On February 8, 2026, the 380-meter super high-rise project of Great River Center, invested by China Resources Group and constructed by China State Construct Commercial Concrete Co., Ltd., successfully completed the pouring of coal gangue ceramsite full-lightweight concrete. The project utilized a total of 2,570 m³ of full-lightweight concrete, reducing the overall weight of the building by approximately 1,900 t. This significantly lowered the structural load while enhancing structural safety and durability. This achievement broke the domestic record for the one-time pumping height of full-lightweight aggregate concrete. Evaluated by a panel of experts organized by the Hubei Construction Industry Association, the overall technology has reached an internationally leading level.

Great River Center

With a total height of 386.6 m the Great River Center is a landmark riverside super high-rise complex in Central China. During the project's construction, due to functional adjustments, the top 9 floors were converted from office spaces to a hotel, which included the addition of swimming pools and dense partition walls. This caused a significant increase in the upper load, making the original structural system insufficient to meet safety requirements. Limited by the construction conditions of a super high-rise, traditional vertical structural reinforcement schemes could not be implemented. Achieving building lightweighting while ensuring structural safety became the key technical challenge of the project.

To overcome this technical bottleneck, East China Architectural Design & Research Institute Co., Ltd. (ECADI), which undertook the design modification task, proposed an innovative solution: utilizing coal gangue ceramsite full-lightweight concrete with a design strength of LC35 and an apparent density of 1650kg/m³ for the floor slab areas from the 72nd to the 80th floors. Compared with ordinary concrete of the same strength, the dead weight of this concrete is reduced by about one-third, fully meeting structural stress requirements. Simultaneously, thanks to the material's internal curing properties, it features high strength, high stability, and excellent crack resistance. By achieving higher safety guarantees with a lighter dead weight, this successfully solved the load problem caused by the super high-rise's functional changes.

Slump Test

The coal gangue high-strength ceramsite used in this project was independently researched, developed, and industrialized by Huainan Xindongchen Holdings Group Co., Ltd. As the first high-performance lightweight aggregate product of its kind in China, it fills the technical gap in the high-value preparation of high-strength lightweight aggregates from coal gangue in the country.

Using coal gangue, the industrial solid waste, as the main raw material, the product is prepared through an integrated process of milling and homogenization, precise granulation, and high-temperature calcination (1200°C constant temperature calcination in a rotary kiln). It forms a dense and uniform honeycomb-like microporous structure internally, combining multiple advantages such as lightweight, high strength, thermal insulation, sound insulation, seismic resistance, fire resistance, and corrosion resistance. It comprehensively meets the stringent requirements of super high-rise buildings for lightweight, high-performance, and multi-functional materials. In terms of green, low-carbon, and solid waste resource utilization, this technology realizes the high-value, large-scale, and resource-based utilization of coal gangue, effectively solving industry pain points such as low traditional disposal utilization rates and high environmental impact, providing a replicable and promotable demonstration path for the high-value utilization of industrial solid waste nationwide.

Relevant technical executives from Huainan Xindongchen Holdings Group Co., Ltd. stated that applying coal gangue high-strength ceramsite full-lightweight concrete to building floor slabs not only achieves the core goals of weight reduction, consumption reduction, and structural load mitigation at the structural level but also significantly improves the building's comfort through its excellent thermal and sound insulation properties. This achieves a three-dimensional value leap of "material upgrade—structural optimization—quality improvement," accurately aligning with the national "Good Housing" construction standards and highlighting China's cutting-edge level in the integrated development of solid waste resource utilization and green building materials.

380-Meter Super High-Rise Floor Slab Pumping Site

Pumping full-lightweight concrete in super high-rise buildings is extremely difficult, and there was no mature precedent for a one-time pumping height of over 300 m. Facing technical challenges such as the high water absorption rate of ceramsite, difficulty in workability control, and high pumping resistance, Huainan Xindongchen Holdings Group Co., Ltd. joined forces with Wuhan University of Technology, the CSCEC Concrete Technology Center, and the Nantong Research Institute for Prefabricated Buildings and Smart Structures to form a special task force. They conducted systematic research centered on key aspects such as the pre-wetting process, mixing control, pipe lubrication schemes, and mix ratio optimization, successfully breaking through the core technical bottlenecks of super high-rise pumping.

Pre-Pumping Sampling

The project team successfully completed two simulated 380-meter coiled pipe pumping tests in August and October 2025, respectively. This established complete technical parameters and standardized construction methods, providing solid support for the success of the one-time pouring in the actual project and accumulating valuable engineering practice experience for the industry.

The large-scale, engineered, super high-rise application of coal gangue ceramsite full-lightweight concrete at the Great River Center is a milestone breakthrough for Huainan Xindongchen Holdings Group Co., Ltd. in the field of green building materials. It marks that China has simultaneously achieved domestic and international leadership in three major areas: lightweight aggregate concrete preparation, high-value utilization of solid waste, and super high-rise structural lightweighting. The achievement not only verifies the broad application prospects of coal gangue ceramsite full-lightweight concrete in super high-rise projects but also provides a mature, reliable technical solution and practical model for the industry.

As an associated bulk solid waste in the coal mining and washing process, the large-scale and high-value utilization of coal gangue is a crucial direction for promoting the industry's green and low-carbon transition and solving solid waste disposal challenges. This technical breakthrough opens up a new path for the resource utilization of coal gangue, strongly driving the green and low-carbon transformation of the construction industry and fully aligning with the national carbon peaking and carbon neutrality goals and green building development direction.

It is reported that Huainan Xindongchen Holdings Group Co., Ltd. will continue to deeply cultivate the field of green building materials. Using technological innovation in coal gangue resource utilization as a starting point, it will promote the large-scale application of coal gangue high-strength ceramsite lightweight aggregates in scenarios such as super high-rises, prefabricated buildings, municipal engineering, and energy-saving buildings. By continuously expanding technical boundaries and application scenarios, the group will contribute new and greater strength to building "Good Housing" and promoting the high-quality development of the construction industry.