Patent Description:
The cement according to the present invention has very good compressive strength properties, although it has a reduced clinker content.

As is known, hydraulic cement is a construction material belonging to the class of hydraulic binders. Cement is obtained by grinding cement clinker (hereafter referred to as clinker), generally in the presence of calcium sulphate and, optionally, one or more supplementary cementitious materials (SCMs).

Clinker is produced by reacting limestone with aluminous and ferrous raw materials at <NUM>,<NUM>-<NUM>,<NUM> in a rotary furnace. This process has a considerable environmental impact, particularly because of the emissions of carbon dioxide (CO<NUM>) resulting from the high temperatures of the heat treatment and those generated during the chemical decomposition of the limestone (decarbonization).

In order to limit the environmental impact of the clinker production process, the cement industry has endeavoured to develop new production technologies and new types of materials making it possible to reduce the amount of clinker in cements while still obtaining the same performance levels as those offered by cements with higher clinker content.

To this end, it is currently known in the state of art to use "supplementary cementitious materials" (hereafter also referred to as "SCMs") as a partial replacement for clinker. The most commonly used SCMs include: granulated blast furnace slag, flying ashes from coal-fired power plants, silica fume, and natural pozzolanic materials (natural pozzolans).

As blast furnace slag and flying ashes may concern, their use as SCMs has become increasingly difficult because of the gradual reduction in the number of coal-fired power plants and active blast furnaces, particularly in Europe, resulting in such materials being now less easily available.

Natural pozzolans are commonly employed as a replacement material for clinker in cement production. The UNI EN <NUM>-<NUM>:<NUM> standard, for example, includes pozzolanic cements, i.e. cements containing natural pozzolans, among the most used cement types.

According to the above-mentioned EN <NUM>-<NUM> standard, pozzolanic materials are silicon and/or silicon/aluminium-based natural substances that do not harden when mixed with water, instead, when finely ground they react, in the presence of water, with dissolved calcium hydroxide (Ca(OH)<NUM>) at room temperature to form calcium silicates and calcium aluminates having hardening properties (pozzolanic activity). Natural pozzolans essentially consist of reactive silica (SiO<NUM>) and aluminium oxide (Al<NUM>O<NUM>), with the remaining part consisting of iron oxides (Fe<NUM>O<NUM>) and other oxides. Reactive silica is present in pozzolans in a quantity of at least <NUM>% by mass.

According to the EN <NUM>-<NUM> specification, pozzolanic materials can be classified into: natural pozzolans (P) and calcined natural pozzolans (Q), i.e. natural pozzolans activated by heat treatment.

P-type pozzolans generally consist of materials of volcanic origin or sedimentary rocks having a chemical and mineralogical composition that lends pozzolanic activity to the material.

Q-type pozzolans generally consist of materials of volcanic origin, clays, schists or sedimentary rocks having pozzolanic activity following heat treatment. In particular, Q-type pozzolans include calcined clays, also called artificial pozzolans.

P-type natural pozzolans have the drawback that they are available in limited amounts, since they can only be found in certain geographical regions. Moreover, P-type natural pozzolans are generally of little economical interest in the cement industry, in that their pozzolanic activity varies considerably depending on the origin, and hence the chemical composition, of the individual pozzolanic materials. In particular, natural pozzolans may include significant amounts of mineralogical phases having low pozzolanic activity, so that, their use as SCMs cannot always ensure the achievement of mechanical performance suited to the required characteristics of the cements to be produced.

Q-type pozzolans, particularly calcined clays, are a promising supplementary cementitious material that can be used as a partial replacement for clinker for cement production. Patent <CIT> describes, for example, a cement containing an SCM comprising calcined clay combined with a carbonatic material. The cement described in <CIT> has higher compressive strength than expected from the binary combinations "Portland cement + carbonatic material" and "Portland cement + calcined clay".

<CIT> describes pozzolanic and cementitious compounds that can be used to prepare conglomerates having improved mechanical properties, reduced water demand and lower alkali functionality.

In view of the above-described state of the art, the Applicant set the primary goal of providing a cement comprising a supplementary cementitious material, wherein the pozzolanic activity of said supplementary cementitious material is such that it can be effectively employed as a partial replacement for clinker in cement production, while lending satisfactory mechanical performance to the cement.

In particular, it is a specific object of the present invention to provide a cement comprising a supplementary cementitious material, wherein said cement has physical-mechanical properties (e.g. compressive strength) comparable with those of a corresponding cement comprising clinker only.

The Applicant found out that this object, and other objects as well, which will be further clarified hereinafter, can be achieved by using, in a cement formulation, a supplementary cementitious material comprising a combination of at least one calcined clay and at least one natural pozzolan with a given carbonate species content.

It was observed, in fact, that a natural pozzolan having a carbonate species content equal to or greater than approximately <NUM>% by weight, when used in combination with a calcined clay, results in the formulation of a cement having mechanical strength properties that are similar to those of corresponding cements containing clinker only.

This result is especially surprising if we consider that natural pozzolans containing relatively high amounts of carbonate species exhibit poor pozzolanic activity when used alone as a single SCM, or anyway in substantial absence of calcined clay, for cement production. In particular, such natural pozzolans with a high carbonate species content exhibit less pozzolanic activity than natural pozzolans containing carbonate species in amounts smaller than <NUM>% by weight, and are therefore considered to be less suited than the latter for use as SCMs.

Therefore, the study at the basis of the present invention has made it possible to exploit natural resources, such as natural pozzolans having a relatively high carbonate species content, which were so far deemed to be of little practical interest, as effective supplementary cementitious materials for cement production.

Since it reduces the consumption of clinker for cement production, the use of such supplementary cementitious material also results in reduced CO<NUM> emissions and lower energy consumption in cement production processes.

According to a first aspect, the present invention relates to a cement comprising cement clinker and a supplementary cementitious material, wherein said supplementary cementitious material comprises:.

According to a second aspect, the present invention relates to a cementitious conglomerate, such as mortar or concrete, comprising said cement and stone aggregates.

According to a third aspect, the present invention relates to a method of producing a cement, comprising the steps of:.

According to a fourth aspect, the present invention relates to the use of a supplementary cementitious material comprising at least one calcined clay and at least one natural pozzolan with a carbonate species content, expressed as CaCO<NUM>, of not less than <NUM>% by weight of the weight of said natural pozzolan, for reducing CO<NUM> emissions during the production of a cement comprising cement clinker.

The natural pozzolan that can be used for the purposes of the present invention is a P-type natural pozzolan, as defined in the EN <NUM>-<NUM> standard, having a carbonate species content (expressed as CaCO<NUM>) equal to or greater than <NUM>% by weight of the total weight of the natural pozzolan.

Preferably, the carbonate species content (expressed as CaCO<NUM>) is equal to or greater than <NUM>% by weight, more preferably equal to or greater than <NUM>% by weight, even more preferably equal to or greater than <NUM>% by weight, of the total weight of the natural pozzolan.

Preferably, the carbonate species content (expressed as CaCO<NUM>) is equal to or lower than <NUM>% by weight, more preferably equal to or lower than <NUM>% by weight, even more preferably equal to or lower than <NUM>% by weight, of the total weight of the natural pozzolan.

In a preferred embodiment, the carbonate species content (expressed as CaCO<NUM>) in the natural pozzolan lies in the range of <NUM>% to <NUM>% by weight, preferably in the range of <NUM>% to <NUM>% by weight, of the total weight of the natural pozzolan.

In the natural pozzolan, carbonate species may be present, for example, as calcium carbonate or magnesium carbonate.

Some examples of natural pozzolans that can be used for the purposes of the present invention are:.

Hereinafter, natural pozzolans containing carbonate species in the above-defined amounts will be referred to, for brevity, as "natural pozzolans with high carbonate species concentration".

Natural pozzolans with high carbonate species concentration are used in the form of finely ground powder. Preferably, the powder has a specific surface area in the range of <NUM> - <NUM>,<NUM><NUM>/g (determined using the Blaine method described in EN <NUM>-<NUM>:<NUM>).

Preferably, the natural pozzolan with high carbonate species concentration is present in the cement in a quantity lying in the range of <NUM>% to <NUM>% by weight, more preferably <NUM>% to <NUM>% by weight, of the weight of the cement.

The calcined clay that can be used for the purposes of the present invention is obtained by subjecting a clayey material to heat treatment. The heat treatment causes deoxydrilation of the clayey material, i.e. elimination, as water, of at least part of the oxydril groups (OH) that are present in the starting clayey material.

The term "clayey material" refers to a solid material comprising one or more clayey minerals, such as minerals belonging to the kaolin group, the smectite group, or the vermiculite group.

Preferably, the clayey material is selected among those of the kaolin group, more preferably among: kaolinite, dickite, nacrite, halloysite.

Preferably, the heat treatment (calcination) is conducted at a temperature in the range of <NUM> to <NUM>,<NUM> for a total time of <NUM> seconds to <NUM> minutes depending on the technology used for the calcination process, e.g.: flash calcination (<NUM> - <NUM> sec), rotary furnace (<NUM> - <NUM>), fluid bed calcination (<NUM> sec - <NUM>), electric furnace (<NUM> - <NUM>).

Preferably, the calcined clay has a residual content of oxydril groups of <NUM>% (mol/mol) of the oxydril group content of the clayey material prior to calcination. The eliminated and residual oxydril group content can be determined by Thermogravimetry (TG) or Differential Thermal Analysis (DTA).

Preferably, the calcined clay is present in the cement in a quantity lying in the range of <NUM>% to <NUM>% by weight, more preferably <NUM>% to <NUM>% by weight, of the weight of the cement.

The SCM used for preparing the cement preferably comprises calcined clay and natural pozzolan with high carbonate species concentration in a clay/pozzolan mass ratio lying in the range of <NUM>:<NUM> to <NUM>:<NUM>.

Preferably, the SCM is present in the cement in a quantity lying in the range of <NUM>% to <NUM>% by weight, more preferably <NUM>% to <NUM>% by weight, of the weight of the cement.

The SCM may also comprise other materials having hydraulic activity, in particular pozzolanic activity or latent hydraulic activity. In one embodiment, the SCM comprises blast furnace slag, flying ashes, or a combination thereof. When present, such further materials having hydraulic activity are contained in the SCM in a quantity equal to or smaller than <NUM>% by weight of the weight of the SCM.

For the purposes of the present invention, the term "flying ashes" refers to the material defined in the EN <NUM>-<NUM> standard, i.e. the material resulting from mechanical or electrostatic precipitation of the powder particles that are present in the gaseous effluents generated by coal combustion. Flying ashes may be either siliceous or calcareous, respectively identified as V-type and W-type flying ashes in the EN <NUM>-<NUM> specification. For the purposes of the present description and the appended claims, the natural pozzolan according to the present invention includes no flying ashes.

In general, the cement clinker that can be used for the purposes of the present invention may be any cement clinker. The cement clinker may comprise belitic clinker, sulphoaluminate clinker (SAC), and mixtures thereof. In one embodiment, the cement clinker comprises, or consists of, Portland cement clinker.

Preferably, the cement clinker has a C<NUM>S content in excess of <NUM>% by mass, more preferably in excess of <NUM>% by mass.

Preferably, the cement clinker has an aluminium content, expressed as Al<NUM>O<NUM>, of less than <NUM>% by mass, more preferably less than <NUM>% by mass.

The cement clinker is used in powder form, preferably having a surface area in the range of <NUM>,<NUM> - <NUM>,<NUM><NUM>/g (determined using the Blaine method described in EN <NUM>-<NUM>:<NUM>).

Preferably, the clinker is present in the cement in a quantity lying in the range of <NUM>% to <NUM>% by weight of the weight of the cement.

The cement according to the present invention may comprise calcium sulphate (gypsum, anhydrite, hemihydrate), preferably in a quantity lying in the range of <NUM>% to <NUM>% by weight of the weight of the cement. Calcium sulphate can be used to advantage in order to regulate the various properties of the cement (e.g. compressive strength, shrinkage, development of hydration heat, durability, etc.), in particular to regulate its setting activity.

The cement may further include limestone, preferably in a quantity lying in the range of <NUM>% to <NUM>% by weight of the weight of the cement. The cement may further include one or more of blast furnace slag, flying ashes, calcined schist, preferably in a total quantity lying in the range of <NUM>% to <NUM>% by weight of the weight of the cement. The cement may further include silica fume, preferably in a quantity equal to or smaller than <NUM>% by weight of the weight of the cement.

Optionally, the cement may further include additives commonly employed for clinker cement production, such as grinding adjuvants, additives for increasing the initial and/or final strength (e.g. triethanolamine-based (TEA) compounds), fluidifying agents, setting delaying and accelerating agents. Generally, such additives are present in a total amount equal to or smaller than <NUM>% by weight of the weight of the cement.

After hardening, the cement according to the present invention preferably has a compressive strength after <NUM> days of at least <NUM> MPa and/or a compressive strength after <NUM> days of at least <NUM> MPa, measured in accordance with EN <NUM>-<NUM>:<NUM>.

The cement according to the present invention can be classified as a pozzolanic cement in compliance with the UNI EN <NUM>-<NUM> specification.

The cement according to the present invention can be used for preparing cementitious conglomerates, such as mortar and concrete, in accordance with the techniques known to those skilled in the art.

In particular, cementitious conglomerates such as mortar and concrete can be prepared by combining the cement with at least water and aggregates. Aggregates include siliceous, calcareous and siliceous-calcareous materials, such as, for example, sand and gravel. Aggregates may be natural or artificial materials, waste materials or scraps, or recycled materials.

The cement and the cementitious conglomerates according to the present invention can be prepared by using techniques and equipment known to those skilled in the art.

The following implementation examples are provided merely in order to illustrate the present invention, and should not be deemed to limit the protection scope defined by the appended claims.

Cements were prepared which had the compositions shown in Tables <NUM> and <NUM>.

Portland cement clinker having the following mineralogical composition was used:.

The starting clay, consisting of kaolinite mineral in a quantity of at least <NUM>%, was calcined at <NUM> for <NUM>.

Two cement samples were prepared in accordance with the present invention (identified as QP4 and QPL2), containing clinker combined with an SCM consisting of a mixture of calcined clay and natural pozzolan with a carbonate species content (expressed as CaCO<NUM>) of <NUM>% by weight of the pozzolan.

For comparative purposes, cements were prepared which contained one of the following SCMs i - iii:.

For each cement, compressive strength was assessed after <NUM> and <NUM> days. The test results are shown in Tables <NUM> and <NUM>.

The results listed in Tables <NUM> and <NUM> highlight the fact that the cements prepared using an SCM comprising calcined clay combined with a pozzolanic material (samples QP4, QP5, QPL2 and QP2) have higher compressive strength than the cements prepared using, as SCM, only one of the two pozzolanic materials (samples O5, P, O6 and LP0).

Claim 1:
Cement comprising cement clinker and a supplementary cementitious material, wherein said supplementary cementitious material comprises:
a. at least one calcined clay;
b. at least one natural pozzolan with a carbonate species content, expressed as CaCO<NUM>, of not less than <NUM>% by weight of the total weight of said natural pozzolan.