SBIR Phase I: Sulfcrete

This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project will research the pilot- and commercial-scale production of a new form of high-performance, low-carbon, durable sulfur polymer concrete. It uses waste sulfur generated from oil and gas refineries and up-cycles this waste as the key ingredient for concrete. Invented by Brookhaven National Laboratory and its international partners, the innovative technology uses a patent pending process with byproduct organic materials as well as fillers and a proprietary mixing process to produce an advanced, new clean form of durable concrete at a commercially competitive cost. The product has many practical applications for civil infrastructure, such as pre-cast pipes, roads, pavers, sea walls, and refinery caps. The research conducted in this project will evaluate the microstructure of the new material to better understand its mechanical performance. The Phase I effort will also conduct initial scale-up testing with industrial partners to prove out the potential of this material to be fabricated within existing production methodologies. The broader impact/commercial potential of this project can be seen clearly in the environmental benefits of the sulfur polymer concrete material. Waste sulfur stockpiles exceed 21 million metric tons, and with increased regulatory controls over the environmental dangers of waste sulfur and concrete production, this material represents a disruptive technology which removes sulfur from waste streams while generating a small fraction of the greenhouse gases emitted in the production of conventional Portland concrete cement. Up to 16% of the $18.5 billion dollar pre-cast concrete market in North America could be impacted, not to mention markets in China and other rapidly developing countries. The product has many other wide-ranging commercial and societal advantages: (1) it uses zero water for production; (2) it has superior strength, resistance to corrosion, and durability versus conventional concrete; (3) it can extend the useful life of concrete infrastructure due to its excellent bonding; (4) it is well-suited to extremes of hot, cold, and dry weather; and (4) it has faster setting than conventional concrete, setting within hours.