Scott Bros to start production of North East-developed low carbon concrete

The firm has been working with scientists at Teesside University to search for uses for a by-product of its recycling operation

Bob Borthwick of Scott Bros. — Bob Borthwick, director at Scott Bros, with some of the ‘recycled’ filter cake that will be used to produce low carbon concrete. (Image: Scott Bros)

A North East aggregates firm has announced plans to launch low carbon concrete production at its Teesside site.

Scott Bros is working with Teesside University to run trials intended to see how much it can reduce the amount of Ordinary Portland Cement used as a binding material in concrete. The Haverton Hill firm, which specialises in recycling material into aggregates for the construction industry, has been investigating uses for fine-grained clay, known as filter cake, which is a waste by-product from its wash plant, which converts construction and waste into high quality sand and aggregate.

The silicate clay-rich filter cake has cementitious properties and is otherwise used as low value, inert engineering fill or pond lining material. Using the filter cake as an alternative binding material reduces the amount of Portland cement required - a carbon-intensive product. Once up and running Scott Bros' plant will be capable of producing 480 cubic metres of low carbon concrete per day.

Through a £612,000 research project, funded by Innovate ��Ƶ, the university's School of Science, Engineering & Digital Technologies has been helping Scott Bros to assess how much of the material can be substituted whilst still achieving the same strength and durability of traditional concrete. Overall the concrete production industry is the third largest producer of carbon emissions globally and demand is expected to grow.

Last year, Scott Bros revealed it was working on commercialising a prototype 'eco brick' which also uses filter cake as the binding agent. At the time it said it had attracted the attention of a ��Ƶ housebuilder.

Bob Borthwick, a director of Teesside-based Scott Bros, said: "The new plant will enable us to replace a significant amount of OPC with filter cake to create low carbon concrete. By adopting this alternative formulation, we can significantly reduce the large carbon footprint associated with traditional concrete production using a waste material that might otherwise end up in landfill.”

Fellow director Peter Scott added: “This is a major step forward for the region’s circular economy. Transitioning away from traditional OPC toward more environmentally friendly alternatives is crucial for a greener future in construction. Such innovation paves the way for a more sustainable and resilient built environment.”

Dr David Hughes, associate dean (research & innovation) in the School of Computing, Engineering & Digital Technologies, said: “As a university which places research to deliver a cleaner, greener future for our region and beyond at the heart of its agenda we are delighted to see work begin on this new plant. Teesside University has collaborated with Scott Bros on this project since it was first conceptualised as a series of laboratory experiments.

"Therefore, we are delighted to see it progress to this next stage which will enable the new concrete to be produced at scale. We look forward to continue our partnership and supporting Scott Bros to deliver a step change in the manufacture of new, more sustainable construction materials.”

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