News
New Plant
BASF has begun production of MetaMax® high reactivity metakaolin (HRM) at a new plant in China to serve growing worldwide demand for HRM. Read more »Environmental awards
· BASF was honored with a Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge Award from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Read more »
· The company also received recognition from the National Association of State Land Reclamationists for the outstanding reclamation of its kaolin mines in Georgia. Read more »Current projects
NEW YORK: Armani, the fashion designer, is known for his distinctive attention to color and texture. So when he opened an Armani Casa home furnishings showroom in SoHo, New York City, Metamax high reactivity metakaolin was used in a white concrete floor. MetaMax brightened the concrete and created a creamy cement paste that produced a smooth, opalescent finish. The burnisehed concrete has a luminous quality that unifies the rooms and directs shoppers throughout the space. The 6400-square-foot loft was designed by Janson Goldstein LLP, New York.
Metakaolin was used in the award-winning Jubilee Church (La Ciesa del Do Padre Misericordioso) in Rome, designed by Richard Meier & Partners Architects, LLC. The project's dramatic double-curved precast concrete "sails" required both extraordinary strength and brilliant whiteness. To meet the requirements, metakaolin was used in conjunction with white portland cement and white Carrara marble aggregate. The materials scientists who developed the concrete mixture report that metakaolin improved the concrete by:
- enhancing the appearance of the concrete,
- acting as a micro-filler for denser concrete,
- accelerating hydration for early strength gain,
- providing a pozzolanic reaction for higher ultimate strength,
- reducing water permeability,
- limiting efflorescence,
- controlling shrinkage,
- improving the paste/aggregate bond,
- controlling bleeding, and
- improving the performance of chemical admixtures.
BEIJING: High reactivity metakaolin has been specified for the new US Embassy in Beijing, China. The new embassy complex will be the largest State Department project to be built on foreign soil. The 50,000 square meter building is expected to cost USD $275 million and is scheduled for completion in time for the 2008 Olympic Games. The architectural firm, Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, designed the complex. The Zachry-Caddell Joint Venture has been contracted to build the facility.
Los Angeles: MetaMax has been used in a 23-story condominium under construction in a seismically-active zone. View video »
Recent research
HRM Resists efflorescence: Testing proves that MetaMax controls efflorescence in cold-weather tile grouting.
The November 2005 issue of Concrete International reports that the use of small amounts of metakaolin significantly improves the performance of concrete made with sawdust-ash. The authors say this finding has, "potential for the develomment of low-cost concrete for use in housing that would improve living conditions in many developing countries."
World of Concrete, Las Vegas