MC-Bauchemie Centrament OC
A chloride-free accelerator-cum-plasticizer built for concrete that has to set fast and strip early without putting rebar at corrosion risk.
What is it?
A chloride-free accelerating admixture with a built-in plasticizing action, sold in India as the renamed successor to MC-Bauchemie’s MC-Schnell OC.
Where is it used?
Precast yards, RMC plants supplying winter pours across Delhi NCR, and reinforced or prestressed site-cast work in cold-climate and hill-station projects.
Why use it?
It speeds cement hydration and depresses the freezing point of fresh concrete without adding chloride, so early strength arrives faster near 0°C without the corrosion risk older accelerators carry.
How is it applied?
Dosed at 1-3% by weight of cement, added during mixing via a dispenser or blended into the gauging water, with the rate fixed only after a site trial.
About MC-Bauchemie Centrament OC
Centrament OC sits in MC-Bauchemie’s Centrament family as a chloride-free accelerator with an inherent plasticizing action — sold in India as MC-Schnell OC before the group folded it into its global Centrament naming. It does two things at once: speeds up early cement hydration, and reacts with soluble salts already in the mix water to depress the freezing point of fresh concrete. That’s why it exists — it lets a crew keep pouring reinforced or prestressed concrete near zero degrees, down to a stated minimum of -10°C, without reaching for calcium chloride and the corrosion exposure that comes with it.
In practice it’s a precast-yard and winter-RMC product first, a general accelerator second. Precast plants use it to pull forward demoulding cycles and free up shutters faster. Ready-mix suppliers delivering into Delhi NCR, the Punjab plains, or hill-station sites in Himachal and Uttarakhand through December-February lean on it to keep setting behaviour predictable as temperatures swing low. Being chloride-free, it can go into reinforced sections without the durability debate a calcium-chloride accelerator invites, and MC-Bauchemie documents compatibility with its own plasticizers, retarders, waterproofing admixtures and air-entraining agents — useful when a mix already carries another Centrament product and just needs acceleration layered on top. Space Arc stocks it within its wider MC-Bauchemie range for pan-India projects.
The technical insight
MC-Bauchemie’s data sheet describes a simple mechanism: Centrament OC reacts with soluble salts already present in wet cement paste, lowering the freezing point of fresh concrete while accelerating its set; plasticizing behaviour rides along as a secondary benefit, permitting modest water reduction. It ships as liquid or powder — plants with a dosing pump use the liquid, sites without dispensing infrastructure batch the powder by weight. Neither carries chloride, so the corrosion conversation around older cold-weather accelerators doesn’t apply here.
Where it is used
- Precast units where faster demoulding shortens the production cycle
- Ready-mix concrete delivered during winter, when placing windows shrink
- Reinforced/prestressed concrete in cold-climate and hill-station sites (Himachal, Uttarakhand, J&K)
- Early-morning winter pours across Delhi NCR and North India
- Masonry and plastering mortars needing a faster set in cold weather
- General RCC works needing quicker strength gain for faster formwork turnaround
- Mixes already on another MC-Bauchemie admixture, layered in purely for acceleration
Key advantages
- Chloride-free — usable in reinforced/prestressed steel without corrosion exposure
- Accelerates hydration for earlier strength gain and faster shutter turnaround
- Depresses freezing point of fresh concrete, extending the placeable window to -10°C
- Inherent plasticizing effect alongside acceleration, permitting some water reduction
- Helps suppress concrete’s tendency to exhibit efflorescence
- Documented compatibility with MC-Bauchemie plasticizers, retarders, waterproofing admixtures, AEAs
- Works with normal Portland cements, no specialised handling
- Supplied as liquid or powder, fitting sites with or without a dosing pump
Limitations & considerations
- Dosage (1-3% of cement weight) isn’t fixed — cement, aggregate and site temperature all move the number, so trial batching is necessary
- An accelerator, not a high-range water reducer — long-haul RMC workability retention still needs a dedicated superplasticizer
- Shortened setting time tightens placing and finishing windows, needing closer batching and crew planning
- Standard cold-weather practice — frost protection, minimal gauging water, no frozen aggregate — still has to be followed
- The India data sheet on file is dated January 2013, so confirm the current revision and batch COA with Space Arc before a large pour
Selection & best practice
Run a trial batch with the actual site cement, aggregate and ambient temperature before fixing a dosage — the working range moves with all three variables. Dose during mixing through a calibrated dispenser, or pre-blend into the gauging water, kept to the minimum needed for workability. Never place on frozen ground or use frozen aggregate, and shelter fresh concrete afterward so it retains its own heat of hydration through the critical early hours. If combining with another MC-Bauchemie admixture, trial the combination rather than assuming compatibility, and keep unopened packs away from rain, sun, heat and frost — shelf life is 12 months from manufacture.
Specifications
| Product type | Chloride-free accelerating and plasticizing admixture (concrete accelerator) |
| Form | Liquid or powder |
| Colour | Yellowish to brown |
| Dosage | 1.0-3.0% by weight of cement (site-trial dependent) |
| Minimum application temperature | -10°C |
| Chloride content | Nil (chloride-free) |
| Shelf life | 12 months from date of manufacture, unopened |
| Packaging | Liquid: 250 kg drums, 30 kg pails; Powder: 30 kg sacks |
| Compatibility | MC plasticizers, MC retarders, MC waterproofing admixtures, air-entraining agents |
Industry use cases
Precast concrete plants
Haryana/NCR precast yards use it to shorten demoulding cycles through winter, freeing shutters sooner.
Ready-mix concrete
RMC plants supplying Delhi NCR through December-February batch it in to hold setting times steady in cold mix-water.
Hill-station construction
Himachal and Uttarakhand projects use it to keep RCC pours viable toward the product’s -10°C floor.
Early-morning winter pours
Contractors pouring columns and slabs in winter’s coldest hours use it to bring forward initial set without calcium chloride.
Masonry and plastering mortars
Winter brickwork and plastering mortars take a lighter dose to set faster in cold conditions.
Frequently asked questions
Is Centrament OC the same as MC-Schnell OC?
Does it contain chloride, and is it safe for reinforced concrete?
What dosage should I use?
Can it be combined with a superplasticizer or waterproofing admixture?
What pack sizes does Space Arc supply?
How long can it be stored, and under what conditions?
How we position MC-Bauchemie Centrament OC
Within MC-Bauchemie’s own range, Centrament OC occupies the accelerator slot, alongside Centrament N-series plasticizers and Centrament Rapid-series accelerators — choosing between them is chemistry and dosage, not brand. The closest genuine market equivalent is Fosroc’s Conplast NC, also a chloride-free accelerator for reinforced concrete; a specifier standardised on Fosroc might pick Conplast NC for one accelerator brand and one service contact on site, while a project already on MC-Bauchemie admixtures would stay with Centrament OC for validated compatibility.
Fosroc Conplast NC — A specifier already standardised on Fosroc’s admixture range for a project might choose Conplast NC to keep one accelerator brand and one technical-service contact across the site, since it offers comparable chloride-free acceleration for reinforced concrete.
Related Concrete Admixtures products
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