CEMENT

INTRODUCTION
Definition: Definition: Cement is a crystalline compound of calcium silicates and other calcium compounds having hydraulic properties (Macfadyen, 2006). 2006)

Cement


In the most general sense of the word, a cement is a binder, a substance which sets and hardens independently, and can bind other materials together.

History
Lime and clay have been used as cementing material on constructions through many centuries. Romans are commonly given the credit for the development of hydraulic cement, the most significant incorporation of the Romans was the use of pozzolan-lime cement by mixing volcanic ash from the Mt. Vesuvius with lime. Best know surviving example is the Pantheon in Rome

In 1824 Joseph Aspin from England invented the Portland cement

Types of Cement

Cements are considered hydraulic because of their ability to set and harden under or with excess water through the hydration of the cements chemical compounds or minerals There are two types: Those that activate with the addition of water And pozzolanic that develop hydraulic properties when the interact with hydrated lime Ca(OH)2
Pozzolanic: any siliceous material that develops hydraulic cementitious properties when interacted with hydrated lime.

HYDRAULIC CEMENTS: Hydraulic lime: Only used in specialized mortars. Made from calcination of clayrich limestones. Natural cements: Misleadingly called Roman. It is made from argillaceous limestones or interbedded limestone and clay or shale, with few raw materials. Because they were found to be inferior to portland, most plants switched.

Portland cement: Artificial cement. Made by the mixing clinker with gypsum in a 95:5 ratio. Portland-limestone cements: Large amounts (6% to 35%) of ground limestone have been added as a filler to a portland cement base. Blended cements: Mix of portland cement with one or more SCM (supplementary cemetitious materials) like pozzolanic additives. Pozzolan-lime cements: Original Roman cements. Only a small quantity is manufactured in the U.S. Mix of pozzolans with lime. Masonry cements: Portland cement where other materials have been added primarily to impart plasticity. Aluminous cements: Limestones and bauxite are the main raw materials. Used for refractory applications (such as cementing furnace bricks) and certain applications where rapid hardening is required. It is more expensive than portland. There is only one producing facility in the U.S.

Composition of Cements
The essential raw ingredients of Portland cement are limestone, 75 to 77%, and alumina (A12O3) and silica (SiO2) 20 to 25%. The alumina and silica are commonly found combined as * clay, which is a silicate of aluminum. All cements contain other ingredients due to the essential materials not being pure in nature and from contact with fuel in calcination. Some of these accidental ingredients may improve the cement, others are inert and harmless except that they exist in such quantity as to displace essential ingredients, and others are positively harmful, if present in quantity, because of the chemical action they produce. There are accidental ingredients usually amounting to about 5%, but these must not include over 1.75% anhydrous sulphuric acid (So3), nor over 3% of magnesia (MgO). Excess of clay causes a cement to "set" quickly, while excess of lime causes it to "set" slowly or imperfectly. Iron oxide gives cement its color.

Composition of Cements
Ingredient Range Lime 62 to 67 Silica 17 to 25 Alumina 3 to 8 Calcium sulphate 3 to 4 Iron Oxide 3 to 4 Magnesia 0.1 to 3 Sulpher 1 to 3 Alkalies 0.2 to 1 (CaO) (SiO2) (Al2O3) (CaSO4) (Fe22O3) (MgO) (S) Percent 62 22 5 4 3 2 1 1 -----------100

Total

SOURCES OF CaCO3

Sedimentary deposits of marine origin (limestone) Marble (metamorphosed limestone) Chalk Marl Coral Aragonite Oyster and clam shells Travertine Tuff LIMESTONES Originate from the biological deposition of shells and skeletons of plants and animals. Massive beds accumulated over millions of years. In the cement industry limestone includes calcium carbonate and magnesium carbonate. Most industrial quality limestone is of biological origin.

SOURCES OF ARGILLACEOUS MINERALS

Argillaceous mineral resources: Clay and shale for alumina and silica Iron ore for iron

Other natural sources of silica are and alumina are: Loess, silt, sandstone, volcanic ash, diaspore, diatomite, bauxite

Shales, mudstones, and sandstones are typically interbedded with the limestone and were deposited as the inland waters and oceans covered the land masses. Clays are typically younger surface deposits

MARKETING
Wide distribution of plants minimizes the cost to customers. In any market even though cement must meet certain specifications there are other factors that dominate, such as: Delivered cost Quality Product consistency Technical assistance and Sales relationship with the user companies

Factors that drive the consumption of cement in the marketplace Economic growth Private and governmental capital investment Population growth

MINING METHODS
Limestone deposits are mainly extracted by bench mining in which holes are charged with ammonium nitrate and fuel oil explosive and blasted The rock is excavated with front end loaders (10 m3 capacity) and loaded into 70 to 90 tons haul trucks and then transported to the primary crusher Marl and chalk normally do not require blasting. A trend is to use in pit moveable primary crushers and belt conveyors to transport the rock to a fixed secondary crusher, thereby reducing the number of trucks and haulage distance Underground mining of limestones is not typical, in the U.S one plant obtains its limestone from underground operation, using room and pillar mining method. Clay and shale normally extracted using front end loaders and loaded into haul trucks. When they occur as overburden the clays and shales not used are stored and often reused for reclamation in the mined out areas of the quarry

PROCESSING

USES
Uses Main use is in the fabrication of concrete and mortars Modern uses Building (floors, beams, columns, roofing, piles, bricks, mortar, panels, plaster) Transport (roads, pathways, crossings, bridges, viaducts, tunnels, parking, etc.) Water (pipes, drains, canals, dams, tanks, pools, etc.) Civil (piers, docks, retaining walls, silos, warehousing, poles, pylons, fencing) Agriculture (buildings, processing, housing, irrigation)

SUBSTITUTES
It competes in the construction industry with concrete substitutes: Alumina Asphalt Clay brick Fiberglass Glass Steel Stone Wood

Some materials like fly ash and ground granulated furnace slugs have good hydraulic properties and are being used as partial substitutes for portland cement in some concrete applications

PRODUCTION

Data in thousand metric tons

World production of hydraulic cement by region

U.S production and consumption of portland cement

RESOURCES

Although individual company reserves are subject to exhaustion, cement raw materials (especially limestone) are widespread and abundant, and overall shortages are unlikely in the future

REFERENCES
Hoffman, G., 2006: Pozzolans and supplementary cementitious materials. Pages 11611172 in Industrial Minerals and Rocks 7th edition. Edited by J.E. Kogel, N.C., Trivedi, J.M. Barker & S.T. Krudowski. Littleton, Colorado: SME Macfadyen, J.D., 2006: Cement and cement raw materials. Pages 1121-1136 in Industrial Minerals and Rocks 7th edition. Edited by J.E. Kogel, N.C., Trivedi, J.M. Barker & S.T. Krudowski. Littleton, Colorado: SME http://www.holcim.com/NZ/EN/id/71772/mod/gnm20/page/editorial.htm ?Consulted April 2007A http://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2005/1152/2005-1152.pdf ?Consulted April 2007A http://www.artchive.com/artchive/r/roman/roman_pantheon.jpg 2007A ?Consulted April

http://www.recycleworks.org/images/flyash_concrete.gif ?Consulted April 2007A http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Limestoneshale7342.jpg ?Consulted April 2007A http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:ShaleUSGOV.jpg ?Consulted April 2007A http://www.heta4.com/imagesandgraphics/images/frontendloader.gif ?Consulted April 2007A http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mortar_%28masonry%29 ?Consulted April 2007A http://www.wpclipart.com/working/construction/concrete_block.png ?Consulted April 2007A http://irandaily.ir/1383/2116/html/005991.jpg ?Consulted April 2007A http://minerals.usgs.gov/minerals/pubs/commodity/cement/cemenmcs06.pdf ?Consulted April 2007A\ http://minerals.usgs.gov/minerals/pubs/commodity/cement/cemenmcs07.pdf ?Consulted April 2007A