Environmental Leader

W. R. Grace & Co. has invested in Ceratech, a Maryland-based firm that has developed what it calls a “green, sustainable concrete admixture technology” for concrete primarily using fly ash, a waste stream product from coal fired power plants.

Last summer, U.S. Concrete said it substantially replaced traditional Portland cement, which accounts for six to eight percent of human generated CO2 in the environment, with reclaimed fly ash and slag.

The investment gives Grace exclusive rights to market Ceratech products and technology in the manufactured concrete market.

BusinessWeek’s Green Biz has some other “green” concrete news. A new concrete recipe spiked with titanium dioxide, a compound that becomes chemically active in sunlight, called TX Active cement neutralizes air pollutants such as benzene, carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxide, and others. The first application may be to improve air quality at schools near highways.