Cement

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For other uses, see Cement (disambiguation).
Not to be confused with Concrete or mortar (masonry).

Cement powder, here conditioned in bag, is mixed with fine and coarse aggregates and water.

A cement is a binder, a substance used for construction that sets, hardens, and adheres to
other materials to bind them together. Cement is seldom used on its own, but rather to bind sand
and gravel (aggregate) together. Cement mixed with fine aggregate produces mortar for masonry, or
with sand and gravel, produces concrete. Cement is the most widely used material in existence and
is only behind water as the planet's most-consumed resource.[1]
Cements used in construction are usually inorganic, often lime or calcium silicate based, and can be
characterized as either hydraulic or non-hydraulic, depending on the ability of the cement to set in
the presence of water (see hydraulic and non-hydraulic lime plaster).
Non-hydraulic cement does not set in wet conditions or under water. Rather, it sets as it dries and
reacts with carbon dioxide in the air. It is resistant to attack by chemicals after setting.
Hydraulic cements (e.g., Portland cement) set and become adhesive due to a chemical
reaction between the dry ingredients and water. The chemical reaction results in
mineral hydrates that are not very water-soluble and so are quite durable in water and safe from
chemical attack. This allows setting in wet conditions or under water and further protects the
hardened material from chemical attack. The chemical process for hydraulic cement found by
ancient Romans used volcanic ash (pozzolana) with added lime (calcium oxide).
The word "cement" can be traced back to the Roman term opus caementicium, used to
describe masonry resembling modern concrete that was made from crushed rock with burnt lime as
binder. The volcanic ash and pulverized brick supplements that were added to the burnt lime, to
obtain a hydraulic binder, were later referred to as cementum, cimentum, cäment, and cement. In
modern times, organic polymers are sometimes used as cements in concrete.
 Contents

 1Chemistry
o 1.1Non-hydraulic cement
o 1.2Hydraulic cement
 2History
o 2.1Alternatives to cement used in antiquity
o 2.2Macedonians and Romans
o 2.3Middle Ages
o 2.416th century
o 2.518th century
o 2.619th century
o 2.720th century
 3Modern cements
o 3.1Portland cement
o 3.2Portland cement blends
o 3.3Other cements
 4Setting, hardening and curing
 5Safety issues
 6Cement industry in the world
o 6.1China
 7Environmental impacts
o 7.1CO2 emissions
o 7.2Heavy metal emissions in the air
o 7.3Heavy metals present in the clinker
o 7.4Use of alternative fuels and by-products materials
 8Green cement
 9See also
 10References
 11Further reading
 12External links

Chemistry[edit]
Cement materials can be classified into two distinct categories: non-hydraulic cements and hydraulic
cements according to their respective setting and hardening mechanisms. Hydraulic cements setting
and hardening involve hydration reactions and therefore require water, while non-hydraulic cements
only react with a gas and can directly set under air.
Non-hydraulic cement[edit]
Calcium oxide obtained by thermal decomposition of calcium carbonate at high temperature (above 825 °C).

Non-hydraulic cement, such as slaked lime (calcium oxide mixed with water), hardens
by carbonation in contact with carbon dioxide, which is present in the air (~ 412 vol. ppm ≃ 0.04
vol. %). First calcium oxide (lime) is produced from calcium carbonate (limestone or chalk)
by calcination at temperatures above 825 °C (1,517 °F) for about 10 hours at atmospheric pressure:
CaCO3 → CaO + CO2
The calcium oxide is then spent (slaked) mixing it with water to make slaked lime (calcium
hydroxide):
CaO + H2O → Ca(OH)2
Once the excess water is completely evaporated (this process is technically called setting),
the carbonation starts:
Ca(OH)2 + CO2 → CaCO3 + H2O
This reaction takes time, because the partial pressure of carbon dioxide in the air is low
(~ 0.4 millibar). The carbonation reaction requires that the dry cement be exposed to air,
so the slaked lime is a non-hydraulic cement and cannot be used under water. This
process is called the lime cycle.
Hydraulic cement[edit]

Clinker nodules produced by sintering at 1450 °C.

Conversely, hydraulic cement hardens by hydration of the clinker minerals when water
is added. Hydraulic cements (such as Portland cement) are made of a mixture of
silicates and oxides, the four main mineral phases of the clinker, abbreviated in
the cement chemist notation, being:
C3S: Alite (3CaO·SiO2);
C2S: Belite (2CaO·SiO2);
C3A: Tricalcium aluminate (3CaO·Al2O3) (historically, and still occasionally, called 'celite');
C4AF: Brownmillerite (4CaO·Al2O3·Fe2O3).
The silicates are responsible for the cement's mechanical properties —
the tricalcium aluminate and brownmillerite are essential for the
formation of the liquid phase during the sintering (firing) process of
clinker at high temperature in the kiln. The chemistry of these reactions
is not completely clear and is still the object of research.[2]

History[edit]
Perhaps the earliest known occurrence of cement is from twelve million
years ago. A deposit of cement was formed after an occurrence of oil
shale located adjacent to a bed of limestone burned due to natural
causes. These ancient deposits were investigated in the 1960s and
1970s.[3]
Alternatives to cement used in antiquity[edit]
Cement, chemically speaking, is a product that includes lime as the
primary curing ingredient, but is far from the first material used for
cementation. The Babylonians and Assyrians used bitumen to bind
together burnt brick or alabaster slabs. In Egypt stone blocks were
cemented together with a mortar made of sand and roughly
burnt gypsum (CaSO4 · 2H2O), which often contained calcium
carbonate (CaCO3).[4]
Macedonians and Romans[edit]
Lime (calcium oxide) was used on Crete and by the ancient Greeks.
There is evidence that the Minoans of Crete used crushed potshards as
an artificial pozzolan for hydraulic cement.[4] Nobody knows who first
discovered that a combination of hydrated non-hydraulic lime and
a pozzolan produces a hydraulic mixture (see also: Pozzolanic
reaction), but such concrete was used by the Ancient
Macedonians,[5][6] and three centuries later on a large scale by Roman
engineers.[7][8][9]
There is... a kind of powder which from natural causes produces
astonishing results. It is found in the neighborhood of Baiae and in the
country belonging to the towns round about Mt. Vesuvius. This
substance when mixed with lime and rubble not only lends strength to
buildings of other kinds, but even when piers of it are constructed in the
sea, they set hard under water.

— Marcus Vitruvius Pollio, Liber II, De Architectura, Chapter VI

"Pozzolana" Sec. 1

The Greeks used volcanic tuff from the island of Thera as their
pozzolan and the Romans used crushed volcanic ash
(activated aluminium silicates) with lime. This mixture could set under
water, increasing its resistance.[clarification needed] The material was
called pozzolana from the town of Pozzuoli, west of Naples where
volcanic ash was extracted.[10] In the absence of pozzolanic ash, the
Romans used powdered brick or pottery as a substitute and they may
have used crushed tiles for this purpose before discovering natural
sources near Rome.[4] The huge dome of the Pantheon in Rome and
the massive Baths of Caracalla are examples of ancient structures
made from these concretes, many of which still stand.[11][1] The vast
system of Roman aqueducts also made extensive use of hydraulic
cement.[12] Roman concrete was rarely used on the outside of buildings.
The normal technique was to use brick facing material as the formwork
for an infill of mortar mixed with an aggregate of broken pieces of stone,
brick, potsherds, recycled chunks of concrete, or other building
rubble.[13]
Middle Ages[edit]
Any preservation of this knowledge in literature from the Middle Ages is
unknown, but medieval masons and some military engineers actively
used hydraulic cement in structures such
as canals, fortresses, harbors, and shipbuilding facilities.[14][15] A mixture
of lime mortar and aggregate with brick or stone facing material was
used in the Eastern Roman Empire as well as in the West into
the Gothic period. The German Rhineland continued to use hydraulic
mortar throughout the Middle Ages, having local pozzolana deposits
called trass.[13]
16th century[edit]
Tabby is a building material made from oyster-shell lime, sand, and
whole oyster shells to form a concrete. The Spanish introduced it to the
Americas in the sixteenth century.[16]
18th century[edit]
The technical knowledge for making hydraulic cement was formalized
by French and British engineers in the 18th century.[14]
John Smeaton made an important contribution to the development of
cements while planning the construction of the third Eddystone
Lighthouse (1755–59) in the English Channel now known as Smeaton's
Tower. He needed a hydraulic mortar that would set and develop some
strength in the twelve-hour period between successive high tides. He
performed experiments with combinations of different limestones and
additives including trass and pozzolanas[4] and did exhaustive market
research on the available hydraulic limes, visiting their production sites,
and noted that the "hydraulicity" of the lime was directly related to the
clay content of the limestone used to make it. Smeaton was a civil
engineer by profession, and took the idea no further.
In the South Atlantic seaboard of the United States, tabby relying on the
oyster-shell middens of earlier Native American populations was used
in house construction from the 1730s to the 1860s.[16]
In Britain particularly, good quality building stone became ever more
expensive during a period of rapid growth, and it became a common
practice to construct prestige buildings from the new industrial bricks,
and to finish them with a stucco to imitate stone. Hydraulic limes were
favored for this, but the need for a fast set time encouraged the
development of new cements. Most famous was Parker's "Roman
cement".[17] This was developed by James Parker in the 1780s, and
finally patented in 1796. It was, in fact, nothing like material used by the
Romans, but was a "natural cement" made by burning septaria –
nodules that are found in certain clay deposits, and that contain
both clay minerals and calcium carbonate. The burnt nodules were
ground to a fine powder. This product, made into a mortar with sand,
set in 5–15 minutes. The success of "Roman cement" led other
manufacturers to develop rival products by burning artificial hydraulic
lime cements of clay and chalk. Roman cement quickly became popular
but was largely replaced by Portland cement in the 1850s.[4]
19th century[edit]
Apparently unaware of Smeaton's work, the same principle was
identified by Frenchman Louis Vicat in the first decade of the nineteenth
century. Vicat went on to devise a method of combining chalk and clay
into an intimate mixture, and, burning this, produced an "artificial
cement" in 1817[18] considered the "principal forerunner"[4] of Portland
cement and "...Edgar Dobbs of Southwark patented a cement of this
kind in 1811."[4]
In Russia, Egor Cheliev created a new binder by mixing lime and clay.
His results were published in 1822 in his book A Treatise on the Art to
Prepare a Good Mortar published in St. Petersburg. A few years later in
1825, he published another book, which described various methods of
making cement and concrete, and the benefits of cement in the
construction of buildings and embankments.[19][20]

William Aspdin is considered the inventor of "modern" Portland cement.[21]

Portland cement, the most common type of cement in general use

around the world as a basic ingredient of concrete, mortar, stucco, and
non-speciality grout, was developed in England in the mid 19th century,
and usually originates from limestone. James Frost produced what he
called "British cement" in a similar manner around the same time, but
did not obtain a patent until 1822.[22] In 1824, Joseph Aspdin patented a
similar material, which he called Portland cement, because the render
made from it was in color similar to the prestigious Portland
stone quarried on the Isle of Portland, Dorset, England. However,
Aspdins' cement was nothing like modern Portland cement but was a
first step in its development, called a proto-Portland cement.[4] Joseph
Aspdins' son William Aspdin had left his father's company and in his
cement manufacturing apparently accidentally produced calcium
silicates in the 1840s, a middle step in the development of Portland
cement. William Aspdin's innovation was counterintuitive for
manufacturers of "artificial cements", because they required more lime
in the mix (a problem for his father), a much higher kiln temperature
(and therefore more fuel), and the resulting clinker was very hard and
rapidly wore down the millstones, which were the only available
grinding technology of the time. Manufacturing costs were therefore
considerably higher, but the product set reasonably slowly and
developed strength quickly, thus opening up a market for use in
concrete. The use of concrete in construction grew rapidly from 1850
onward, and was soon the dominant use for cements. Thus Portland
cement began its predominant role. Isaac Charles Johnson further
refined the production of meso-Portland cement (middle stage of
development) and claimed he was the real father of Portland cement.[23]
Setting time and "early strength" are important characteristics of
cements. Hydraulic limes, "natural" cements, and "artificial" cements all
rely on their belite content for strength development. Belite develops
strength slowly. Because they were burned at temperatures below
1,250 °C (2,280 °F), they contained no alite, which is responsible for
early strength in modern cements. The first cement to consistently
contain alite was made by William Aspdin in the early 1840s: This was
what we call today "modern" Portland cement. Because of the air of
mystery with which William Aspdin surrounded his product, others
(e.g., Vicat and Johnson) have claimed precedence in this invention,
but recent analysis[24] of both his concrete and raw cement have shown
that William Aspdin's product made at Northfleet, Kent was a true alite-
based cement. However, Aspdin's methods were "rule-of-thumb": Vicat
is responsible for establishing the chemical basis of these cements, and
Johnson established the importance of sintering the mix in the kiln.
In the US the first large-scale use of cement was Rosendale cement, a
natural cement mined from a massive deposit of a
large dolomite deposit discovered in the early 19th century
near Rosendale, New York. Rosendale cement was extremely popular
for the foundation of buildings (e.g., Statue of Liberty, Capitol
Building, Brooklyn Bridge) and lining water pipes.[25]
Sorel cement was patented in 1867 by Frenchman Stanislas Sorel. It
was stronger than Portland cement but its poor water resistance and
corrosive qualities limited its use in building construction. The next
development in the manufacture of Portland cement was the
introduction of the rotary kiln, which produced a stronger, more
homogeneous mixture and facilitated a continuous manufacturing
process.[4]
20th century[edit]
 The National Cement Share Company of Ethiopia's new plant in Dire
Dawa.

Calcium aluminate cements were patented in 1908 in France by Jules

Bied for better resistance to sulfates.[26]
In the US, after World War One, the long curing time of at least a month
for Rosendale cement made it unpopular for constructing highways and
bridges, and many states and construction firms turned to Portland
cement. Because of the switch to Portland cement, by the end of the
1920s only one of the 15 Rosendale cement companies had survived.
But in the early 1930s, builders discovered that, while Portland cement
set faster, it was not as durable, especially for highways—to the point
that some states stopped building highways and roads with cement.
Bertrain H. Wait, an engineer whose company had helped construct the
New York City's Catskill Aqueduct, was impressed with the durability of
Rosendale cement, and came up with a blend of both Rosendale and
Portland cements that had the good attributes of both. It was highly
durable and had a much faster setting time. Wait convinced the New
York Commissioner of Highways to construct an experimental section
of highway near New Paltz, New York, using one sack of Rosendale to
six sacks of Portland cement. It was a success, and for decades the
Rosendale-Portland cement blend was used in highway and bridge
construction.[25]
Cementitious materials have been used as a nuclear waste
immobilizing matrix for more than a half-century.[27] Technologies of
waste cementation have been developed and deployed at industrial
scale in many countries. Cementitious wasteforms require a careful
selection and design process adapted to each specific type of waste to
satisfy the strict waste acceptance criteria for long-term storage and
disposal.[28]

Modern cements[edit]
Modern hydraulic development began with the start of the Industrial
Revolution (around 1800), driven by three main needs:

 Hydraulic cement render (stucco) for finishing brick buildings in wet

climates
 Hydraulic mortars for masonry construction of harbor works, etc., in
contact with sea water
 Development of strong concretes
 Components of Cement:
Comparison of Chemical and Physical Characteristics[a][29][30][31]

Portland Siliceous[b] fly Calcareous[c] fly Silic

Property Slag cement
cement ash ash fum

SiO2 21.9 52 35 35 85

Al2O3 6.9 23 18 12

Fe2O3 3 11 6 1
Content
(%)
CaO 63 5 21 40

MgO 2.5 — — —

SO3 1.7 — — —

Specific surface[d] 15,0

370 420 420 400
(m2/kg) 30,

Specific gravity 3.15 2.38 2.65 2.94 2

General use in Primary Cement Cement Cement Prope

concrete binder replacement replacement replacement enhan

1. ^ Values shown are approximate: those of a specific material may vary.

2. ^ ASTM C618 Class F
3. ^ ASTM C618 Class C
4. ^ Specific surface measurements for silica fume by nitrogen adsorption (BET) method, others
by air permeability method (Blaine).

Modern cements are often Portland cement or Portland cement blends,

but industry also uses other cements.
Portland cement[edit]
Main article: Portland cement
Portland cement is by far the most common type of cement in general
use around the world. This cement is made by
heating limestone (calcium carbonate) with other materials (such
as clay) to 1,450 °C (2,640 °F) in a kiln, in a process known
as calcination that liberates a molecule of carbon dioxide from the
calcium carbonate to form calcium oxide, or quicklime, which then
chemically combines with the other materials in the mix to form calcium
silicates and other cementitious compounds. The resulting hard
substance, called 'clinker', is then ground with a small amount
of gypsum into a powder to make ordinary Portland cement, the most
commonly used type of cement (often referred to as OPC). Portland
cement is a basic ingredient of concrete, mortar, and most non-
specialty grout. The most common use for Portland cement is to make
concrete. Concrete is a composite material made
of aggregate (gravel and sand), cement, and water. As a construction
material, concrete can be cast in almost any shape, and once it
hardens, can be a structural (load bearing) element. Portland cement
may be grey or white.
Portland cement blends[edit]
Portland cement blends are often available as inter-ground mixtures
from cement producers, but similar formulations are often also mixed
from the ground components at the concrete mixing plant.[32]
Portland blast-furnace slag cement, or Blast furnace
cement (ASTM C595 and EN 197-1 nomenclature respectively),
contains up to 95% ground granulated blast furnace slag, with the rest
Portland clinker and a little gypsum. All compositions produce high
ultimate strength, but as slag content is increased, early strength is
reduced, while sulfate resistance increases and heat evolution
diminishes. Used as an economic alternative to Portland sulfate-
resisting and low-heat cements.[33]
Portland-fly ash cement contains up to 40% fly ash under ASTM
standards (ASTM C595), or 35% under EN standards (EN 197-1). The
fly ash is pozzolanic, so that ultimate strength is maintained. Because
fly ash addition allows a lower concrete water content, early strength
can also be maintained. Where good quality cheap fly ash is available,
this can be an economic alternative to ordinary Portland cement.[34]
Portland pozzolan cement includes fly ash cement, since fly ash is
a pozzolan, but also includes cements made from other natural or
artificial pozzolans. In countries where volcanic ashes are available
(e.g., Italy, Chile, Mexico, the Philippines), these cements are often the
most common form in use. The maximum replacement ratios are
generally defined as for Portland-fly ash cement.
Portland silica fume cement. Addition of silica fume can yield
exceptionally high strengths, and cements containing 5–20% silica
fume are occasionally produced, with 10% being the maximum allowed
addition under EN 197-1. However, silica fume is more usually added to
Portland cement at the concrete mixer.[35]
Masonry cements are used for preparing
bricklaying mortars and stuccos, and must not be used in concrete.
They are usually complex proprietary formulations containing Portland
clinker and a number of other ingredients that may include limestone,
hydrated lime, air entrainers, retarders, waterproofers and coloring
agents. They are formulated to yield workable mortars that allow rapid
and consistent masonry work. Subtle variations of Masonry cement in
the US are Plastic Cements and Stucco Cements. These are designed
to produce a controlled bond with masonry blocks.
Expansive cements contain, in addition to Portland clinker, expansive
clinkers (usually sulfoaluminate clinkers), and are designed to offset the
effects of drying shrinkage normally encountered in hydraulic cements.
This cement can make concrete for floor slabs (up to 60 m square)
without contraction joints.
White blended cements may be made using white clinker (containing
little or no iron) and white supplementary materials such as high-
purity metakaolin. Colored cements serve decorative purposes. Some
standards allow the addition of pigments to produce colored Portland
cement. Other standards (e.g., ASTM) do not allow pigments in
Portland cement, and colored cements are sold as blended hydraulic
cements.
Very finely ground cements are cement mixed with sand or with slag
or other pozzolan type minerals that are extremely finely ground
together. Such cements can have the same physical characteristics as
normal cement but with 50% less cement, particularly due to their
increased surface area for the chemical reaction. Even with intensive
grinding they can use up to 50% less energy (and thus less carbon
emissions) to fabricate than ordinary Portland cements.[36]
Other cements[edit]
Pozzolan-lime cements are mixtures of ground pozzolan and lime.
These are the cements the Romans used, and are present in surviving
Roman structures like the Pantheon in Rome. They develop strength
slowly, but their ultimate strength can be very high. The hydration
products that produce strength are essentially the same as those in
Portland cement.
Slag-lime cements—ground granulated blast-furnace slag is not
hydraulic on its own, but is "activated" by addition of alkalis, most
economically using lime. They are similar to pozzolan lime cements in
their properties. Only granulated slag (i.e., water-quenched, glassy
slag) is effective as a cement component.
Supersulfated cements contain about 80% ground granulated blast
furnace slag, 15% gypsum or anhydrite and a little Portland clinker or
lime as an activator. They produce strength by formation of ettringite,
with strength growth similar to a slow Portland cement. They exhibit
good resistance to aggressive agents, including sulfate. Calcium
aluminate cements are hydraulic cements made primarily
from limestone and bauxite. The active ingredients are monocalcium
aluminate CaAl2O4 (CaO · Al2O3 or CA in Cement chemist notation,
CCN) and mayenite Ca12Al14O33 (12 CaO · 7 Al2O3, or C12A7 in CCN).
Strength forms by hydration to calcium aluminate hydrates. They are
well-adapted for use in refractory (high-temperature resistant)
concretes, e.g., for furnace linings.
Calcium sulfoaluminate cements are made from clinkers that
include ye'elimite (Ca4(AlO2)6SO4 or C4A3S in Cement chemist's
notation) as a primary phase. They are used in expansive cements, in
ultra-high early strength cements, and in "low-energy" cements.
Hydration produces ettringite, and specialized physical properties (such
as expansion or rapid reaction) are obtained by adjustment of the
availability of calcium and sulfate ions. Their use as a low-energy
alternative to Portland cement has been pioneered in China, where
several million tonnes per year are produced.[37][38] Energy requirements
are lower because of the lower kiln temperatures required for reaction,
and the lower amount of limestone (which must be endothermically
decarbonated) in the mix. In addition, the lower limestone content and
lower fuel consumption leads to a CO2 emission around half that
associated with Portland clinker. However, SO2 emissions are usually
significantly higher.
"Natural" cements corresponding to certain cements of the pre-Portland
era, are produced by burning argillaceous limestones at moderate
temperatures. The level of clay components in the limestone (around
30–35%) is such that large amounts of belite (the low-early strength,
high-late strength mineral in Portland cement) are formed without the
formation of excessive amounts of free lime. As with any natural
material, such cements have highly variable properties.
Geopolymer cements are made from mixtures of water-soluble alkali
metal silicates, and aluminosilicate mineral powders such as fly
ash and metakaolin.
Polymer cements are made from organic chemicals that polymerise.
Producers often use thermoset materials. While they are often
significantly more expensive, they can give a water proof material that
has useful tensile strength.

Setting, hardening and curing[edit]

Cement starts to set when mixed with water, which causes a series of
hydration chemical reactions. The constituents slowly hydrate and the
mineral hydrates solidify and harden. The interlocking of the hydrates
gives cement its strength. Contrary to popular belief, hydraulic cement
does not set by drying out — proper curing requires maintaining the
appropriate moisture content necessary for the hydration reactions
during the setting and the hardening processes. If hydraulic cements
dry out during the curing phase, the resulting product can be
insufficiently hydrated and significantly weakened. A minimum
temperature of 5 °C is recommended, and no more than 30 °C.[39] The
concrete at young age must be protected against water evaporation
due to direct insolation, elevated temperature, low relative humidity and
wind.

Safety issues[edit]
Bags of cement routinely have health and safety warnings printed on
them because not only is cement highly alkaline, but the setting
process is exothermic. As a result, wet cement is strongly caustic (pH =
13.5) and can easily cause severe skin burns if not promptly washed off
with water. Similarly, dry cement powder in contact with mucous
membranes can cause severe eye or respiratory irritation. Some trace
elements, such as chromium, from impurities naturally present in the
raw materials used to produce cement may cause allergic
dermatitis.[40] Reducing agents such as ferrous sulfate (FeSO4) are often
added to cement to convert the carcinogenic
hexavalent chromate (CrO42−) into trivalent chromium (Cr3+), a less toxic
chemical species. Cement users need also to wear appropriate gloves
and protective clothing.[41][42][43]

Cement industry in the world[edit]

 Global Cement Production in 2010

Global Cement Capacity in 2010

See also: List of countries by cement production

In 2010, the world production of hydraulic cement was 3,300 million
tonnes (3.2×109 long tons; 3.6×109 short tons). The top three producers
were China with 1,800, India with 220, and USA with 63.5 million
tonnes for a total of over half the world total by the world's three most
populated states.[44]
For the world capacity to produce cement in 2010, the situation was
similar with the top three states (China, India, and USA) accounting for
just under half the world total capacity.[45]
Over 2011 and 2012, global consumption continued to climb, rising to
3585 Mt in 2011 and 3736 Mt in 2012, while annual growth rates eased
to 8.3% and 4.2%, respectively.
China, representing an increasing share of world cement consumption,
remains the main engine of global growth. By 2012, Chinese demand
was recorded at 2160 Mt, representing 58% of world consumption.
Annual growth rates, which reached 16% in 2010, appear to have
softened, slowing to 5–6% over 2011 and 2012, as China's economy
targets a more sustainable growth rate.
Outside of China, worldwide consumption climbed by 4.4% to 1462 Mt
in 2010, 5% to 1535 Mt in 2011, and finally 2.7% to 1576 Mt in 2012.
Iran is now the 3rd largest cement producer in the world and has
increased its output by over 10% from 2008 to 2011.[46] Due to climbing
energy costs in Pakistan and other major cement-producing countries,
Iran is in a unique position as a trading partner, utilizing its own surplus
petroleum to power clinker plants. Now a top producer in the Middle-
East, Iran is further increasing its dominant position in local markets
and abroad.[47]
The performance in North America and Europe over the 2010–12
period contrasted strikingly with that of China, as the global financial
crisis evolved into a sovereign debt crisis for many economies in this
region and recession. Cement consumption levels for this region fell by
1.9% in 2010 to 445 Mt, recovered by 4.9% in 2011, then dipped again
by 1.1% in 2012.
The performance in the rest of the world, which includes many
emerging economies in Asia, Africa and Latin America and
representing some 1020 Mt cement demand in 2010, was positive and
more than offset the declines in North America and Europe. Annual
consumption growth was recorded at 7.4% in 2010, moderating to 5.1%
and 4.3% in 2011 and 2012, respectively.
As at year-end 2012, the global cement industry consisted of 5673
cement production facilities, including both integrated and grinding, of
which 3900 were located in China and 1773 in the rest of the world.
Total cement capacity worldwide was recorded at 5245 Mt in 2012, with
2950 Mt located in China and 2295 Mt in the rest of the world.[48]
China[edit]
Main article: Cement industry in China
"For the past 18 years, China consistently has produced more cement
than any other country in the world. [...] (However,) China's cement
export peaked in 1994 with 11 million tonnes shipped out and has been
in steady decline ever since. Only 5.18 million tonnes were exported
out of China in 2002. Offered at $34 a ton, Chinese cement is pricing
itself out of the market as Thailand is asking as little as $20 for the
same quality."[49]
In 2006, it was estimated that China manufactured 1.235 billion tonnes
of cement, which was 44% of the world total cement
production.[50] "Demand for cement in China is expected to advance
5.4% annually and exceed 1 billion tonnes in 2008, driven by slowing
but healthy growth in construction expenditures. Cement consumed in
China will amount to 44% of global demand, and China will remain the
world's largest national consumer of cement by a large margin."[51]
In 2010, 3.3 billion tonnes of cement was consumed globally. Of this,
China accounted for 1.8 billion tonnes.[52]

Environmental impacts[edit]
Cement manufacture causes environmental impacts at all stages of the
process. These include emissions of airborne pollution in the form of
dust, gases, noise and vibration when operating machinery and during
blasting in quarries, and damage to countryside from quarrying.
Equipment to reduce dust emissions during quarrying and manufacture
of cement is widely used, and equipment to trap and separate exhaust
gases are coming into increased use. Environmental protection also
includes the re-integration of quarries into the countryside after they
have been closed down by returning them to nature or re-cultivating
them.
CO2 emissions[edit]

Global carbon emission by type to 2004. Attribution: Mak Thorpe

Carbon concentration in cement spans from ≈5% in cement structures

to ≈8% in the case of roads in cement.[53] Cement manufacturing
releases CO
2 in the atmosphere both directly when calcium carbonate is heated,
producing lime and carbon dioxide,[54][55] and also indirectly through the
use of energy if its production involves the emission of CO2. The
cement industry produces about 10% of global man-made
CO2 emissions, of which 60% is from the chemical process, and 40%
from burning fuel.[56] A Chatham House study from 2018 estimates that
the 4 billion tonnes of cement produced annually account for 8% of
worldwide CO2 emissions.[57]
Nearly 900 kg of CO2 are emitted for every 1000 kg of Portland cement
produced. In the European Union, the specific energy consumption for
the production of cement clinker has been reduced by approximately
30% since the 1970s. This reduction in primary energy requirements is
equivalent to approximately 11 million tonnes of coal per year with
corresponding benefits in reduction of CO2 emissions. This accounts for
approximately 5% of anthropogenic CO2.[58]
The majority of carbon dioxide emissions in the manufacture of
Portland cement (approximately 60%) are produced from the chemical
decomposition of limestone to lime, an ingredient in Portland cement
clinker. These emissions may be reduced by lowering the clinker
content of cement. They can also be reduced by alternative fabrication
methods such as the intergrinding cement with sand or with slag or
other pozzolan type minerals to a very fine powder.
To reduce the transport of heavier raw materials and to minimize the
associated costs, it is more economical to build cement plants closer to
the limestone quarries rather than to the consumer centers.[59]
In certain applications, lime mortar reabsorbs some of the CO2 as was
released in its manufacture, and has a lower energy requirement in
production than mainstream cement.[citation needed] Newly developed cement
types from Novacem[60] and Eco-cement can absorb carbon
dioxide from ambient air during hardening.[61]
As of 2019 carbon capture and storage is about to be trialled, but its
financial viability is uncertain.[62]
Heavy metal emissions in the air[edit]
In some circumstances, mainly depending on the origin and the
composition of the raw materials used, the high-temperature calcination
process of limestone and clay minerals can release in the atmosphere
gases and dust rich in volatile heavy metals,
e.g. thallium,[63] cadmium and mercury are the most toxic. Heavy metals
(Tl, Cd, Hg, ...) and also selenium are often found as trace elements in
common metal sulfides (pyrite (FeS2), zinc blende (ZnS), galena (PbS),
...) present as secondary minerals in most of the raw materials.
Environmental regulations exist in many countries to limit these
emissions. As of 2011 in the United States, cement kilns are "legally
allowed to pump more toxins into the air than are hazardous-waste
incinerators."[64]
Heavy metals present in the clinker[edit]
The presence of heavy metals in the clinker arises both from the natural
raw materials and from the use of recycled by-products or alternative
fuels. The high pH prevailing in the cement porewater (12.5 < pH <
13.5) limits the mobility of many heavy metals by decreasing their
solubility and increasing their sorption onto the cement mineral
phases. Nickel, zinc and lead are commonly found in cement in non-
negligible concentrations. Chromium may also directly arise as natural
impurity from the raw materials or as secondary contamination from the
abrasion of hard chromium steel alloys used in the ball mills when the
clinker is ground. As chromate (CrO42−) is toxic and may cause severe
skin allergies at trace concentration, it is sometimes reduced into
trivalent Cr(III) by addition of ferrous sulfate (FeSO4).
Use of alternative fuels and by-products materials[edit]
A cement plant consumes 3 to 6 GJ of fuel per tonne of clinker
produced, depending on the raw materials and the process used. Most
cement kilns today use coal and petroleum coke as primary fuels, and
to a lesser extent natural gas and fuel oil. Selected waste and by-
products with recoverable calorific value can be used as fuels in a
cement kiln (referred to as co-processing), replacing a portion of
conventional fossil fuels, like coal, if they meet strict specifications.
Selected waste and by-products containing useful minerals such as
calcium, silica, alumina, and iron can be used as raw materials in the
kiln, replacing raw materials such as clay, shale, and limestone.
Because some materials have both useful mineral content and
recoverable calorific value, the distinction between alternative fuels and
raw materials is not always clear. For example, sewage sludge has a
low but significant calorific value, and burns to give ash containing
minerals useful in the clinker matrix.[65] Scrap automobile and truck tires
are useful in cement manufacturing as they have high calorific value
and the iron embedded in tires is useful as a feed stock.[66]:p. 27
Clinker is manufactured by heating raw materials inside the main
burner of a kiln to a temperature of 1450 °C. The flame reaches
temperatures of 1800 °C. The material remains at 1200 °C for 12–15
seconds at 1800 °C for 5–8 seconds (also referred to as residence
time). These characteristics of a clinker kiln offer numerous benefits
and they ensure a complete destruction of organic compounds, a total
neutralization of acid gases, sulphur oxides and hydrogen chloride.
Furthermore, heavy metal traces are embedded in the clinker structure
and no by-products, such as ash of residues, are produced.[67]
The EU cement industry already uses more than 40% fuels derived
from waste and biomass in supplying the thermal energy to the grey
clinker making process. Although the choice for this so-called
alternative fuels (AF) is typically cost driven, other factors are becoming
more important. Use of alternative fuels provides benefits for both
society and the company: CO2-emissions are lower than with fossil
fuels, waste can be co-processed in an efficient and sustainable
manner and the demand for certain virgin materials can be reduced.
Yet there are large differences in the share of alternative fuels used
between the European Union (EU) member states. The societal
benefits could be improved if more member states increase their
alternative fuels share. The Ecofys study[68] assessed the barriers and
opportunities for further uptake of alternative fuels in 14 EU member
states. The Ecofys study found that local factors constrain the market
potential to a much larger extent than the technical and economic
feasibility of the cement industry itself.

Green cement[edit]
Green cement is a cementitious material that meets or exceeds the
functional performance capabilities of ordinary Portland cement by
incorporating and optimizing recycled materials, thereby reducing
consumption of natural raw materials, water, and energy, resulting in a
more sustainable construction material. One is Geopolymer cement.
New manufacturing processes for producing green cement are being
researched with the goal to reduce, or even eliminate, the production
and release of damaging pollutants and greenhouse gasses,
particularly CO2.[69]
Growing environmental concerns and the increasing cost of fuels of
fossil origin have resulted in many countries in a sharp reduction of the
resources needed to produce cement and effluents (dust and exhaust
gases).[70]
A team at the University of Edinburgh has developed the 'DUPE'
process based on the microbial activity of Sporosarcina pasteurii, a
bacterium precipitating calcium carbonate, which, when mixed
with sand and urine, can produce mortar blocks with a compressive
strength 70% of that of conventional construction materials.[71]