Silica Fume Supplier
R-E-D Industrial Products has decades of experience operating as a premium silica fume supplier and many other reliable, efficient, and dependable products that improve the strength and resilience of concrete. Our team focuses on offering our customers the highest quality silica fume at competitive prices and delivering on time to meet rigid project deadlines. R-E-D Industrial is primarily a silica fume supplier for three distinct industries and their unique applications.
What is Silica Fume?
Silica fume is an ultrafine powder byproduct from the production of silicon metal or ferrosilicon alloys and can also be referred to as micro silica. Once considered a waste product, silica fume has become a vital component to strengthen concrete for various applications. Silica fume has an exceptionally high concentration of silicon dioxide and an incredibly small physical structure that is over 100 times smaller than an average particle of cement. These chemical and physical properties have made silica fume an exceptional pozzolan for use in concrete. A pozzolan, by definition, is any silica-based material that does not possess any independent cementing properties until it reacts with calcium hydroxide to form compounds with cementitious properties. As a premium silica fume supplier, R-E-D Industrial has helped improve the strength, resilience, and durability of poured concrete applications for infrastructure development, refractory construction, and critical components for the oil and gas industry.
Three Types of Silica Fume
R-E-D Industrial is a silica fume supplier of undensified, semi-densified, and densified. While the chemical composition of the silica fume does not change between versions the bulk density and the respective applications do alter. More information on each type can be found below.
Undensified Silica Fume:
Undensified silica fume density ranges from roughly 16 to 48 pounds per cubic foot ( 250 to 400 kilograms per cubic meter). Undensified silica fume is lighter but still provides enhanced bonding and compressive strengths while reducing porosity and permeability. Undensified silica fume is frequently used in grout and mortars, UHPC, oil well drilling, refractories, and ceramic applications.
Semi-Densified Silica Fume:
Semi-densified silica fume bulk density ranges from 25 to 35 pounds per cubic foot (400 to 550 kilograms per cubic meter). Providing greater workability than undensified, semi-densified is best used in applications that have greater sheering forces to break down the loosely compacted silica fume for better mix dispersion (typically via either larger aggregates than what is used in mortars and grouts, or high sheer mixers), also oil and gas well applications.
Densified Silica Fume:
​Densified silica fume’s bulk density is typically between 35 to 50 pounds per cubic foot (550 and 650 kilograms per cubic meter), like the other silica fumes, densified silica fume greatly minimizes porosity and permeability in the cement and is widely used in high-strength concrete applications.
How is Silica Fume Produced?
As previously mentioned, silica fume is a by-product produced during the production of silicon and ferrosilicon alloys. The production of silicon requires smelting in large submerged electric arc furnaces that can reach temperatures as high as 3200℉ or 1760℃. Typically, the furnace is loaded with a charge of quartzite, charcoal, wood chips, and coal with the quartzite containing more than 99% silicon dioxide. This purity level is critical to developing silicon and the silica fume by-product. The extreme temperatures reached at the electrodes volatilize the quartzite.
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The resulting reaction forms several distinct vapors and solid compounds including carbon monoxide, silicon monoxide, silicon carbide, and silicon metal. The gases will then rise through the furnace with the supplemental reaction between silicon monoxide and silicon dioxide producing silica fume. The collected gas vapor is then further condensed by unique baghouse collectors into an extremely fine pozzolanic powder that can be added to cement. Large amounts of air are pumped into a cyclone system that forces these ultrafine particles to pack together, the longer the baghouse silica fume is subjected to the effects of the cyclone, the more densified the material becomes.
The Sustainability Benefits of Using Silica Fume
Concerns over sustainability and making products more environmentally friendly continue to grow in the industrial marketplace. R-E-D Industrial Products takes every chance to educate customers on the sustainability benefits of utilizing silica fume. The leading feature of silica fume that contributes to improved sustainability is extending the lifespan of concrete structures. By improving the composition of concrete with silica fume, structures require less continued maintenance or replacement. Furthermore, adding silica fume to concrete further improves the resistance to corrosive forces like water, salt, chloride, and other natural elements or weather conditions. It is undeniable that improving the strength, durability, and longevity of concrete with silica fume helps structures throughout infrastructure applications and countless others reach their full potential and targeted lifespan.
What Are the Applications of Silica Fume?
R-E-D Industrial Products has served as a silica fume supplier for three distinct industries and our team is incredibly knowledgeable of the specific qualities and characteristics each demands from silica fume.
(Densified Silica Fume) Silica fume is widely used in the concrete and fiber cement industries due to its particle size and pozzolanic properties. These specific properties create the ideal conditions for prolonging the concrete’s life expectancy in corrosive environments where chlorides, acids, and sulfates are present. As a silica fume supplier for concrete applications, R-E-D Industrial Products is proud to provide the materials necessary for improving the bridges, marine structures, and parking decks critical to the nation’s infrastructure.
(Undensified Silica Fume) R-E-D Industrial Products is a silica fume supplier for concrete used in refractory castables that require a higher density and better performance at higher temperatures. Silica fume concrete for refractory purposes maintains a stable pH level with a reduced level of impurities required by this specific industry.
​(Semi-Densified Silica Fume) R-E-D Industrial Products has quickly become a primary silica fume supplier for the oil and gas industry. This is mostly because the inclusion of silica fume in concrete for oil and gas applications greatly reduces gas migration and increases well production. The silica fume acts as a blocking mechanism in the grout of well bores to prevent the prized gas from leaking out into the surrounding environment.
Let R-E-D Industrial Products Become Your Silica Fume Supplier
As a trusted silica fume supplier, R-E-D Industrial Products works diligently to ensure that all customers receive high-quality products at competitive prices. Due to several factors and important criteria, the price of silica fume is calculated on a project-by-project basis for our customers. Calculating the price of silica fume starts with our Product Managers who will meet with each customer to better understand their specific requirements and project goals. From these meetings, we will apply the information gathered to find the optimum silica fume product at the most competitive price possible. Please contact our team at any time by phone, email, or the linked contact form to get started on a pricing quote for R-E-D Industrial Products to become your preferred silica fume supplier.