Mechanochemical synthesis of hydraulically reactive cements

Abstract

The present disclosure provides a method of making hydraulic cement, comprising providing a vessel having a chamber, placing a first reagent comprising calcium oxide and a second reagent comprising silicon dioxide in the chamber, and mechanochemically reacting the first and second reagents by simultaneously applying mechanical grinding forces and heating the chamber above room temperature to form a reaction product comprising nanocrystalline calcium silicate phases. The method enables formation of hydraulically reactive calcium silicate minerals through thermal-assisted mechanical grinding at lower temperatures than conventional cement kiln processes. The chamber contains grinding elements that apply mechanical impact forces while the vessel is heated to temperatures ranging from 100°C to 800°C. The reaction product comprises Ca-O-Si bonds and silicate phases including tricalcium silicate and dicalcium silicate. The combined treatment produces calcium silicate phases in amounts of at least 70% of the total reaction product.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.