High activity

natural pozzolana

for high performance

concrete

The product

Imerys Micrasil® is a super pozzolanic material produced from a

naturally occurring aluminosilicate mineral of volcanic origin located

in Greece where tens of millions of tons reserves of highly active

volcanic glass are located. It is only physically processed in the

company’s manufacturing plant in KSA and brought into a powder

2 and Al

2 3, cumulatively at least

85% by mass and it has pozzolanic properties (“natural pozzolana”)

since more than 90% of its mass is in amorphous glassy phase, easily

dissolvable in high pH like in hydrated cement mixes (e.g. concrete,

fiber cement, cement mortars, cement grouts or slurries).

Applications

Competitive edge

The main application of Micrasil® is in both structural

and non-structural Portland cement-based concrete

mixtures with the purpose to increase durability and

resistance to chemical attack (e.g. chlorides and sul-

phates), suppress the alkali silica reactions and lower

the heat of hydration.

Imerys Micrasil® forms the optimized solution, primarily

for consultants willing to design sustainable, yet durable

and resistant concrete structures, for contractors who

quality requirements while reducing the cost and any

span especially in severe environments.

Micrasil® can react chemically with the cement hydration

by-product (CH) due to its high amorphous state and its well

controlled particle size distribution. This process not only

results in forming an additional cement hydration product,

but also consumes the calcium hydroxide which is the weak

portion of the cement paste matrix. This chemical reaction

also decreases the pores available in the cement matrix,

thus further enhancing strength and durability. This reaction

continues in long term hydration process as long as mois-

ture is provided.

The placement of Micrasil®

in the pozzolanic chart is

Standard Compliance

Micrasil® complies with various international codes and

in Portland Cement Concrete.

-

tions and conformity criteria for common cements.

Pozzolans in Concrete.

Ultimate pozzolana

Consistent Chemistry

Chemical and Physical properties of Micrasil®

-

(silica fume), Micrasil® is a naturally available material from

volcanic source. This material is available in tremendous

this is one of the facts that forms a big advantage of Micrasil®.

their chemical properties depend on the original process and

-

tage and the construction can suffer unnecessarily from such

imposing additional costs and deviations. Micrasil® eliminates

this disadvantage by providing a naturally consistent material.

Micrasil® chemistry is continuously monitored and tested.

Chemical Properties

% Wt.

SiO2

Al2O

3

Fe2O

3

Physical properties

Surface Area (N2-BET): 2

Loose Bulk Density: 3

3

Moisture Content:

Granulometry:

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

Al2O

3

Fe2O

3

SiO2

Sum

Pe

rce

nta

ge

0

20

40

60

80

100

Chemical analysis of Micrasil over a period of twelve months

0.1 1 10 100

0

20

30

10

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

Cu

m.

Vo

lum

e (

%)

Typical application rate

Micrasil® may reduce the chloride permeability of concrete to

-

ties in concrete, Micrasil® can be used at a replacement rate

Micrasil® in concrete will require admixture to be added but at a

lesser extent than those required by silica fume. This is clearly due

to the remarkably less quantity of water required by Micrasil®.

Workability Retention

Micrasil® helps high performance concrete in retaining its

workability properties for longer periods of time. This not only

reduces the demand on concrete plasticizers but also helps

in reducing unnecessary practices such as re-tempering

concrete, redosing or even adding water.

0 5 10 15 20

Flo

w t

ab

le (

mm

)

100

110

120

130

140

150

160

170

180

% Replacement

Micrasil®

Silica Fume

0 30 60 90 120 180

Slu

mp

(m

m)

0

50

100

150

200

250

300

Time (min.)

Micrasil®

(10%)

Silica Fume(7%)

4 7 28

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

41,8

31,4

24,6

45,5

37,2

29,5

Micrasil® (10%)

Silica fume (7%)

Micrasil® Performance

Water Demand in mortars

Micrasil® has a remarkable advantage over silica fume in

water demand, this particular advantage will improve concrete

workability with moderate need for plasticizers.

Compression Strength

Micrasil® containing concrete has better strength than that

containing silica fume thanks to its higher activity and better

size distribution inside the paste.

Chloride Permeability

Micrasil® can reduce Chloride permeability of concrete to

Plasticizer addition

Micrasil®

than those with silica fume. This contributes to a remarkable

cost reduction for the concrete.

Cost Reduction

Micrasil® containing concrete can reduce the overall cost of concrete, yet maintaining better performance characteristics.

Supply and StorageMicrasil®

or in silos.

Micrasil® is not considered as hazardous material and it can

information please refer to the material safety data sheet.

Silica Fume Micrasil®

Micrasil Silica Fume PlasticizerCement

Silica Fume + Fly Ash Micrasil®

Cement Micrasil Silica Fume Plasticizer Fly ash

Micrasil® (10%)

Silica fume (7%)25% reductionin plasticizerusage

0 105 2015

0

500

1000

1500

2000

2500

3000

3500

28 days

7 days

Ra

pid

Ch

lori

de

Perm

ea

bil

ity

(C

b)

% Replacement

Imerys Minerals Arabia L.L.C.

Rabigh I Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

arabia@imerys.com I www.imerys.com

About Imerys

The world leader in mineral-based specialty solutions for industry, Imerys

transforms a unique range of minerals to deliver essential functions (heat

resistance, mechanical strength, conductivity, coverage, barrier effect, etc.)

that are essential to its customers’ products and manufacturing processes.

Combining expertise, creativity and attentiveness to customers’ needs,

the Group’s international teams constantly identify new applications and

develop high value-added solutions under a determined approach to

responsible development.

For more information visit us at www.imerys.com

Technical Expertise

Imerys has a well trained staff capable of providing

the necessary technical support to customers to achieve