Why Is Polymer Concrete Replacing Conventional Construction Materials?

To cater to the booming population, which is set to increase to 10.9 billion by 2100, as per the United Nations (UN), construction activities are burgeoning around the world. For instance, in 2019, India announced plans to invest $650 billion in infrastructure development, while Germany invested $129.6 billion in 2017 for 189 construction projects. The funds are being used to developed railways, roads, water reservoirs, buildings, bridges, airports, tunnels, and sewer systems.

P&S Intelligence credits this massive infrastructure development while forecasting that the polymer concrete market, which valued $1,975.8 million in 2017, will experience a 7.1% CAGR during the forecast period, to reach $2,964.0 million by 2023. Polymer concrete, which is primarily made from sand, water, crushed stones, and gravel, contains a binder made with an epoxy, vinyl ester, or polyester base to harden in its place. The high compressive strength and strong resistance to impact, chemicals, freezing, thawing, and abrasion offered by this material make it suitable for specialized construction.

Apart from new construction, polymer concrete is also witnessing high-volume consumption in maintenance and repair activities. For instance, repairing airport runways is a time-sensitive job, as any delay can lead to huge flight cancellations. Therefore, rapid-patch polymer concrete is used to repair the runway as quickly as possible, so that flight operations are not impacted much. For the same reason and because of all the advantages mentioned above, the material is used in curbstones, nuclear power plants, marine works, roads, and waterproofing of buildings.

The categories under the type segment of the polymer concrete market are vinyl ester, polyester, epoxy, and others, which include acrylate, latex, phenolic formaldehyde, furan, carbamide, and acetone formaldehyde. Among these, the largest share during the historical period (2013–2017) was held by the epoxy category, as the high vibration resistance, high impact strength, and good bonding ability with metallic and concrete surfaces make the epoxy variant popular among infrastructure development companies. Due to these reasons, the epoxy category is also expected to witness the highest CAGR during the forecast period.

Hence, the demand for polymer concrete will continue increasing because of its various advantages over conventional concrete.

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