Concrete

=Cement = Cement, an important component of concrete, is the most abundant manufactured material in the world and one of the world's most commonly used building materials. About 5 billion cubic yards of concrete are used each year; annual production is about two tons per person on the planet. Concrete consists of cement, water, and aggregates -- gravel, sand, crushed stone, or other materials. It is used to form the foundation of virtually every building in addition to being used for sidewalks, curbs, building blocks, mortar for masonry, and numerous other construction components. Concrete is widely used because it is strong, durable, water-proof, fire-resistant, moldable, and relatively inexpensive. Reinforced by steel bars, the use of concrete revolutionized design of large office buildings, dams, bridges, and other large structures. Concrete is also versatile; it can be easily transported and poured on site into the required shape. Some forms of cement were used by ancient Assyrians, Babylonians, and Egyptians. The Romans mixed lime from burning limestone with volcanic ashes, or pozzolan, to make cement; Hadrian's villa was constructed from concrete. //Pozzolan// is any material containing silicon that develops cementing properties when combined with lime and water. The name //pozzolan// comes from the village of Pozzuoli near Mt. Vesuvius, where Romans mined the ashes. After the fall of Rome, the knowledge of how to make concrete was lost. In 1756, a British engineer John Smeaton developed the first modern hydraulic concrete by adding pebbles and powdered brick to cement, which is a mixture of limestone, chalk, and shale. In 1824, a British inventor, Joseph Aspdin, patented Portland cement, which he named "Portland" because it resembles the stone quarried from the Isle of Portland off the coast of England. Aspdin found that by burning ground limestone and clay together, the chemical properties of the materials were changed, and a stronger cement was produced. Portland cement was not used in the United States until the 1870s. Thomas Edison built a Portland cement manufacturing plant; among his many patents are several relating to the manufacturing of cement, including one for a new kiln design. Hydraulic cement is made from finely ground "clinker," which consists of the calcium silicate minerals formed when limestone and other materials are burned at very high temperatures in a kiln. The term, "hydraulic," refers to cement's ability to set and harden when combined with water. Clinker is made of four oxides, usually obtained from limestone, clay, and shale: lime, CaO, about 65 percent; silica, SiO2, about 22 percent, alumina, Al2O3, 6 percent; and iron oxide, Fe2O3, 3 percent. These materials are burned at high heat and converted into glass-like pieces called clinker, which is then ground into a powder. Calcium silicate is the main contributor to the performance of cement. It combines with water to form calcium silicate hydrate, which is a colloidal gel that acts to bind materials. When cement is combined with water, sand, gravel, and other materials called aggregates, the calcium silicate in the cement reacts with water to bind the materials together. Manufacturing cement is an energy-intensive process. It requires 3 to 6 million BTUs (British thermal units) of energy and 1.7 tons of raw materials, mostly limestone, to make one ton of clinker. Coal or coke is typically used to fire the kilns that are used to burn the limestone, clay, shale, and other materials; the materials must be heated to 1450 degrees C to form C3S. The process is a significant source of carbon dioxide emissions, in addition to nitrogen oxides, sulfur oxides, and particulate matter. Concrete manufacturing is one of the most significant sources of CO2emissions from manufacturing sources; production of iron and steel also produce significant CO2 emissions. One ton of CO2 is emitted per one ton of cement produced, about half due to the use of fossil fuels and half from the calcination of limestone.Worldwide, cement production is estimated to produce approximately 5 percent of all carbon dioxide emissions from human sources. Additional environmental impacts associated with the manufacture and use of concrete include those associated with mining the materials from which it is made, including gravel, sand, and other materials for the mixture. These environmental impacts include dust, the effects of excavating quarries, and energy requirements for the extraction and transportation of the materials. Mining of gravel and stones does not require deep excavation compared to the mining of other minerals, such as copper; there is less overburden or waste products. More of the materials are used; unlike copper or gold, in which many tons of materials are excavated and processed to obtain a small amount of material. There are no emissions from smelting and acid mine drainage is less of a concern. Cement manufacturers use electrostatic precipitators and other control technologies to reduce the dust created by kilns; the EPA has standards regulating emissions of kiln dust. Manufacturing plants also have scrubbers to capture SO2 emissions; the SO2 is captured and used to react with limestone to make gypsum, another construction material. John Harrison, from Hobart, Tasmania, has developed an alternative cement based on magnesium carbonate rather than calcium, which would significantly reduce the amount of carbon dioxide emissions. This cement, called Eco-Cement, is not entirely new. In 1867, a Frenchman Stanislaus Sorel made a similar mixture, but it deteriorated after long exposure to water. Harrison's mixture is an improvement and has proven to be durable. The mixture reduces emissions because it requires lower temperatures to produce; the mixture is converted at 650 degrees C rather than 1450 degrees, so less fuel is used. The process produces carbon dioxide during the burning, but during the carbonation process the cement reabsorbs the carbon dioxide. This occurs with all cements, but Eco-cement absorbs carbon dioxide more efficiently. If widely used, city streets could become carbon sinks, rather than carbon sources. There are challenges, however, that would have to be overcome. Eco-cement is more expensive, because magnesium is more costly to mine. It could only be used for new construction, but it is not strong enough for all construction uses. Engineers and builders will also be hesitant to use a product that has not been widely tested; they have to guarantee the reliability of their materials. The durability and strength of concrete, and its limitations, are well known; magnesium has a reputation for being less strong, so there may be resistance to using it.   //**Science News:**// "Concrete Nation"

This article about the future of concrete, written by Alexandra Goho, appears in the January 1, 2005 edition of //ScienceNews//. The article focuses on how concrete will continue to be stronger, more attractive, and more environmentally friendly in the future. []