Cement chemist notation (CCN) was developed to simplify the formulas cement chemists use on a daily basis. It is a shorthand way of writing the chemical formula of oxides of calcium, silicon, and various metals.

The main oxides present in cement (or in glass and ceramics) are abbreviated in the following way:

For the sake of mass balance calculations, hydroxides present in hydrated phases found in hardened cement paste, such as in portlandite, Ca(OH)₂, must first be converted into oxide and water.

To better understand the conversion process of hydroxide anions in oxide and water, it is necessary to consider the autoprotolysis of the hydroxyl anions; it implies a proton exchange between two OH⁻, like in a classical acid–base reaction:

OH⁻acid 1 + OH⁻base 2 → O²⁻base 1 + H₂Oacid 2

or also,

2 OH⁻ → O²⁻ + H₂O

For portlandite this gives thus the following mass balance:

Ca(OH)₂ → CaO + H₂O

Thus portlandite can be written as CaO · H₂O or CH.

These oxides are used to build more complex compounds. The main crystalline phases described hereafter are related respectively to the composition of:

• Clinker and non-hydrated Portland cement, and;
• Hardened cement pastes obtained after hydration and cement setting.

The cement chemist notation is not restricted to cement applications but is in fact a more general notation of oxide chemistry applicable to other domains than cement chemistry sensu stricto.

For instance, in ceramics applications, the kaolinite formula can also be written in terms of oxides, thus the corresponding formula for kaolinite,

Al₂Si₂O₅(OH)₄,

is

Al₂O₃ · 2 SiO₂ · 2 H₂O

or in CCN

AS₂H₂.

Although not a very developed practice in mineralogy, some chemical reactions involving silicate and oxide in the melt or in hydrothermal systems, and silicate weathering processes could also be successfully described by applying the cement chemist notation to silicate mineralogy.

An example could be the formal comparison of belite hydration and forsterite serpentinisation dealing both with the hydration of two structurally similar earth -alkaline silicates, Ca₂SiO₄ and Mg₂SiO₄, respectively.

Calcium system

belite hydration:

Belite2 Ca2SiO4 + water4 H2O → C-S-H phase3 CaO · 2 SiO2 · 3 H2O + portlanditeCa(OH)2

(Reaction 4a)

2 C2S + 4 H → C3S2H3 + CH

(Reaction 4b)

Magnesium system

forsterite serpentinisation:

Forsterite2 Mg2SiO4 + water3 H2O → serpentine Mg3Si2O5(OH)4 + bruciteMg(OH)2

(Reaction 4c)

2 M2S + 3 H → M3S2H2 + MH

(Reaction 4d)

The ratio Ca/Si (C/S) and Mg/Si (M/S) decrease from 2 for the dicalcium and dimagnesium silicate reagents to 1.5 for the hydrated silicate products of the hydration reaction. In other term, the C-S-H or the serpentine are less rich in Ca and Mg respectively. This is why the reaction leads to the elimination of the excess of portlandite (Ca(OH)₂) and brucite (Mg(OH)₂), respectively, out of the silicate system, giving rise to the crystallization of both hydroxides as separate phases.

The rapid reaction of belite hydration in the setting of cement is formally "chemically analogue" to the slow natural hydration of forsterite (the magnesium end-member of olivine) leading to the formation of serpentine and brucite in nature. However, the kinetic of hydration of poorly crystallized artificial belite is much swifter than the slow conversion/weathering of well crystallized Mg-olivine under natural conditions.

This comparison suggests that mineralogists could probably also benefit from the concise formalism of the cement chemist notation in their works.

• Hydration of belite in cement (analogous to forsterite hydration)
• Hydration reaction of forsterite (olivine) in serpentinisation

• Locher, Friedrich W. (2006). Cement: Principles of production and use. Düsseldorf, Germany: Verlag Bau + Technik GmbH. ISBN 3-7640-0420-7.

• Mindess, S.; Young, J.F. (1981). Concrete. Englewood, NJ, USA: Prentice-Hall. ISBN 0-13-167106-5.

• Cement and Concrete Glossary