Method for stabilizing concrete residues

Abstract: Method for the stabilization (prevention of hardening) of concrete residues in recipients like Ready-Mix truck drums comprising the addition of water to form a slurry and addition of a stabilizing agent to the slurry water. The slurry can be mixed with fresh concrete without impairing its quality.

Description: This invention relates to a process for the recuperation and reuse of unused concrete residues in a Ready-Mix truck drum. It is the present practice in the Ready-Mix concrete industry to wash-out any concrete residue left in a Ready-Mix truck at the end of the day, to prevent the concrete residue from hardening in the truck drum. This practice is time consuming and requires slurry pits to retain the spent concrete. Furthermore, it results in high hauling costs to dispose of the spent concrete. This procedure is both economically and environmentally undesirable and there is a need for a method to eliminate the present wasteful wash-out procedure. It was found that concrete residues in a Ready-Mix truck can be recuperated by the addition of a stabilizing composition to the clean-up slurry water in the truck drum. Stabilization of the slurry-water prevents the concrete residue from hardening in the truck drum. The process of this invention comprises a process for the recuperation and reuse of unused concrete residues in a ready-mix truck drum, comprising the addition thereto of clean-up water to form a slurry, there being added to the drum, either directly or in the form of a solution in the clean-up water, a stabilizing agent. The stabilized slurry can be mixed with fresh concrete without impairing the properties of this concrete if its water content takes into account the amount of water contained in the slurry. The preferred stabilizers are phosphonic acid derivatives, more preferably those containing hydroxy and amino groups, which are capable of acting as calcium chelating agents. Particularly preferred stabilizers of this type are compounds of Dequest (R.T.M.) series, sold by Monsanto Co. (St. Louis. Mo.), in particular : Dequest 2000 : Aminotri(methylenephosphonic acid) Dequest 2006 : Aminotri(methylenephosphonic acid), pentasodium salt Dequest 2010 : 1-Hydroxyethylidene-1,1-diphosphonic acid Dequest 2016 : 1-Hydroxyethylidene-1,1-diphosphonic acid, tetrasodium salt. Dequest 2041: Ethylenediaminetetra(methylenephosphonic acid) Dequest 2047: Ethylenediaminetetra(methylenephosphonic acid), calcium sodium salt Dequest 2051 : Hexamethylenediaminetetra(methylenephosphonic acid) Dequest 2054 : Hexamethylenediaminetetra(methylenephosphonic acid), potassium salt. Dequest 2060 : Diethylenetriaminepenta(methylenephosphonic acid) Dequest 2066 : Diethylenetriaminepenta(methylenephosphonic acid), sodium salt. Other suitable stabilizers include hydroxycarboxylic acids and their salts, including citric, gluconic, tartaric, fumaric, itaconic, malonic and glucoheptanoic acids ; polycarboxylic acids and their salts, e.g., polymaleic, polyfumaric, polyacrylic and polymethacrylic acids, preferably of low molecular weight ; antioxidants e.g., ascorbic acid, isoascorbic acid ; polymers e.g., sulphonic acid ― acrylic acid copolymers, polyhydroxysilanes and polyacrylamide, preferably of low molecular weight ; carbohydrates, e.g., sucrose and corn syrup ; and lignosulphonates, e.g., calcium lignosulphonates. Of these, the hydroxycarboxylic acids, polycarboxylic acids, ascorbic acid, isoascorbic acid, carbohydrates and polyhydroxysilanes are preferred. The preferred hydroxycarboxylic acids are gluconic acid and glucoheptanic acid. More preferred stabilizers are mixtures of at least one retarder of the phosphonic acid type with at least one stabilizer of a different type. As many of the non-phosphonic acid stabilizers e.g., citric acid also have water-reducing properties, these may also have the effect of increasing the compressive strength of the final set concrete. Particularly preferred stabilizers are mixtures of products of the Dequest series with citric acid, particularly Dequest 2000/citric acid. Preferred ratios of Dequest to citric acid are from 1 : 1 to 2 : 1. A preferred stabilizing formulation (S) of this invention is : 116 g/liter of [Aminotri(methylenephosphonic acid)] 72.6 g/liter of citric acid which may be added for example as 1.25 liter of solution to 226 liter of slurry-water. A number of beneficial effects may be attributed to the method of this invention : 1. it eliminates the need for washing out concrete residue from a ready-mix truck drum. 2. it eliminates the need for slurry pits. 3. it reduces the time normally taken for truck drum washout. 4. it keeps truck drums cleaner by preventing concrete residue build-up. 5. the compressive strengths of the resultant concrete will be equal to or greater than freshly batched concrete. 6. it conserves water. 7. it has a major impact on solving the environmental issues raised by slurry pits and sludge disposal. The quantities of stabilizer which must be added, as a percentage of the weight of the concrete, in the process of the invention will vary according to a number of different factors, which will readily be appreciated by the man skilled in the art. These include : 1) The formulation of the stabilizer used. 2) The length of time for which stabilisation is desired. This will normally be overnight (12-18 hours) or over a weekend (36-90 hours, preferably 60-72 hours). 3) The ASTM type of cement. While types I-IV can be used in the present process, types I and II are preferred. 4) The time of addition of the stabilizer to the concrete defined as the length of time between mixing the concrete and adding the stabilizer. The stabilizer may be added to the unused portion of the concrete as soon as the used portion has been placed, or may be added when the ready-mix truck returns to the mixing plant. Preferably the stabilizer is added to the cement within 1 to 4 hours after initial mixing. The longer the time of addition, the more stabilizer may be required. 5) The setting time of the original concrete. If the concrete has an intrinsically low rate of set, then less stabilizer will be required than for one with a higher rate of set. 6) The temperature of the concrete as a result of the ambient temperature. The higher the temperature, the faster the setting time and thus the larger the quantity of stabilizer which will be required. Because of the more rapid setting, it is preferred that for concrete temperatures above 20°C, the stabilizer should be added within 3 hours of initial mixing. 7) The volume of the concrete originally mixed in the truck drum. A large volume of concrete at a given initial temperature will set more rapidly than a small volume at the same initial temperature. This is because the large volume cannot lose the heat of hydration so quickly and therefore gives a greater temperature rise and thus a higher rate of set. Hence, for example, two cubic meters of concrete may require more than twice as much stabilizer as does one cubic meter. 8) The proportion of slurry to fresh concrete in the final mix. 9) The types and amounts of the admixtures in the original and in the freshly added cement. In general, for the usual amounts of concrete residues left in the normal type of Ready-Mix truck drums the amount of water required to obtain a slurry will be from 100 to 600, preferably 200 to 400 liters and, if the preferred stabilizing formulation (S) is used, 1 liter of this for an overnight (24 to 48 hours) stabilizer treatment and 1.5 to 2 liters for a weekend (up to 72 hours) stabilizer treatment have to be added per truck. If a diluted solution is used for the one step process, corresponding amounts of stabilizer and water are mixed together. In a preferred method of operating the process of the invention, when a ready-mix truck returns to a mixing plant empty of any returned concrete, the required amount of water is added to the concrete residue in the truck drum. The concrete residue slurry-water is backed up to the rear of the drum and the required amount of stabilizer composition is added to the slurry. The stabilized slurry-water is returned to the front of the drum, and the drum is run at high speed for one minute. The stabilized slurry-water is again backed up to the rear of the drum for additional drum-fin cleaning. The stabilized slurry-water is again returned to the front of the drum, and the drum run at high speed for an additional one minute. The following day, or after a weekend, freshly batched concrete is added to the drum and mixed normally. The amount of water used to batch the fresh concrete is reduced by the amount of water used to make the slurry-water. To determine the effect of the stabilizer compositions of this invention on the compressive strength of concrete the following study was run. A ready-mix truck was emptied of concrete and 100 liters of water plus 1 liter of stabilizer composition (S) was added to the truck drum to form a slurry, The stabilized slurry-water was treated as described above. The stabilized slurry-water was maintained overnight in the truck drum. The next day 10.5 m³ of concrete was added to the drum and mixed with the stabilized slurry-water in the drum. The concrete cement factor was : 200 kg/m³ Type I cement and 40 kg/m³ fly ash. Compressive strength data on the concrete was : 6 day compressive strength 14.0 MPa 6 day compressive strength 13.2 MPa 6 day compressive strength (average) 13.6 MPa 28 day compressive strength 21.4 MPa 28 day compressive strength 22.2 MPa 28 day compressive strength (average) 21.8 MPa Reference Compressive Strength for concrete not treated by the invention process was : 7 day compressive strength 15.0 MPa 28 day compressive strength 22.0 MPa These reference strengths are based on the prior 3-months compressive strength averages. This study shows that the stabilizing compositions of this invention have no adverse effect on the compressive strength of treated concrete. EXAMPLE A 56.6 liter mixer was filled with 0.02 m³ of concrete and thoroughly mixed. The concrete was emptied from the mixer and 2.27 liter of water and 0.03 liter of stabilizer composition (S) was added to the concrete residue in the mixer. The resultant slurry was mixed in a manner analogous to the description above. The stabilized slurry-water was allowed to sit overnight. The next day 0.02 m³ of concrete was added to the stabilized slurry-water and thoroughly mixed. Compressive strength data of the concrete is as follows : Trial Formula Slump Initial Compressive Strength/Percent Air Set W/C 1 Day 7 Day 28 Day 0 Plain 11,43 cm (4.50 inches) 1.1 5.125 .567 76,44 (1087) 259,29 (3687) 450,29 (6403) 100 100 100 1 Stabilized Slurry 11,43 cm (4.50 inches) 1.2 5.250 .569 82,35 (1171) 269,84 (3837) 465,2 (6615) 108 104 103 Slump - The drop in cm of a 30,5 cm (12 inch) cone. ASTM C-143 Air - The percentage of entrained air. Compressive Strength - Kilos per square cm (pounds per square inch) of compressive strength of a concrete sample (11,6 cm x 11,6 cm = 4" x 4" cube). The percent is the percent of increase or decrease of breaking strength based on the plain mix at 100 %. W/C - Water to cement ratio. The results show no adverse effect of the compositions of this invention on the compressive strength of the resulting concrete mixes.

Claims: A process for the recuperation and reuse of unused concrete residues in a ready-mix truck drum, comprising the addition thereto of clean-up water to form a slurry, there being added to the drum, either directly or in the form of a solution in the clean-up water, a stabilizing agent. A process according to Claim 1 wherein the stabilizing agent comprises at least one phosphonic acid derivative. A process according to Claim 2 wherein the stabilizing agent is selected from the group consisting of: Aminotri(methylenephosphonic acid) Aminotri(methylenephosphonic acid), pentasodium salt 1-Hydroxyethylidene-1,1-diphosphonic acid 1-Hydroxyethylidene-1,1-diphosphonic acid, tetrasodium salt Ethylenediaminetetra(methylenephosphonic acid) Ethylenediaminetetra(methylenephosphonic acid), calcium sodium salt Hexamethylenediaminetetra(methylenephosphonic acid) Hexamethylenediaminetetra(methylenephosphonic acid), potassium salt Diethylenetriaminepenta(methylenephosphonic acid) Diethylenetriaminepenta(methylenephosphonic acid), sodium salt. A process according to Claim 1 wherein the stabilizer comprises at least one compound selected from hydroxycarboxylic, polycarboxylic acids and their salts; ascorbic, isoascorbic acids; sulphonic acid - acrylic acid copolymers; polyhydroxysilanes; polyacrylamide; carbohydrates and lignosulphonates. A process according to Claim 4 wherein the stabilizer comprises at least one compound selected from hydroxycarboxylic acids, polycarboxylic acids, ascorbic acid, isoascorbic acid, corn syrup and polyhydroxysilanes. A process according to Claim 1 wherein the stabilizer comprises at least one compound selected from a phosphonic acid derivative and, at least one compound selected from the group consisting of hydroxycarboxylic, polycarboxylic acids and their salts; ascorbic and isoascorbic acids; sulphonic acid - acrylic acid copolymers; polyhydroxysilanes; polyacrylamide; carbohydrates; and lignosulfonates. A process according to Claim 6, in which the stabilizer consists of aminotri(methylenephosphonic acid) and citric acid. A process according to Claim 4 wherein the hydroxycarboxylic acid is gluconic acid or glucoheptanic acid. A process according to claim 1, wherein fresh concrete is added to the stabilized slurry.

Inventors: BOBROWSKI GREGORY STANLEY, RYAN ROBERT JOSEPH, BOBROWSKI, GREGORY STANLEY, RYAN, ROBERT JOSEPH
Applicants: SANDOZ AG, SANDOZ-ERFINDUNGEN VERWALTUNGSGESELLSCHAFT M.B.H., SANDOZ-PATENT-GMBH
Application year: 1989
Main classification: C04B18
IPC codes: C04B28, C04B18, C04B24