Republic of the Philippines

OCCIDENTAL MINDORO STATE COLLEGE

Rizal Street, San Jose, Occidental Mindoro 5100
Website: www.omsc.edu.ph Email address: omsc_9747@yahoo.com
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COLLEGE OF ARCHITECTURE, ENGINEERING and

TECHNOLOGY
Main Campus

BACHELOR OF SCIENCE IN CIVIL ENGINEERING

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PROGRAM

CONSTRUCTION MATERIALS AND TESTING BSCE_2A

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SUBJECT AND SECTION

REACTION PAPER
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TITLE OF THE REPORT/ACTVITY/ASSIGNMENT

CABANTAC, JOHN PAUL S.

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NAME

FEBRUARY 3, 2021
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DATE Rating

ENGR. MICHELLE D. ENRIQUEZ

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GROUP NUMBER INSTRUCTOR
 I watched the video entitled How its made-248 Cement. The video discussed the process of
manufacturing cement. In the video, it emphasis that the most important materials in building of different
structures is cement. In many reasons, it is a very critical ingredient because only cement has the ability to
increase the viscosity of concrete, which in turn provides the ability to lock sand and gravel together in
concrete mixtures. But most of us may not know how cement is produced.

Watching the video will give you an overflowing ideas about the process of producing cements.
Here are several key steps that will help us understand the cement production process discussed in the
video. In cement production, limestone is the main raw material whose amount is the largest in all the raw
materials. They use some sort of technology to find and gathered the primary ingredients for the cement
production and called as quarrying. In the cement production process, each ton of portland cement
requires the grinding of at least 3 tons of materials which include all kinds of raw materials (fuel, clinker,
gypsum, mixture, etc.). After being mined, usually limestone is in large size and high hardness, it is
necessary to crush it into small pieces in order to produce cement. Through the Pre-homogenization
technology the raw material will be homogenized, so that the material field can have the function of storage
and homogenization. Then the material will proceed to Preheating Decomposition which includes material
dispersion, air-material separation, and precalcining technology. This improves the production efficiency of
kiln system and reduces the heat consumption of clinker combustion. After preheating and precalcining in
cyclone of the raw materials, the next step is to enter the the rotary kiln for clinker sintering. The rotary kiln
is a huge rotating furnace as the heart of cement making process. Here, raw materials are heated up to
1450℃. Final process is the cement grinding. But power consumption is the largest in the last process of
cement manufacturing.There is a horizontal filled with steel balls. Clinker reaches in this rotating drum after
cooling. Here, steel balls tumble and crush the clinker into a very fine powder. This fine powder is
considered as cement. During grinding gypsum is also added to the mix in small percentage that controls
the setting of cement. Is cement cosidered as a sustainable materials? In my opinion, I can’t say that the
cement is a sustainable materials. Because, Cement is the biggest ingredient in making concrete, but it
involves a certain percentage of greenhouse gas emissions. It adds up to contribute about 8% of the
world’s total carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions. The process emits CO2 in two different ways. First, it
requires heating a kiln to high temperatures, which uses energy. Second, in the process of mixing cement
into concrete, another transformation takes place, calcination. This is when limestone gets heated, turning it
into quicklime. The world’s population is growing. This means more buildings. Cement production continues
to rise each year, which entails only more CO2 emissions. Cement production requires a large amount of
energy use. But the smaller ingredients, like sand and stone, come from mining natural resources and
habitats. It also causes a high demand for fresh water, making up about 20% of the world’s industrial water
consumption. These reasons show why finding alternatives to concrete must help lessen some, or all, of
these consequences.
 There are some strategies to makes cement a low impact materials. Researchers and architects
understand the need for a viable concrete replacement. Here are some potential solutions they’ve found.
First, the Coal Waste, the process of burning coal dust produces a waste called fly ash. This waste product
often ends up in landfills, where it can impact the local environment. In 2018, researchers at the
Washington State University discovered a way to incorporate fly ash into concrete through molecular
engineering. By reusing the waste, this new process would not involve the heating or cement requirements.
While strategies like this are still under development, as long as coal waste is around, using it is a greener
concrete construction process with plenty of potential. It’s easy to imagine how much less CO2 this process
would emit. Second, is the Fiber Cement. Fiber cement uses water, minerals and air, plus fire to heat the
mixture in a filtration process. Fiber cement is a durable option that reduces the need for replacement parts
and materials over a span of decades.In its implementation, fiber cement offers a sustainable option that
has already become common. For example, it can be seen in the construction of high-profile structures like
the Tiroler Festival Hall in Erl, Austria. The design creates a striking aesthetic without using materials that
produce harmful gas emissions.

There are even more ideas on the horizon that haven’t come to fruition yet. Something like
capturing CO2 during production is a promising idea similar to carbon capture during coal-fired electricity
generation. But researchers know the potential of these ideas. The next steps are to get clients and
contractors to use the newer, greener options. You can find sustainable options for just about everything.

REFERENCE:

https://biofriendlyplanet.com/green-alternatives/green-innovations-transforming-concrete-and-cement/