A Canadian company with more than 50 years of business experience wants to bring its concrete waterproofing and durability improvement products to the river industry.
Kryton International is based in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, and has been in business since 1973, with about 70 percent of its work focused on new commercial construction, said Kevin Yuers, vice president of product development. The company offers a variety of “smart concrete solutions”.
Kryton's Krystol inner membrane is a powder that is mixed with concrete to form crystals that resist water penetration. It was originally introduced for use in residential basements. The company then expanded its use to commercial projects, including water reservoirs, sewage treatment plants, dams and tunnels.
Typically, concrete is reinforced with steel, which causes problems if water gets in.
“If water gets in, it will corrode,” Yuers said. “It will rust.”
This creates cracks through which more water can penetrate.
“And in a marine environment, especially salt water, it’s much worse,” Yuers said.
While traditional construction methods require using a higher proportion of cement to create more durable concrete, “adding more and more cement is not the solution today,” Yuers said. “You significantly increase your company’s carbon footprint.”
Instead, Krystol technology reacts with moisture to form insoluble needle-shaped crystals that fill capillary pores and tiny cracks in concrete. These block the path for water and water-based pollutants.
The internal Krystol membrane chemically reacts with water and cement particles so that moisture introduced over the life of the concrete initiates crystallization, ensuring long-term water and water resistance.
Kryton International has also launched a line of products designed to increase the durability of concrete. When mixed into concrete, Hard-Cem reinforces the existing cement paste to increase the concrete's resistance to abrasion and erosion.
Yuers said Hard-Cem has been proven to “at least double the lifespan of concrete subjected to severe abrasion or erosion.”
It has been used successfully both as an industrial flooring and in commercial mining operations, he said.
Yuers sees the potential for products like Hard-Cem in building concrete infrastructure.
“There is an expectation that the things you build today will last a lot longer than they used to,” he said.
According to Yuers, Hard-Cem can help achieve lasting results while only increasing a project's concrete cost by about 10 percent, much less than some other products.
“Using these new technologies, you can significantly extend the lifespan of all these structures,” Yuers said.
For those looking to waterproof existing concrete, such as in ports, locks and dams, Kryton International also offers surface sealing and concrete repair technologies.
“Any type of polymer coating or tar or petroleum-based coating will work great the first day and then deteriorate over time until it fails, whereas our product is really the worst on the first day and then grows and matures with it.” “It’s going to be better over time, so it’s going to be the only strategy that gives concrete structures a really, really strong lifespan,” Yuers said.
Some of Kryton International's products have already been used in marine environments, including dam spillways and bridge abutments in high-flowing water, Yuers said. He also pointed to examples of the construction of jetties at a naval base in Victoria, Canada, and the waterproofing of another naval base in Halifax. In addition, Yuers said, Kryton International products have been used in dam projects in northern British Columbia, on the White River in Ontario and at a dam near Guadalajara, Mexico.
Kryton International is also recognized in the United States and has won the “Most Innovative Product” award at the World of Concrete Show in Las Vegas, Nevada for several years.
For more information about Kryton International, visit www.kryton.com.
