Leiths

Sustainable Concrete Supply to Nofitech Recirculation Aquaculture System facility, Kishorn

The Scottish Salmon Company awarded Nofitech the contract to design and build the system which is an indoor land-based aquaculture system that allows fish to be reared for longer in freshwater tanks before being moved to marine sites.

The project involves the construction of two large concrete buildings each with two Recirculating Aquaculture Systems. When complete the buildings will be 16m and 20m in diameter, with each accommodating four tanks. The buildings are to be constructed of reinforced concrete with the tank walls serving as the external walls and are supported by the foundation slab. The total concrete requirement for this project is 4,500m³.

Following successful laboratory and production trials with the aggregates and crushed rock fines produced at Kishorn Quarry, concrete supply for the foundation slab commenced on the 5th of October with 1,600m³ supplied over 11 pours during a four-week period. Concrete designed with 50% cement replacement using Ground Granulated Blast Furnace Slag was necessary to comply with the XS1 exposure class specified for reinforced concrete in coastal areas, providing a lower Co2 embodied concrete. Concrete supply for the walls commenced the 2^nd week in November and will continue over the coming months with each wall pour taking 80m³.  

Having our mobile Concrete Plant on site with our locally available aggregates and replacing CEM I with Ground Granulated Blast Furnace Slag, Leiths were able to supply a concrete with significantly lower levels of embodied Co2 with savings of over 840t of Co2 providing a more sustainable and durable concrete.