Dive Brief:

• BASF says it has its researchers have come up with a liquid carrying microspheres that it believes can supplant air-entrained concrete to yield a stronger product at a lower concentration.
• There is no name yet for the product, which BASF says carries microspheres that have polymer shells and can flex much like tennis balls to provide the needed resilience in concrete used in areas where free-thaw cycles stress it.
• BASF says the new spheres are easy to use because they are carried in a slurry, are added at 1% by volume, and result in 30% stronger concrete than air-entrained mixes with 4% to 7% air mixed in.

Dive Insight:

The chemical giant says the new product is the result of eight years of research. The liquid product is much easier to use than dry microspheres, which had a tendency to become airborne during the mixing process because they are so light, according to BASF.