First Graphene expands PureGRAPH customer base to cement industry
A significant step in the adoption of First Graphene’s products into large industrial applications.
Advanced materials company First Graphene (ASX: FGR) has announced a new contract introducing its PureGRAPH range of graphene products into the cement industry.
The company today confirmed its manufacturing partner newGen Group will supply a wear lining system for dyer chute applications to a large Australian cement producer in their Perth facility.
This contract follows other recent announcements made in relation to First Graphene’s research and development collaboration with newGen.
According to First Graphene, the client is a leading supplier of cement and lime to Western Australia’s mining, agriculture and construction industries.
Each 50sqm liner will contain 10-12kg of PureGRAPH product and is expected to be cast and installed in December.
Other applications
First Graphene has been working closely with newGen to provide performance enhancement to their existing products with the addition of its PureGRAPH graphene products.
Last week, the partners announced test results proving significant improvements in tensile strength of 37% and abrasion resistance of between 100%-500% in high performance polyurethane systems used in the mining industry.
“These will provide the mining industry with enhanced, longer life, wear-resistant materials providing significant savings to operators through reduced downtime, safety and environmental gains and reduced product consumption,” First Graphene stated.
First Graphene managing director Craig McGuckin said he expected this to translate into “multi-tonne sales of PureGRAPH to the mining services sector in the near term”.
A branded Amour-GRAPH product range has now been introduced by newGen, which includes wear liners for bucket wheels, pipe spools and conveyor applications.
“It is exciting to see the early adoption of the PureGRAPH products being recognised by newGen customers in real industrial applications,” Mr McGuckin said.
First Graphene also has research and development collaboration arrangements with four universities including the University of Manchester, the Australian National University’s research centre FlexeGRAPH in Canberra and Flinders University in South Australia.
Graphene oxide manufacture
The company also announced this week it has filed an international patent application for the thin-film processing of graphene, graphene oxide and novel nanomaterials.
The patent covers the processing method and tools invented by 2D Fluidics Ltd, a subsidiary jointly owned by First Graphene and Flinders University. In particular, it covers routes to manufacture graphene oxide directly from raw graphite materials.
2D Fluiditics’ process can manufacture high quality graphene oxide without the use of high-volume corrosive reagents and associated waste streams.
Mr McGuckin said the application was an important milestone in the commercialisation of these unique processing tools.
“We are particularly excited about the opportunity to cost-effectively manufacture graphene oxide products to add to our portfolio,” he said.