New Admixture Technology to Extend Durability of Concrete

To combat the effects of corroding rebar in deteriorating concrete, which is often the cause of costly repairs and financial losses, Cortec Corporation has launched a corrosion solution called MCI 2005.

MCI, which stands for Migrating Corrosion Inhibitor, is a patented technology developed by St. Paul, Minn.-based Cortec to protect reinforcing metal in concrete from corrosion.

A water-based corrosion inhibiting concrete admixture, MCI 2005 is an organic admixture that was designed to protect carbon steel, galvanized steel and other metals embedded in concrete from corrosion induced by carbonation, chloride, atmospheric attack and other corrosive contaminants.
 
The corrosive effects of carbonation and chlorides cause a breakdown of the natural passivating protection of steel. When MCI comes in contact with steel it forms a protective layer. Using x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, or XPS, this layer has been measured to be between 20 and 100Å thick at the molecular level said the company.

A unique feature of MCI 2005 is that it can migrate a considerable distance through concrete, forming a corrosion inhibiting protec