Appraisal of sedimentary and volcanic rocks at Al-Hemmah-Resan Ikteifa district, North Sinai, Egypt as raw materials in Portland cement clinker production.

In spite of the fact that basalt is a widespread type of rock, there is very little available information on using it as cement raw material. A basaltic rock, which consists mainly of plagioclase, olivine, and some pyroxene, is formed during the Red Sea rifting, which is an important cement raw material. In this study, the effect of Al-Hemmah-Resan Ikteifa basaltic rocks on the physical properties of ordinary Portland cement (OPC) has been investigated. The sintering reactions in prepared clinker samples were recorded by means of differential thermal analysis. Free lime content in all clinker samples was measured. The texture of clinkers and differences between clinkers minerals are identified physically using a scanning electron microscope (SEM) and EDX. The calcination temperature and transformations in the structures of basalts were determined by differential thermal analysis (DTA), and X-ray diffraction (XRD) techniques. The final products were tested for chemical analysis, compressive strength, setting time properties according to the European Standard (EN 196). The results show that basaltic rocks used in Portland cement industry caused an increase in setting time and compressive strength. The cement prepared with basalt was found to have similar strength properties to those obtained with natural shales. For this reason, utilization of basalts in cement applications is expected to give better results than shales. It is concluded that basaltic rocks could be used as shale for Portland cement as an industrial applications. This would play an important role in reducing environmental pollution. Useful conclusions and recommendations concerning the use of Al-Hemmah-Resan Ikteifa basaltic rocks in the production of some blended cements as a substitution from different types of cement raw materials were obtained.