Silica fume for construction

Faster, higher, stronger

As populations increase and urban areas grow, space becomes a premium and construction projects become increasingly challenging. In addition, the demands for sustainable construction require the need for more resilient structures with a longer service life and lower maintenance costs.

The addition of silica fume enables concrete, fiber cement and gypsum boards to achieve improved performance levels to enable advanced building structures. Elkem, the world’s leading manufacturer and supplier of silica fume, offers a unique range of benefits that builders need and that regulators demand.

From start to finish

The advantages of silica fume in concrete starts at the beginning of construction.

Elkem MICROSILICA^® product improves the working properties of fresh concrete, making the mix easier to pump and improving workability, reducing any segregation and giving better cohesiveness.

Elkem MICROSILICA^® product gives early strength to allow faster development, saving time and money on construction. With several production facilities worldwide, Elkem is able to provide supply chain reliability, ensuring on-time and uninterrupted deliveries of our products through our global network. Through extensive testing as an ISO registered company, Elkem ensures consistency in Elkem MICROSILICA^® product to make sure that what we deliver is always in accordance with customer specifications.

Leading the market through quality and innovation

Elkem MICROSILICA^® was introduced in the 1980s and is the original and market-leading silica fume powder, that has constantly been improved to meet the operational requirements of our customers.

Silica fume is an industrial by-product made of recovered ultra-fine amorphous silica particles produced during the manufacture of metallurgical silicon and ferrosilicon alloys in electric arc furnaces. Elkem MICROSILICA^® product is available in both powder and slurry options.

Elkem MICROSILICA^® product is tailored to specific construction needs to resist the harshest and most extreme environmental conditions. For example, concrete containing Elkem MICROSILICA^® product is highly resistant to chemical corrosion, and improves the durability and resistance of concrete to sea water. Therefore, concretes incorporating Elkem MICROSILICA^® are frequently used in marine applications such as long sea bridges, sub-sea tunnels, coastal structures and offshore wind farms.

From the foundation to the roof

Elkem MICROSILICA^® improves various construction materials to achieve the highest performance standards for a wide variety of applications:

• High-performance concrete using microsilica will shorten construction time and provide structural advantages and durability for the construction of buildings, bridges, transport tunnels, roadways.
• Fiber cement with microsilica is used in roofing materials, such as flat and corrugated sheets, tiles, pipes and moldings for new structures or to efficiently help replace asbestos.
• Gypsum board with microsilica improves fire resistance and core strength.

Burj Khalifa, the world's tallest building

Discover how Elkem enabled the concrete used in Burj Khalifa to have very low permeability levels and high durability

Read more

Contact us to find out how Elkem MICROSILICA^® can improve your construction projects, and to learn more about our products and construction applications in concrete, fiber cement and gypsum boards. We are happy to help you with any of your technical needs at all stages of your construction projects.

Elkem Materials Mixture Analyser

Get the best out of Elkem's silica fume (microsilica) by using our software to optimize your mixture

Download EMMA