As of 2017, 189 strategic infrastructure
projects in Germany were in the development phase with a total investment of
$129.6 billion. Similarly, in 2014, under the ‘Make in India’ initiative, an
investment of $650.0 billion was estimated for urban infrastructure development
in the country for the next 20 years. Governments of the world are increasing
their investments in civil construction projects, such as buildings, water
reservoirs, bridges, tunnels, roads, sewer systems, railways, and airports, as the
construction industry helps in creating jobs and channelizing investments. Due
to the growth that the construction industry is experiencing, the use of
polymer concrete is also increasing.
Polymer concrete is a composite material
which hardens into place using an epoxy binder. Various kinds of polymer
resins, such as polyester, vinyl ester, and epoxy, can be used to make the
materials as they allow the concrete to be poured or troweled and then
hardened. Polymer concrete has many advantages over traditional concrete,
including high resistance to chemical attack, abrasion, freezing, thawing, and
impact and high compressive strength. Due to these reasons, the polymer
concrete market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 7.1% and reach a value of
$2,964.0 million in the coming years. The increasing repair and maintenance
activities are one of the primary reasons behind the growing demand for the
substance.
In February 2018, the President of the
U.S. rolled out a plan to repair and rebuild the nation’s infrastructure,
including highways, seaports, bridges, airports, and railroads, with an
investment of $2.0 trillion. Similarly, out of the 600,000 bridges in the U.S.
almost 40.0% were more than 50 years old and 9.1% were structurally deficient
in 2016. Due to these reasons, North America accounted for more than 20.0% of
the worldwide revenue for companies manufacturing the substance in 2017. The
material ensures that the repairing process doesn’t take much time. For
example, rapid patch polymer concrete makes sure that emergency repairs of
airport runways are done quickly so that not much disruption is caused to
airport operations. In addition, polymer manufacturers in the region are also
trying to enhance the properties of their products, such as chemical
resistance, ease of installation, and toughness, which is resulting in a surging
demand for polyester concrete for infrastructure and construction industries.
The various types of
polymer concrete available are polyester, vinyl ester, and epoxy. Polyester
resin is used as a binding agent instead of cement in polyester concrete, which
provides flexural strength to the concrete. Vinyl ester polymer concrete is
used for the chemical-resistant construction of containment areas, dikes, and
sumps. In addition to having superior chemical resistance, this type of polymer
concrete has low porosity, fast chemical set and less down time, and a maximum
service temperature of 220-degree F. Up till now, the polymer concrete
market for epoxy-based products has been the largest in terms of
consumption because of their high physical strength and good bonding ability with
metal surfaces and concrete. Applications which encounter high impact, chemical
exposure, and heavy loads use this polymer concrete as it has superior
mechanical and durable properties.

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