Progressive Planet Unveils 100% Recycled Post-Consumer Glass Pozzolan Created to Sequester and Radically Reduce Carbon Emissions in Concrete

New PozGlasstm 100G SCM Receives Breakthrough Test Results; Offers Eco-Friendly Alternative to Fly Ash Engineered to Help Tackle Climate Change

VANCOUVER, BC, Nov. 9, 2021 /CNW/ - Progressive Planet Solutions Inc. (TSXV: PLAN) ("PLAN" or the "Company"), an emerging technology company providing innovative circular solutions and eco-friendly micronized mineral powders for industry and agriculture, is pleased to announce PozGlasstm 100G SCM - the Company's new and proprietary supplementary cementing material (SCM) made from 100% recycled glass. Having just received breakthrough initial test results, PozGlass 100G SCM is designed to dramatically reduce cement's carbon footprint while increasing its performance.

PozGlass 100G SCM's introduction comes on the heels of PLAN's October 18, 2021 announcement that it successfully completed third party testing of its flagship supplementary cementing material, PozGlasstm SCM, as a superior replacement to fly ash. PozGlass SCM is a mixture of micronized, post-consumer glass and natural pozzolan harvested from PLAN's Z1 Natural Pozzolan Quarry near Cache Creek, BC. and can be used to replace significant levels of fly ash and Portland Cement, one of the greatest sources for CO2 emissions in the world. Estimates suggest that the concrete industry is responsible for roughly 7% of total global carbon emissions.

Natural pozzolans are prevalent in western North America as a result of volcanic activity, but are generally not found along the eastern seaboard. In an effort to seamlessly gain entry into larger urban markets from coast to coast without requiring natural pozzolan to be shipped and then blended with locally sourced recycled glass, PLAN quietly developed and tested its new version of PozGlass. The name, PozGlass 100G, reflects the fact that this revolutionary SCM uses 100% post-consumer glass which is micronized to a fine powder and permanently sequesters CO2 through proprietary processes.

Post-consumer glass exists as a waste problem in every major city in North America, opening up exponential market potential for PLAN's technology. Incorporating PozGlass' post-consumer waste glass formula into concrete as a Portland Cement replacement will help the environment by both reducing the amount of CO2 emissions as well as reducing the amount of waste glass disposed of in landfills. To date, the biggest hindrances to using 100% ground glass as a supplementary cementing material has been its inability to fully mitigate alkali-silica reactivity (ASR) and its lower early strength gains in concrete compared to other pozzolans.

Nine samples of PozGlass 100G SCM, utilizing a 25% replacement of Portland Cement, were exposed to ASTM C1567 Standard Test Method for Determining the Potential Alkali-Silica Reactivity of Combinations of Cementitious Materials and Aggregate (Accelerated Mortar-Bar Method). All nine easily passed the allowable limit of 0.10% mortar bar expansion at 16 days after casting, averaging only 0.05% expansion - or just half of the allowable limit.

"It is well known in the cement industry that one of the biggest challenges with using ground glass in concrete is its inability to pass ASTM test C1567 as a stand-alone pozzolan," said Steve Harpur, CEO of Progressive Planet. "The fact that our proprietary treatment of post-consumer glass has resulted in exceptional ASR mitigation results is a game-changing achievement. With this technical breakthrough, our next focus is to confirm we can produce PozGlass 100G economically at scale. This is a significant milestone for PLAN." 

In addition, PozGlass 100G SCM samples also passed important testing requirements for 7-day Strength Activity Index (SAI) & water requirement for C618 Class N pozzolan.

"The 7-day SAI values for the treated ground glass samples reported in PozGlass 100G SCM are significantly higher than the values previously obtained in our laboratory for untreated ground glass," states Dr. Michael Thomas. "Two previous tests on untreated ground glass gave 7-day SAI values of 79% each time, while PozGlass 100G SCM registered a 7-day SAI value of 88.3%."

Additional testing and optimization will reconvene in the near future to maximize the percentage of Portland Cement which can be replaced with PozGlass 100G SCM.

PLAN continues development work on PozGlass 100G SCM with a focus on:

• Confirming that this product can be produced economically at a commercial scale;
• Maximizing its performance to boost replacement levels in industry;
• Quantifying the carbon sequestration potential of this proprietary product; and
• Seeking grant funding to produce PozGlass 100G at a larger scale.

ABOUT PROGRESSIVE PLANET

Progressive Planet is an emerging technology company providing innovative circular solutions and earth-friendly micronized minerals that naturally unlock sustainability benefits across the construction and agriculture industries. Tapping into the earth's inherent binding powers and properties, PLAN is developing and scaling a portfolio of proprietary solutions to help our customers build, grow, and operate more responsibly.

PLAN continues work on creating supplementary cementing materials (SCMs) with a focus on minimizing the carbon footprint of the SCMs we create; utilizing waste materials where possible to create the most sustainable SCMs; and sequestering CO2 in SCMs to address climate change.

PLAN's operations currently include:

• A comminution facility in Spallumcheen, BC which is currently producing micronized minerals used by farmers in lieu of chemical fertilizers to promote healthy soils without the addition of chemicals,
• A research lab in Calgary, AB focused on creating SCMs and associated technologies to sequester CO2 in concrete; and,
• Three natural pozzolan properties in BC including our flagship Z1 Natural Pozzolan Quarry in Cache Creek, BC and our two pozzolan properties under development, the Z2 Natural Pozzolan Property near Falkland and the Heffley Creek Metals and Natural Pozzolan Property.

Forward-Looking Statements:
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SOURCE Progressive Planet Solutions