3.

2 Note on cement chemistry notation and mineral names

At the high temperatures present in a cement kiln, all of the constituents of the raw ingredients
are either driven off as a gas or converted to an oxide form. To make the formulas of cement
minerals, compounds, and reactions shorter and easier to read, it is traditional to use a shorthand
notation that leaves out the oxygen. This system is listed in Table 3.1.

Table 3.1: Cement chemistry notation based on oxides.

Oxide form Notation

CaO C
SiO2 S
Al2O3 A
Fe2O3 F
SO3
H2O H

Other abbreviations are also in use, such as MgO=M and Na2O = N, but only those listed above
in Table 3.1 will be used in this monograph. While this system has definite advantages, it does take
some getting used to, since, for example, C normally stands for carbon and H normally stands for
hydrogen.

Unfortunately the confusion does not end there, as we also have to deal with chemical and
mineral names for solid phases. The chemical name of a solid compound is simply the word version
of the chemical formula, for example “calcium hydroxide”. The mineral name (in this case
“portlandite”) is meant to represent either a particular crystal structure or a potentially impure form
of the phase. The various ways of describing some of the main solid phases associated with cement
chemistry are summarized in Table 3.2. In this monograph we will use primarily the chemical name
and the cement notation. In the case of the cement minerals, this is actually a bit inaccurate. Names
such as alite and belite indicate a particular crystal structure as well as the fact that these phases
contain a variety of impurities when found in cement.

Table 3.2: Summary of the different ways to represent some cement minerals and products.

Chemical Name Chemical Oxide Formula Cement Mineral

Formula Notation Name
Tricalcium Silicate Ca3SiO5 3CaO.SiO2 C3 S Alite
Dicalcium Silicate Ca2SiO4 2CaO.SiO2 C2 S Belite
Tricalcium Aluminate Ca3Al2O6 3CaO.Al2O3 C3A Aluminate
Tetracalcium Ca2AlFeO5 4CaO.Al2O3.Fe2O3 C4AF Ferrite
Aluminoferrite
Calcium hydroxide Ca(OH)2 CaO.H2O CH Portlandite
Calcium sulfate dihydrate CaSO4.2H2O CaO.SO3.2H2O C H2 Gypsum
Calcium oxide CaO CaO C Lime

3.3 Raw materials for cement manufacture

 The first step in the manufacture of portland cement is to combine a variety of raw ingredients so
that the resulting cement will have the desired chemical composition. These ingredients are ground
into small particles to make them more reactive, blended together, and then the resulting raw mix is
fed into a cement kiln which heats them to extremely high temperatures.

Since the final composition and properties of portland cement are specified within rather strict
bounds, it might be supposed that the requirements for the raw mix would be similarly strict. As it
turns out, this is not the case. While it is important to have the correct proportions of calcium,
silicon, aluminum, and iron, the overall chemical composition and structure of the individual raw
ingredients can vary considerably. The reason for this is that at the very high temperatures in the
kiln, many chemical components in the raw ingredients are burned off and replaced with oxygen
from the air. Table 3.3 lists just some of the many possible raw ingredients that can be used to
provide each of the main cement elements.

Table 3.3: Examples of raw materials for portland cement manufacture (adapted from ref. [1],
Table 2.1).

Calcium Silicon Aluminum Iron

Limestone Clay Clay Clay
Marl Marl Shale Iron ore
Calcite Sand Fly ash Mill scale
Aragonite Shale Aluminum ore refuse Shale
Shale Fly ash Blast furnace dust
Sea Shells Rice hull ash
Cement kiln dust Slag

The ingredients listed above include both naturally occurring materials such as limestone and
clay, and industrial byproduct materials such as slag and fly ash. From Table 3.3 it may seem as if
just about any material that contains one of the main cement elements can be tossed into the kiln, but
this is not quite true. Materials that contain more than minor (or in some cases trace) amounts of
metallic elements such as magnesium, sodium, potassium, strontium, and various heavy metals
cannot be used, as these will not burn off in the kiln and will negatively affect the cement. Another
consideration is the reactivity, which is a function of both the chemical structure and the fineness.
Clays are ideal because they are made of fine particles already and thus need little processing prior
to use, and are the most common source of silica and alumina. Calcium is most often obtained from
quarried rock, particularly limestone (calcium carbonate) which must be crushed and ground before
entering the kiln. The most readily abundant source of silica is quartz, but pure quartz is very
unreactive even at the maximum kiln temperature and cannot be used.

Grinding and blending prior to entering the kiln can be performed with the raw ingredients in the
form of a slurry (the wet process) or in dry form (the dry process). The addition of water facilitates
grinding. However, the water must then be removed by evaporation as the first step in the burning
process, which requires additional energy. The wet process, which was once standard, has now been
rendered obsolete by the development of efficient dry grinding equipment, and all modern cement
plants use the dry process. When it is ready to enter the kiln, the dry raw mix has 85% of the
particles less than 90 £gm in size [2].