Duconmix ES PCE 860

Early Setting Admixture in Bangladesh

Manufactured by Ducon Construction Chemicals Industries Ltd at our Gazipur production facility, Duconmix ES PCE 860 is a chloride-free, high-range water-reducing early-strength superplasticizer built on modified polycarboxylate ether technology. It is formulated for precast yards, ready-mix plants and structural contractors who need concrete that flows freely at a low water-cement ratio and reaches handling strength early enough to keep a formwork cycle moving. As a quick setting concrete admixture, it cuts mixing water by up to 30% while accelerating early strength development, and it is manufactured to ASTM C494 Type A and Type F, EN 934-2 and IS 9103.

Pack Size:

5 kg, 10 kg, 20 kg and 250 kg

Consumption:

0.3% to 1.5% by weight of cement

Request a Quote
Download TDS
Duconmix ES PCE 860-Early Setting Admixture in Bangladesh
Ducon Tile Adhesive
sqr012-col2

What is Duconmix ES PCE 860?

On most Bangladeshi sites the schedule is not lost during the pour. It is lost in the day and a half afterwards, while the crew waits for the concrete to gain enough strength to strike the formwork and move the shutters up to the next lift. A precast yard measures the same problem in beds per week. A basement raft measures it in the cost of a crane that is standing idle. In each case the constraint is identical: the mix has been designed for its 28-day cube result, and nobody has designed for how it behaves in the first eighteen hours.

Duconmix ES PCE 860 is our answer to that constraint. It is a modified polycarboxylate ether admixture that disperses cement particles far more efficiently than older naphthalene or melamine chemistry, which does two things at once. It lets you take up to 30% of the water out of the mix at the same workability, and because the water-cement ratio drops, strength arrives earlier in the hydration curve rather than being back-loaded to day 28. That is the mechanism behind an early strength concrete admixture: nothing is added to the concrete that creates strength chemically, the water is simply taken out so that the cement you have already paid for works harder and works sooner.

Concrete Admixture Duconmix ES PCE
sqr012-col2
Ducon Tile Adhesive

Application Process

1. Dosing:

Dispense Duconmix ES PCE 860 at 0.3% to 1.5% by weight of cement. The working figure inside that band depends on your cement source, aggregate grading, ambient temperature and how much water reduction the mix design is asking for, so establish it by laboratory or site trial mix before committing to full-scale production.

2. Timing:

Add the admixture together with the mixing water. For the strongest plasticising effect, introduce it after approximately 50% to 70% of the mixing water is already in the batch. Never dose it onto dry cement or dry aggregate: doing so wastes product, disperses it unevenly, and produces inconsistent slump from batch to batch.

3. Mixing:

Continue mixing for a minimum of 60 seconds after the admixture goes in, so the polymer is uniformly distributed through the batch. Check slump or flow after mixing and compare it against your approved trial mix before the load is released. No pre-dilution or on-site blending is required at any stage.

4. Water-cement ratio:

Where high early strength is the objective, keep the water-cement ratio low and let the reduced water do the work; up to 30% water reduction is achievable, and that reduction is the mechanism by which a fast curing concrete admixture produces concrete stronger at early ages than an untreated mix of the same workability.

5. Placing and curing:

Place, compact and finish in accordance with good concreting practice. Curing is not optional with this product, it is the condition on which its performance depends. The low water content that gives the concrete its early strength also makes it more vulnerable to early moisture loss, so cure thoroughly and begin immediately after finishing, particularly in hot, dry or windy conditions.

6. Site Precautions:

Duconmix ES PCE 860 should only be added by trained and qualified personnel. It is compatible with Portland cement and with supplementary cementitious materials including fly ash, GGBS, silica fume and metakaolin, but it must not be combined with melamine-based or naphthalene-based admixtures in the same mix. Wear suitable PPE, avoid contact with eyes and skin, and do not ingest.

Properties: Early Setting Poly Carboxylic Ether Concrete Admixture

Concrete Admixture Duconmix ES PCE
Ducon Tile Adhesive
sqr012-col2

Key Features:

  • Ready-to-use liquid admixture; no pre-dilution or site blending required
  • Modified polycarboxylate ether (PCE) chemistry for high dispersion efficiency
  • High-range water reduction of up to 30% at equal workability
  • Early strength development, supporting faster demoulding and shorter formwork cycles
  • Excellent workability and flow retention at a low water-cement ratio
  • Reduces segregation and bleeding in high-flow and self-compacting mixes
  • Improves off-form surface finish and reduces blowholes on architectural faces
  • Faster curing cycle, allowing quicker bed turnaround in precast production
  • Chloride-free formulation; no contribution to reinforcement corrosion
  • pH of 6 or above; compatible with PPC and supplementary cementitious materials
  • Complies with ASTM C494 Type A and Type F, EN 934-2 and IS 9103
  • 12-month shelf life in unopened original packaging

Benefits: Duconmix ES PCE 860

At the batching plant: up to 30% water reduction means the target strength grade can be reached with less cement per cubic metre, and cement is consistently the most expensive ingredient in any mix design. For a precast yard the arithmetic is even more direct, because a faster strength gain means more bed turnarounds per week from the same moulds and the same floor area. Procurement teams comparing the early setting admixture price in Bangladesh across suppliers usually find that cost per cubic metre placed, not cost per kilogram of admixture, is the number that decides the tender.

During placement: rheoplastic, free-flowing concrete moves through congested reinforcement cages and complicated formwork profiles without segregating or honeycombing. Reduced bleeding keeps the mix cohesive during compaction, and the improved surface finish means fewer patching hours on off-form faces. On self-compacting mixes the flow is achieved without the water content that would otherwise compromise the cube result.

Over the structure’s service life: a lower water-cement ratio produces a denser, less permeable matrix, which is what actually governs durability. Reduced permeability restricts chloride ingress and sulphate attack, and the chloride-free formulation means the admixture itself introduces no corrosion risk to embedded steel. For marine decks, water-retaining structures and bridge elements, that difference determines whether intervention is needed at year fifteen or year forty.

Duconmix ES PCE 860
Ducon Tile Adhesive
sqr012-col2
Water-reducing Concrete admixture
Ducon Tile Adhesive
sqr012-col2

Duconmix ES PCE 860 : Usages Area

  • Precast concrete production, where mould turnaround depends on early-age strength
  • Self-compacting concrete (SCC) requiring high flow without segregation or bleeding
  • Ready-mix concrete supplied to fast-track structural programmes
  • High-performance and high-strength concrete at low water-cement ratio
  • Prestressed and post-tensioned elements, including girders and hollow-core slabs
  • Sections with congested reinforcement, couplers and tight cover zones
  • Cold weather concreting, where a concrete admixture for winter casting supports strength gain at lower ambient temperature
  • Transfer slabs, pile caps and raft foundations where the formwork cycle governs the programme
  • High-rise columns, shear walls and cores placed by pump at height

Applications & Use Cases

01

Precast Concrete Yards

The clearest commercial case for this product. Specified as an early strength gain concrete additive, it shortens the interval between casting and demoulding, so a yard gets more beds per week from the same moulds without adding floor space or labour.

02

Ready-Mix Concrete for Fast-Track Structures

Where a structural programme is driven by floor cycle time rather than by concrete volume, a fast-setting concrete admixture changes the critical path. Reaching striking strength earlier lets the shutters move up sooner.

03

Self-Compacting Concrete (SCC)

SCC needs flow without water, which is exactly the trade-off PCE chemistry exists to resolve. Duconmix ES PCE 860 produces the required filling ability while reducing segregation and bleeding, so the mix stays homogeneous from the discharge point to the far corner of the formwork.

04

Prestressed & Post-Tensioned Elements

Transfer of prestress cannot happen until the concrete reaches a specified strength, so early strength gain directly controls the production cycle for girders, hollow-core slabs and beams.

05

Congested Reinforcement & Complicated Formwork

Dense rebar cages, couplers and tight cover zones are where poor workability turns into honeycombing and voids behind the face. Rheoplastic flow carries the concrete through the cage and into intricate profiles without excessive vibration, giving clean arrises and a sound cover layer.

06

Cold Weather & Winter Concreting

Used as a concrete accelerator admixture Bangladesh contractors can specify for the December to February window, it supports early strength gain when the weather is working against the pour.

07

High-Rise Columns, Shear Walls & Cores

Pumped placement at height demands a cohesive, segregation-resistant mix, and the vertical element cycle usually governs the floor programme on a tall building. Early strength allows column and core shutters to be struck and lifted sooner, which is where most of the schedule saving on a high-rise actually comes from.

08

Transfer Slabs, Raft Foundations & Pile Caps

Deep structural elements placed at low water-cement ratio benefit twice: reduced shrinkage and creep in the hardened section, and earlier access for the trades that follow. On a basement raft, earlier striking releases the crane and the working area sooner, which is often worth more than the material saving.

09

Industrial, Commercial & Residential Structures

The same product serves a factory floor slab that has to carry plant traffic by the end of the week, a commercial podium deck on a fixed handover date, and a residential roof slab where the owner wants the shutters down before the next stage of work begins. In each sector the problem is the same one, measured in different units.

Quality Assurance & Compliance

ISO 9001:2015

Quality Certified

TDS & MSDS

Available on request

Laboratory Tested

Quality Verified Products

Bulk & Export

Factory-direct dispatch

Frequently Asked Questions

Slow setting is usually caused by cold weather, high water content, or slow-hydrating cement. An early setting (accelerating) admixture like Duconmix ES PCE 860 speeds up cement hydration so concrete sets and gains strength faster, without extra water.

A PCE-based early setting admixture is added directly to the concrete mix (around 250 ml per 50 kg cement bag for Duconmix ES PCE 860). It reduces both initial and final setting time while improving early strength.

Yes, as long as it is chloride-free. Duconmix ES PCE 860 uses a chloride-free PCE formula, so it will not corrode reinforcement steel, unlike older calcium-chloride-based accelerators.

The standard dosage for Duconmix ES PCE 860 is 250 ml per 50 kg cement bag, supplied in 200 kg packs. Exact dosage can be fine-tuned on site depending on temperature and required setting speed.

Yes. Duconmix ES PCE 860 is temperature-resistant and formulated to perform in both hot and cold weather conditions, which is useful across Bangladesh’s varying seasons, including monsoon and winter casting.

No. Duconmix ES PCE 860 is engineered to speed up setting while meeting international standards for early strength gain, so faster setting does not come at the cost of long-term strength or durability.

Because the admixture accelerates early strength development, formwork and shuttering can typically be removed sooner than with ordinary concrete, helping fast-track projects move to the next stage faster.

Pricing depends on pack size and order quantity. Duconmix ES PCE 860 is supplied in 200 kg packs; contact Ducon Construction Chemicals directly or check the Products Price page for current rates.

Yes, Duconmix ES PCE 860 is compatible with OPC, PPC, and other blended cements commonly used in Bangladesh, so it can be used across most ready-mix and site-mix concrete work.

A standard superplasticizer mainly improves workability and reduces water content. An early setting admixture does that too, but is additionally formulated to speed up setting time and early strength gain, making it better suited to fast-track construction.