World cement history

In 1756, the English engineer J. Smeaton discovered that the use of limestone containing clay to fire, to obtain hydraulic lime. This important discovery laid a theoretical foundation for the research and development of modern cement.

In 1756, in the process of building a lighthouse, Smiton studied the influence of different limestone in the "lime - volcanic ash - sand" three-component mortar on the performance of the mortar, and found that the limestone containing clay, after calcination and fine grinding treatment, the mortar made of water can slowly harden, and the strength in the sea water is much higher than the "Roman mortar", and can withstand the scouring of the sea water. Smiton used the newly discovered mortar to build the world-famous Eddystone lighthouse in Plymouth Harbour.

Lime made of clay or limestone is called hydraulic lime. This discovery by Smitton was a major leap in the accumulation of knowledge in the process of cement invention, and played an important role in the invention of "Portland cement". However, Smiton's successful hydraulic lime was not widely used, and the "Roman mortar" composed of lime, volcanic ash and sand was still used in large quantities.

In 1796, the British J. Parker made a kind of cement with marl firing, brown in appearance, much like the lime and volcanic ash mixture of ancient Rome, named Roman cement. Because it uses natural marl as raw material and is fired directly without ingredients, it is also known as natural cement. It has good hydraulic and fast setting characteristics.

In 1813, French civil engineer Biggar found that the cement made by mixing lime and clay by a ratio of three to one has the best performance, which provided a reference for the later invention of cement.

In 1824, the British construction worker Joseph Aspdin (Joseph Aspdin), Aspdin used limestone and clay as raw materials, according to a certain proportion of the match, in a shaft kiln similar to the burning of lime calcined mature materials, and then ground fine to make cement. It was named Portland cement because the color of the hardened cement was similar to the stone used for construction in Portland, England. It has excellent construction performance and has epoch-making significance in the history of cement. Asptin patented his Portland cement. From this moment on, the world had real cement.

In 1871, Japan began to build cement factories.

In 1877, the British Crampton invented the rotary furnace, and in 1885 by Lantham reform into a better rotary furnace.

1889, Tangshan "fine soil" factory. At the end of the Qing Dynasty, due to the political, military and economic needs, the demand for cement was growing, and there was no cement production enterprise in China, and cement was all dependent on imports, and the price was very expensive. Under this market condition, Tang Tingshu, General office of Kaiping Mining Bureau, requested the approval of Li Hongzhang, Governor of Zhili, Minister of North China, to use Tangshan limestone as raw materials, in the southern foot of Tangshan Dacheng Mountain, covering an area of 40 mu, in the 15th year of Guangxu (1889), Tangshan fine soil factory was built, which is China's first shaft kiln cement production factory, producing China's first barrel of cement. In 1906, on the basis of the plant, the Qixin Cement Company was established, with an annual output of 40,000 tons of cement.

In 1907, Biere, France, used alumina ore instead of clay, mixed limestone fired into cement. Because this cement contains a large amount of alumina, it is called "alumina cement". This is the predecessor of high alumina cement.

In 1952, China formulated the first national unified cement standard, which determined that cement production should be based on the principle of multiple varieties and multiple labels, and changed Portland cement to silicate cement according to the main mineral composition it contains, and then changed to Portland cement.