Polish approach to the development of AAC properties and applications

Over 70 years of AAC production in Poland prompts us to present our path from the beginning of its manufacturing in 1951 to the high quality of today. To launch AAC production in Poland was a significant decision that helped rebuild the country after World War II. Today AAC is one of the most popular wall‐building materials in Poland (about 40%), and housing development, on a large scale, would be practically impossible without it. We will discuss the current steps we take in search of raw materials optimal for AAC production, both natural (primary) and recyclable (or “secondary”), like power‐generation, chemical, or other industry by‐products. We will also discuss changes to product assortment: from small‐size to medium and large‐size reinforced elements with full factory finish, as well as the state of the art in this area. We will look at technical progress in production processes. Given the AAC properties and our technology achievements, we believe that further AAC development will primarily concern phase composition, the microstructure and pore structure of aerated concrete. In our works, we have addressed those aspects and taken efforts to design AAC composition with carbon footprint in mind. We also carried out an extensive study on the durability of AAC.