• West Michigan Aerated Concrete Building Products Plant Set to Open
Consumers Energy and a Grand Rapids, Mich., company are teaming up to convert a power plant byproduct -- fly ash -- into aerated concrete building materials.The utility will lease a 20-acre site at its J.H. Campbell Complex to Phoenix Materials Co. to construction a 50,000 square-foot plant. At full operation, the $7 million plant will use 50,000 tons of fly ash a year from the Campbell Complex, which is located between Grand Haven and Holland.
The plant will employ 12 to 30 people, depending on production levels. Terms of the contract aren't being released.
Fly ash is a byproduct of burning coal and has chemical properties similar to Portland cement. It will be the largest component of the Phoenix aerated concrete products. During the production of aerated concrete, chemical reactions in the curing concrete create microscopic bubbles that make it lighter than traditional ready-mix concrete. The aerated mixture is poured into molds to make blocks and wall and roof panels for residential, commercial, and light industrial construction.
"The aerated concrete products are state-of-the-art construction materials and as demand grows, this plant can expand to use up to 100,000 tons of fly ash a year," says Greg Northrup, the utility's director of economic development.
