Convergent Group’s webinar on “Are lithium-based sealers & hardeners effective for protecting concrete floors?” was hosted on 17 May 2022 at 2PM (WAT)
Jean-Claude Biard, SEO, Convergent Group SA, said, “Convergent Group was founded more than 20 years ago and was the first company in the word to introduce lithium sealers and hardeners for concrete. All our products are developed in our factories and tested in our laboratories. Our products have also been tested in different universities in the world and today we are one of the leading companies in the field of floor protection.”
Quentin Maguin, production manager, Convergent Group SA, highlighted the comparison between older generation sodium and potassium versus the new generation lithium silicate technology for concrete protection.
“Convergent Group selects the highest quality lithium silicate in the market in their products to offer the best solutions for the concrete floors,” he added. As he pointed out, some of the key advantages of using lithium silicate compared to old technology of sodium silicate include:
1. Lithium silicate has lower viscosity than sodium silicate. This means lithium silicate based products penetrate deeper in the concrete slabs.
2. Due to its slower alkalinity, chemical reaction between lithium silicate and free lime in the concrete will be slower. This densification reaction will be more complete and more effective. As a result, the concrete floor will be denser and harder while keeping the natural look.
3. Use of lithium silicate in Pentra products prevents the gel formation during the application as compared to sodium silicate based products. Indeed after the application of sodium silicate, the product reacts violently with the concrete and forms a gel on the top of the surface. This gel must be cleaned as soon as possible to avoid crystallisation on the concrete. Also, the cleaning process takes a lot of time. In contrast, after Pentra sil, no cleaning process is required.
Pantxika Sanchez, product engineer, Convergent Group SA, introduced the product line. She stated that the products are divided into five categories such as: Curing, Hardening, Wear Protection, Stain/Color, maintenance and repair.
“Pentra-Sil is an easy and cost-effective application. It provides the performance of a true cure, hardener and densifier in a single application. The single component application forms a tougher abrasion resistant surface compared to traditional methods. This product is suitable for new concretes including commercial, institutional buildings, offices, businesses, restaurants.”
Quentin Maguin explained, “For years, curing and densifying have required multiple applications by different contractors. Using Rapid Seperation Technology (RST), Convergent has merged these processes into a single one-step product that does both.
The USP of the product is: The emulsion natuirally returns to separate layers on the slab. The curing compound migrates to the surface as a fil-forming mointure barrier while the Nano-Lithium Silicate penetrates and reacts with the free lime and cement, forming CSH.”
Matteo Mozzarelli CEO, Concrete Solution Italia, remarked, “The application of Convergent products is always easy. All the products are ready-to-use. You don’t have to mix them with anything. This reduces any scope of mistake from the applicator.”
