Lithium prices are expected to remain volatile and unpredictable due to its widespread use in a variety of preferential markets, such as battery and medical. As a result, construction product manufacturers have become increasingly motivated to reduce the use of Lithium Carbonate as much as possible in mortars. The Azelis Construction Lab was tasked to develop an additive mixture that would significantly reduce lithium carbonate in grout applications.
Additive Formulation Testing
The Azelis offering for lithium reduction uses a specialty retarder and accelerator that work synergistically to replace the existing dosages of lithium carbonate and conventional retarder. This additive replacement offers significant benefits over traditional lithium carbonate containing systems such as binder reduction potential, temperature robustness, and storage stability.
The Azelis labs have tested this concept to significantly reduce or eliminate the additional lithium carbonate content in formulations, and the new resulting formulations have many improved performance properties, including faster set times, higher compressive strength, and higher flexural strength. Below are lab results from a ternary binder material where the control contains lithium carbonate and the lithium reduction system uses the same formulation with less lithium and replaced retarder and plasticizer materials.
Result: The Azelis formulation has a faster set time versus Control
Result: The Azelis formulation has comparable shrinkage migration vs. Control
Result: The Azelis formulation has higher early and late compressive strength vs. Control
Result: The Azelis formulation has higher flexural strength vs. Control
Result: The Azelis formulation maintains high flow in self-leveling systems
Conclusions
The Azelis labs have illustrated this concept significantly reduces or eliminates the additional lithium carbonate content in formulations, and the new resulting formulations have many improved performance properties, including faster set times, higher compressive strength, and higher flexural strength.
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