Xypex® Concrete Waterproofing Admixture Used for New Superport in Rio de Janeiro

May 24, 2012 - PRLog -- Contact: Dan Tambellini, LarsonO’Brien Marketing Group
Phone: 412.831.1959 x118 E-mail: dan@larsonobrien.com    

Contact: Les Faure, XYPEX Chemical Corporation
Phone: 604.273.5265 E-mail: les@xypex.com

PHOTOS: http://lopressroom.com/xypex/superporto-sudeste

VANCOUVER, BC… Xypex® Concrete Waterproofing through Crystallization™ is being used for part of the construction of Brazil’s new Superporto Sudeste, located 50 miles southeast of Rio de Janeiro.  

The superport primarily will export up to 100 million tons of iron ore mined nearby in Minas Gerais each year, principally feeding the rapidly growing demand in China for some of Brazil’s natural resources.

Superporto Sudeste, located in the state of Rio de Janeiro, will occupy a total area of 809.371 m2 (about 200 acres) and is expected to become operational in 2013. The project’s price tag is R$2.5 billion BRL ($1.3 billion USD).

“Xypex is very pleased to be a part of this novel project,” says D’arcy Mainwaring, CEO of Xypex. “We appreciate the vote of confidence in our concrete waterproofing technology, especially when you consider the scale of this operation and its importance to the Brazilian economy.”

The Xypex concrete waterproofing admixture (Xypex C-500 NF) was used in the concrete (totaling about 22.000 m3) for a large pit, which will receive the iron ore from train wagons as part of the transport connection moving the material to large vessels waiting offshore.

The railway wagons are literally turned over to dump their contents into the pit, a process achieved by a structure commonly known as a “wagon turner.”  

A 1.2-mile long tunnel completes the connection between the stockyards and the offshore structure, which will have two berths for handling deep draft capesize ships (with depths of up to 65 feet).

The necessity for the Xypex solution became apparent with the ingress of groundwater when the 55-foot-deep pits were dug. In addition to the Xypex C-500 NF admixture, Xypex Concentrate and Xypex Patch n’ Plug were used.

Xypex Chemical Corporation’s proprietary Concrete Waterproofing by Crystallization is an established technology to waterproof, protect and repair concrete structures for a wide variety of new and existing applications.

The technology¬–successfully used in projects around the world for more than 40 years–exploits concrete’s inherent water permeability to deliver crystalline chemicals that plug the material’s pores and bridge micro-cracks that occur as the concrete dries and shrinks. The chemistry can be easily introduced into new concrete as an admixture, a dry-shake product, or a surface-applied coating. For existing (i.e., cured) concrete, surface-applied coatings are used.

Any infiltrating water, and harmful chemicals dissolved within, can compromise the concrete. The Xypex Crystalline technology uses water in the capillary tracts as a diffusing medium to carry waterproofing chemicals into the concrete. The chemicals migrate through the waterways of the saturated pore network, where they react and grow non-soluble, needle-like crystals that plug the pores.

Crystallization becomes an integral, permanent part of the concrete matrix. The technology will even self-seal new micro-cracks if and when they occur years after the original application.
The treated concrete withstands high hydrostatic pressure from both the positive and negative side.
               
Xypex Chemical Corporation (www.Xypex.com) is one of the world’s leading manufacturers of products to waterproof, protect and repair concrete structures, a proven solution for both new and existing applications. Since 1970, the Xypex family of diverse products has evolved around the proprietary, groundbreaking Xypex Concrete Waterproofing by Crystallization technology, which set a new international standard of excellence and brought effective, efficient and economical concrete waterproofing to thousands of projects around the globe. Applications include Building Design and Construction; Water & Wastewater Treatment; Water Holding; Below Grade Structures; Tunnels; Bridges; Marine Structures; Dams, and more. Headquartered in Vancouver, BC, Xypex sustains a distribution and service network in more than 70 countries.