The initial phase of construction of the Açu Natural Gas (GNA 1) facility in Açu, Brazil was completed in September 2021.
PENETRON ADMIX, a concrete waterproofing admixture, was specified for the facility’s crucial concrete elements exposed to water and moisture.
The initial phase of construction of the Açu Natural Gas (GNA 1) facility in Açu, Brazil was completed in September 2021. PENETRON ADMIX, a concrete waterproofing admixture, was specified for the facility’s crucial concrete elements exposed to water and moisture.
The US$1 billion GNA 1 project is located in the Port of Açu (RJ) on the South Atlantic Ocean, about 300 km (190 miles) northeast of Rio de Janeiro.
As one of Brazil’s largest ports, Natural Gas Açu serves offshore supply ships, bulk carriers, and oil tankers, and is now home to a new floating LNG terminal, including a substation and 48 km (30 miles) transmission line, which can store and regasify up to 21 million m3 of natural gas daily – to power the gas-fired GNA complex.
Natural Gas, With a power generation capacity of 1.34 gigawatts (GW), GNA 1 can supply power to 6 million households.
The GNA project is a joint venture between BP (UK), Siemens (Germany), Prumo Logistica (Brazil), and SPIC (China).
The project is due to be completed in four phases and comprises the construction of two thermal power plants (GNA 1 and a future facility), with a total generation capacity of 3 GW, enough to power 14 million residences.
There are plans for construction of an additional two GNA facilities, which will add another 3.4 GW of capacity.
“Once completed with the capacity to generate 6.4 GW of power, the GNA complex will be one of the largest natural gas power plants in Latin America,”
says Cláudio Neves Ourives, CEO and Managing Partner of Penetron Brazil.
Integral Waterproofing More Durable
PENETRON ADMIX was specified as the preferred concrete waterproofing admixture. Polimix, the concrete ready-mix supplier, provided over 1,000m3 of PENETRON ADMIX-treated concrete for the water storage tanks and the GNA 1 cooling tower.
Easily mixed in during batching, PENETRON ADMIX becomes an integral part of the concrete matrix and can significantly increase concrete durability and service life.
“Notably, the water used during the concrete mixing process was pumped directly from the sea, without any special treatment. This meant the cured concrete needed to be impermeable to chloride penetration, Concrete treated with PENETRON ADMIX becomes impermeable due to the self-healing nature of the crystalline waterproofing technology. The decreased permeability of the concrete results in a significant reduction of chloride penetration – and mitigates corrosion of the underlying reinforcement steel bars. This was the main reason PENETRON ADMIX was specified for the GNA project.”
adds Cláudio Neves Ourives.
