASF, first outlined the history of rheological admixtures for construction materials: from animals’ blood in antiquity via the sticky rice used for the construction of the Great Wall of China to the innovations of Master Builders Solutions in the 20^th century, with MasterEase as the current pinnacle of development

LOW-VISCOSITY CONCRETE CREATES ADDED VALUE

MasterEase, an innovative, highly effective polymer, was developed and launched in the marketplace in 2015. The benefits of this product for concrete producers and processors are significant. The mixing time of concrete can be reduced by up to 35%. As a result of the lower viscosity, the concrete can also be pumped more easily over considerable distances. In addition, the compaction and surface smoothing processes were significantly improved, reducing the working time required and the wear on tools. “Thanks to the more efficient use of equipment and the faster processes involved, it is possible to save costs without any adverse impact on the final product,” Bazuła emphasises. Another key point is sustainability: thanks to innovative MasterEase technologies, it is easier and less costly to process environmentally compatible concrete – which means that it can be used considerably more often.“ 

THE NEXT GENERATION: WORKING TIME OVER 3h

The MasterEase 9000 and MasterSure LDP product series “allow the working time of concrete to be extended to more than three hours at the same time as retaining all the benefits of the tried and tested MasterEase concept,” says Bazuła. He adds that the new product series will be used in special civil works projects, for components with closely spaced steel reinforcement and for projects involving long transport and pumping distances.