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Almost every concrete failure, outside of structural overloading, traces back to one thing: water getting in. Porosity is inherent to concrete, not a defect you can design around. The surface must be sealed.
There are two primary reasons concrete deteriorates. First, cement paste is chemically unstable. Second, concrete is porous, with up to 10% of its volume made up of void space. Porosity allows water in, and water carries chemicals and particles that interact with that unstable cement paste. The reaction converts calcium silicate hydrate to calcium carbonate, essentially chalk that washes away easily.
Water gets in and damages the cement paste. Damaged paste becomes more porous. Higher porosity lets in more water. The cycle accelerates until spalling, cracking, and structural failure follow. CeramycGuard™ is engineered to stop this destructive cycle at the surface.
All failures of properly placed concrete, except for structural overloading, are related to water moving through the porous surface and internal capillaries. Eliminating surface porosity keeps moisture and other contaminants out, making the concrete more durable.
Under the microscope
CeramycGuard fills in the surface pores and chemically stabilizes the cement paste. Rainwater and other contaminants can no longer degrade the concrete from within.
The problems go far beyond visible surface deterioration. Porosity quietly destroys critical infrastructure in ways that are rarely noticed until failure is imminent.
Chlorine is essential for sanitation in drinking-water systems, killing microbial contaminants before water reaches the tap. But chlorine penetrates the pores of concrete storage reservoirs, dissolves the cement paste, and corrodes the reinforcing steel rebar. Reservoirs around the world are failing from the inside out as a direct consequence.
Bacteria enter the pores of concrete sewer pipes and structures, where they find food, water, and shelter. Acid-producing bacteria thrive in that habitat, and the acids they emit eat through both concrete and steel. Sanitary sewer infrastructure is deteriorating globally because of this mechanism, at enormous cost to public utilities.
In food-processing plants and animal grow facilities, porous concrete floors and walls provide habitat for pathogenic bacteria. Once established inside the pore network, those bacteria cannot be cleaned out by standard sanitation. They re-enter the food supply, creating persistent food-safety risks that routine cleaning cannot resolve.
Zirconia's ceramic sealant eliminates porosity in concrete and stops contaminants and microbial life from entering the surface. The result is long-term infrastructure preservation that was not previously possible, along with safer water and food supply chains.
CeramycGuard™ does not simply coat the surface. It chemically bonds and stabilizes the cement paste, transforming the vulnerable open pore network into an inert, sealed geopolymer composite. This removes the entry points that water, chemicals, and biological growth need, rather than covering them over.
Talk to our technical team about the right ceramic surface treatment for your concrete infrastructure.