We first discuss cement production and special nomenclature used by cement industrialists in expressing the composition of their\ncement products. We reveal different types of cement products, their compositions, properties, and typical uses. Wherever\npossible, we tend to give reasons as to why a particular cement type is more suitable for a given purpose than other types. Cement\nmanufacturing processes are associated with emissions of large quantities of greenhouse gases and environmental pollutants. We\ngive below quantitative and qualitative analyses of environmental impact of cement manufacturing. Controlling pollution is\na mandatory legal and social requirement pertinent to any industry. As cement industry is one of the biggest CO2 emitters, it is\nappropriate to discuss different ways and means of CO2 capture, which will be done next. Finally, we give an account of production\nof nanocement and advantages associated with nanocement. Nanofillers such as nanotitania, nanosilica, and nanoalumina can be\nproduced in large industrial scale via top-down approach of reducing size of naturally available bulk raw materials to those in the\nnanorange of 1 nmââ?¬â??100 nm. We mention the preparation of nanotitania and nanosilica from Sri Lankan mineral sands and quartz\ndeposits, respectively, for the use as additives in cement products to improve performance and reduce the amount and cost of\ncement production and consequent environmental impacts. As of now, mineral sands and other treasures of minerals are exported\nwithout much value addition. Simple chemical modifications or physical treatments would add enormous value to these natural\nmaterials. Sri Lanka is gifted with highly pure quartz and graphite from which silica and graphite nanoparticles, respectively, can\nbe prepared by simple size reduction processes. These can be used as additives in cements. Separation of constituents of mineral\nsands is already an ongoing process.
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