Comprised of aggregate, cement and water, concrete is used in the construction of buildings, bridges, tunnels and more. McLanahan designs and manufactures a variety of equipment to aid in the crushing of demolished concrete structures for recycling purposes, as well as equipment to help producers transform concrete washout from concrete hauling trucks into reusable fines and water.
Concrete is a composite material produced by mixing water, aggregate, cement and any other additives need to achieve the desired physical properties of the finished material. When mixed together, these ingredients form a fluid mass that is easily molded into a shape. Over time, the cement forms a hard matrix that binds the rest of the ingredients together into a durable stone-like material with many uses.
Although there are various methods for mixing concrete, it is almost always transported to job sites using mixer trucks. After concrete is poured from the truck, the chutes of ready mix concrete trucks and hoppers of concrete pump trucks must be washed out to remove the remaining concrete before it hardens.
Concrete is often too big to be reused for anything after it has been demolished, but reducing that concrete into a more manageable size allows it to be repurposed for new projects. Repurposing concrete also saves it from going into a landfill, which can reduce or eliminate hauling and disposal costs. McLanahan’s line of crushing solutions offers producers a way to recycle their concrete aggregate for reuse in other applications and industries. The company offers primary crushers for initially breaking down the concrete for sizing, as well as secondary crushers to further refine the crushed concrete. Using compression, impact, attrition and shear forces to achieve the desired material size, McLanahan crushers help producers keep construction costs low and reduce pollution to the environment. Like all of their equipment, McLanahan crushers come backed with the company’s support and service.
McLanahan screening solutions allow producers to screen and separate their crushed concrete into various product sizes simultaneously, all while controlling the dust created in the process. They are capable of efficiently and effectively screening more material than conventional screens, and their compact design allows them to fit into even the tightest spaces. McLanahan screens experience a long life, but are easy to change out when needed, and the equipment overall requires minimal maintenance. Screens can be stationary or portable, depending on the application. Screening solutions from McLanahan are available in several widths, with single or dual motors and with as little as one or as many as five screen decks.
With more than 180 years providing solutions for the aggregate and mineral processing industries, McLanahan is offering the same field-proven technology to the concrete industry with their concrete washout management solutions. McLanahan’s concrete washout management solutions allow producers to recover coarse aggregate material and sand from cementitious water from mixers.
McLanahan also offers solutions for producers who want to separate fines from wastewater and turn those fines into easy-to-manage solid cakes that can be recycled for other uses, such as base material, or into a paste so thick no further water and solids separation can be achieved. The other by-product of the separation is clean water that can be put back immediately into the processing plant or used to wash out concrete hauling trucks.
In addition, implementing McLanahan’s concrete washout management solutions can help producers eliminate settling ponds, saving producers in time spent handling the ponds and wear and tear on their equipment. Eliminating settling ponds also frees up valuable land space, helps producers meet environmental and permitting regulations, and creates a smaller footprint and working environment.
McLanahan’s concrete washout management solutions utilize proven equipment to be highly efficient and produce less waste. This, along with the costs saved by recycling cementitious water, leads to faster payback and creates a higher return on investment. The ability to produce cleaner sand and recover more of it also allows producers to be more profitable.
In addition to manufacturing concrete washout solutions, McLanahan produces equipment for concrete recycling, an increasingly common method of disposing of concrete structures. The reclaimed concrete can be reused in a variety of new construction projects, including as a sub-base for building roads and as riprap for controlling erosion on stream banks. Recycling concrete instead of sending it off to a landfill can save the producer in transportation and disposal costs.
With this method, concrete that is free of debris is collected from demolition sites and put through a crusher, often along with asphalt, bricks and rocks. After being screened for size and quality, the newly crushed concrete can be reused in new Portland cement, as well as other structural layers. McLanahan’s concrete recycling equipment includes crushers, feeders, portable units and more that can help save producers in energy costs associated with processing new aggregates and reduce the amount of concrete waste destined for the landfills.
