1
Short Notes of Cement Chemistry
NARENDRA KUMAR KANCHKAR
Quality Controller(Cement)
[email protected]
Cement History:
Joseph Aspdin took out a patent in 1824 for "Portland Cement," a material he produced
by firing finely-ground clay and limestone until the limestone was calcined. He called it Portland
Cement because the concrete made from it looked lik e Portland stone, a widely-used building
stone in England.
In 1845, Isaac Johnson made the first modern Portla nd Cement by firing a mixture of
chalk and clay at much higher temperatures, similar to those used today. At these temperatures
(1400C-1500C), clinkering occurs and minerals form which are very reactive and more strongly
cementitious.
-Development of rotary kilns
- Addition of gypsum to control setting
- Use of ball mills to grind clinker and raw materials
Rotary kilns gradually replaced the original vertical shaft kilns used for making lime from
the 1890s. Rotary kilns heat the clinker mainly by radiative heat transfer and this is more
efficient at higher temperatures, enabling higher burning temperatures to be achieved. Also,
because the clinker is constantly moving within the kiln, a fairly uniform clinkering temperature
is achieved in the hottest part of the kiln, the burning zone.
The two other principal technical developments, gypsum addition to control setting and
the use of ball mills to grind the clinker, were also introduced at around the end of the 19th
century.
In india first cement plant installation at Porbandar (Gujrat) in 1914
Cement Definition:
Cement is a binder, a substance that sets and hardens ind ependently, and can bind
other materials together such as sand, bricks (civil material).
Cement is defined as a hydraulic binder which when mixed with water forms a paste
which sets and hardens by mass of hydration reaction and processes and which after hardening,
retains its strength and hardening even under water,
Cement used in construction is characterized as hydraulic or non-hydraulic. Hydraulic
cements (Portland cement) harden because of hydrati on chemical reactions that occur
independently of the mixture's water content; they can harden even underwater or when
constantly exposed to wet weather. The chemical rea ction that results when the anhydrous
cement powder is mixed with water produces hydrates that are not water-soluble.
Material made by heating a mixture of limestone and clay in a kiln at about 1450 C, then
grinding to a fine powder with a small addition of gypsum.
Combination of C3A, C3S, C2S, C4AF and mix gypsum in few quantity is called cement.