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Materials used in the infrastructure sector often have a significant environmental footprint. As a major client, Aquafin encourages the sector to invest in sustainable innovation that can make a difference. Concrete producer Tubobel Group, together with Finnish company Betolar, developed a pipe based on a sustainable alternative to cement: Geoprime®. The first pipe made from this new material was laid by BESIX Infra at Aquafin's sewerage works in Duffel.
Sustainability and environmental friendliness
One of the main advantages of using geoplymer concrete is its significantly lower Co2 footprint compared to conventional concrete. In Tubobel's Geoprime® pipe, the binder is an activated polymer. These geopolymers are by-products from steel production. By using an existing by-product, instead of cement as a raw material, the CO2 emissions of Geoprime® in terms of raw material use are as much as 78% lower than for conventional concrete. Geoprime® pipes are intended for buffering and transporting rainwater and, like other concrete pipes, can be completely recycled into new raw materials at the end of their service life.