An Expanding Opportunity for Aggregate Producers.
By Rose Morrison
The aggregate industry has greater access to recycled materials than ever. Everyone from construction companies to quarries can leverage innovative equipment to enhance production.
The market for recycled aggregate is expanding, and early implementers are already garnering numerous benefits, including meeting company sustainability goals and achieving additional competitive advantages.
What tools get producers ahead of the curve?
The Market Potential for Aggregate Recycling
Recycled aggregates are piquing the interest of numerous markets because of their versatility. While recycling facilities will invest in the majority of equipment required to produce them, other sectors like city planning, construction, manufacturing and engineering – and quarries – will also invest in the materials.
Assessments by FMI determined recycled concrete aggregate had a market value of over $9 million in 2023, with an estimated 8% compound annual growth rate. It could be worth $19.5 million by the end of 2033.
One of the reasons for this is overall interest in construction and demolition (C&D) recycling as a whole. While this encompasses all construction debris, concrete makes a significant portion of this waste alongside:
- Gravel.
- Insulation.
- Masonry.
- Plastics.
- Wood.
- Asphalt.
In 2025, companies will increase the transition to recycled materials, causing market growth and cost stabilization as more investors enter the sphere. Gradual industry acceptance and knowledge-sharing are important for asserting the importance of innovation for sector-wide development.
The momentum will inevitably lead to boosted competition. The economic advantages become more apparent as corporations reduce overhead by embracing circular economic practices and avoiding extracting finite materials with volatile pricing.
Several other foundational developments are spurring growth. Technological advancements in equipment are one of the most pivotal. New equipment can process concrete more precisely to make it suitable for mixing with supporting ingredients. Another motivator is regulatory frameworks enforcing environmental standards. Overseeing and auditing waste generation and recycled content use will eventually become involuntary.
Key Equipment
Crushing enhancements only occur by investing in equipment considered for repurposing applications. What are the most critical for industrial advancement and recycling success rates?
Jaw and Impact Crushers
Both types of crushers are capable of crafting recycled aggregate. Research is determining how they influence output. Impact crushers are more adept at making spherical shapes with a more expansive particle size variance.
However, they create a significantly greater number of fine particles compared to jaw crushers. This is critical to unpack so harvesting can happen according to client needs. The study also proved that the crushing technique deployed by each machine varied little when materials were converted into a paste.
Vibrating Screens
Advanced screening equipment is responsible for sorting materials. Even though experts can discover which crusher is best for getting specific aggregate sizes, screens finish the job to provide the most curated product for companies making the end product. Finer mesh and adaptable vibration settings are key to accurate separation. Innovations include orbital and hydraulic-powered screens using higher G-forces for more efficient shaking.
Conveyors
Belts must transport these fine materials effectively without causing production disruptions. Crushed materials could sneak into machinery, leading to delays and excessive maintenance. A quality conveyor keeps aggregate moving without impediments. It also reduces manual handling required from technicians, opening their schedules for more high-value tasks.
Separators
Improving separators helps remove contaminants and unwanted materials from aggregate mixtures. For example, magnetic separators peel away ferrous metals from the stream that could hinder formulations later.
Dust Suppression Tools
Sustainability is one of the most eye-catching aspects of recycled aggregate creation. However, the advantage loses potency when dust released during processing pollutes the air. Innovative dust suppression tools prevent dust from escaping into environments. Modern ideas go beyond simple misters. Software and sensor technologies are overseeing dust spread with precise accuracy. Other sites use a mixed approach of surface and airborne containment strategies to reduce water consumption.
Aggregate Washers
C&D waste needs washing before processing into recycled construction materials. Otherwise, the lingering debris could impact bonding agents and chemical reactions, making it a stable, reliable alternative to freshly extracted materials. Much like modern dust suppression, novel aggregate washing methods rely on real-time analytics to reduce downtime and resource consumption during cleaning. Integrated software also informs operators when washer maintenance is necessary, so it performs at peak efficiency at all times.
Loaders
Stackers and loaders are critical transportation assets. Without streamlined storage and organization, aggregate will not reach its destinations promptly. Electrification is the biggest trend underway for all types of loaders. Some models last entire shifts and charge in as little as 1.7 hours, eliminating diesel consumption.
Gaining Momentum
If companies invest in this equipment, they will be on their way to expediting recycled aggregates for concrete makers. Explore how these tools boost momentum to help industry wide commitment remain strong.
Interest in Sustainability
Deconstruction will eventually replace linear construction techniques. C&D waste is around 600 million tons annually, and concrete stakeholders need ways to lower this statistic to meet corporate social responsibility objectives. Using recycled materials is a bonus to budding sustainability initiatives in construction, engineering and related organizations.
Competitive Advantage
Recycled concrete users will be able to advertise this to consumers. The bragging rights are notable because embracing novelty material innovations suggests companies also embrace other future-considerate advancements, like artificial intelligence. It could ascend a construction company into a thought leadership position.
Diversifying Raw Materials
Leveraging existing concrete alleviates stressors for struggling material handlers. Supporting aggregates means expanded access to usable minerals and materials. For example, several regions around the world are experiencing a sand shortage, and recycled aggregates would disseminate fears around scarcity by opening more doors for supply.
Solutions for Sustainable Concrete
Multiple sectors collaborate to create forward-thinking equipment and peripherals to make recycled concrete aggregates a reality. Eventually, it could be a primary reason building emissions are reduced because concrete is a monumental portion of global impact. It will help companies decarbonize, but it will also encourage digitization for a sector in dire need of phasing out antiquated machinery and mindsets.
Rose Morrison is a freelancer and the managing editor of Renovated Magazine. She specializes in sustainable construction, heavy equipment and aggregate machinery.