Misplaced Pages

#441558

99-711: Blue Circle Industries was a British public company manufacturing cement . It was founded in 1900 as the Associated Portland Cement Manufacturers Ltd through the fusion of 24 cement works, mostly around on the Thames and Medway estuaries, together having around a 70% market share of the British cement market. In 1911, the British Portland Cement Manufacturers Ltd was formed by the addition of

198-558: A mortar made of sand and roughly burnt gypsum (CaSO 4 · 2H 2 O), which is plaster of Paris, which often contained calcium carbonate (CaCO 3 ), Lime (calcium oxide) was used on Crete and by the Ancient Greeks . There is evidence that the Minoans of Crete used crushed potsherds as an artificial pozzolan for hydraulic cement. Nobody knows who first discovered that a combination of hydrated non-hydraulic lime and

297-537: A New York Times article warned that the word "glut" was misleading, and that in reality, while temporary surpluses had brought down prices somewhat, prices were still well above pre-energy crisis levels. This sentiment was echoed in November 1981, when the CEO of Exxon also characterized the glut as a temporary surplus, and that the word "glut" was an example of "our American penchant for exaggerated language". He wrote that

396-801: A cheque, and on returning to London, announced to the Board that they were now operating in Mexico. Similar deals were made for plants in Vancouver Island , Canada and the Orange Free State , South Africa in the same year. In later years, this wide geographical spread became a notable advantage for the company. The cement industry, although extremely capital-intensive, is subject to exaggerated economic cycles . Geographical spread allowed financing of investment in areas experiencing down-turns using revenue from more buoyant areas. At various times,

495-428: A condition of approval for the joint venture. This led to the creation of Hope Construction Materials, which commenced operations in 2013 as Britain's leading independent producer of cement, ready-mix and aggregates, following acquisition of over 170 operational sites, including the former Blue Circle Hope cement works. In 2016, The Breedon Group purchased Hope Construction Materials for £336 million. In 2015, following

594-442: A controlled bond with masonry blocks. Expansive cements contain, in addition to Portland clinker, expansive clinkers (usually sulfoaluminate clinkers), and are designed to offset the effects of drying shrinkage normally encountered in hydraulic cements. This cement can make concrete for floor slabs (up to 60 m square) without contraction joints. 1970s energy crisis The crisis began to unfold as petroleum production in

693-612: A few countries. The "Embargo" was never effective from Saudi Arabia towards the US, as reported by James E. Akins in interview at 24:10 in the documentary "la face cachée du pétrole part 2". Akins, who audited US capacity for Nixon after US peak, was US ambassador in Saudi Arabia at that time. Lawrence Rocks and Richard Runyon captured the unfolding of these events at the time in The Energy Crisis book. In October 1973,

792-432: A fine powder. This product, made into a mortar with sand, set in 5–15 minutes. The success of "Roman cement" led other manufacturers to develop rival products by burning artificial hydraulic lime cements of clay and chalk . Roman cement quickly became popular but was largely replaced by Portland cement in the 1850s. Apparently unaware of Smeaton's work, the same principle was identified by Frenchman Louis Vicat in

891-432: A form of hydraulic cement, is by far the most common type of cement in general use around the world. This cement is made by heating limestone (calcium carbonate) with other materials (such as clay ) to 1,450 °C (2,640 °F) in a kiln , in a process known as calcination that liberates a molecule of carbon dioxide from the calcium carbonate to form calcium oxide , or quicklime, which then chemically combines with

990-437: A further 35 companies, creating a company with an initial 80% of the British cement market. Subsequently, the company expanded overseas, predominantly into commonwealth countries and South and Central America. The energy crisis of the 1970 caused the contraction of the company, and the sale of its overseas plants. In 1978, the company's name was changed to Blue Circle . In 2001 the company was bought by Lafarge . The company

1089-452: A glut on the world market, causing a six-year-long decline in oil prices culminating with a 46 percent price drop in 1986. The U.S. reported a negative economic growth during the period concerning the 1970s and it remained weak till the 1980s as the post world war II economic boom drew to a close. But it was a different type of recession as it was a scenario of stagflation which is a rare economic consequence. Other causes that contributed to

SECTION 10

#1732791465442

1188-678: A half-century. Technologies of waste cementation have been developed and deployed at industrial scale in many countries. Cementitious wasteforms require a careful selection and design process adapted to each specific type of waste to satisfy the strict waste acceptance criteria for long-term storage and disposal. Modern development of hydraulic cement began with the start of the Industrial Revolution (around 1800), driven by three main needs: Modern cements are often Portland cement or Portland cement blends, but other cement blends are used in some industrial settings. Portland cement,

1287-787: A market for use in concrete. The use of concrete in construction grew rapidly from 1850 onward, and was soon the dominant use for cements. Thus Portland cement began its predominant role. Isaac Charles Johnson further refined the production of meso-Portland cement (middle stage of development) and claimed he was the real father of Portland cement. Setting time and "early strength" are important characteristics of cements. Hydraulic limes, "natural" cements, and "artificial" cements all rely on their belite (2 CaO · SiO 2 , abbreviated as C 2 S) content for strength development. Belite develops strength slowly. Because they were burned at temperatures below 1,250 °C (2,280 °F), they contained no alite (3 CaO · SiO 2 , abbreviated as C 3 S), which

1386-413: A month for Rosendale cement made it unpopular for constructing highways and bridges, and many states and construction firms turned to Portland cement. Because of the switch to Portland cement, by the end of the 1920s only one of the 15 Rosendale cement companies had survived. But in the early 1930s, builders discovered that, while Portland cement set faster, it was not as durable, especially for highways—to

1485-695: A pozzolan produces a hydraulic mixture (see also: Pozzolanic reaction ), but such concrete was used by the Greeks, specifically the Ancient Macedonians , and three centuries later on a large scale by Roman engineers . There is... a kind of powder which from natural causes produces astonishing results. It is found in the neighborhood of Baiae and in the country belonging to the towns round about Mount Vesuvius . This substance when mixed with lime and rubble not only lends strength to buildings of other kinds but even when piers of it are constructed in

1584-483: A second attempt was made to unify the industry: 33 companies, including all the original drop-outs, were merged to form the British Portland Cement Manufacturers Ltd . This time, a substantial number of plants outside the London area were involved. Again, a small but significant number of companies refused to join. The combined APCM and BPCM companies now controlled 80% of national capacity, in 58 plants. This pattern became

1683-583: A template for subsequent history: declining capacity share was periodically boosted by acquisition of competitors, and the company continued to maintain 60–70% of British capacity until its demise. Blue Circle's overseas activities began in 1912. The Tolteca plant near Mexico City had been established by the American Louisville Cement Company . The Americans, rattled by Mexican political instability in 1912, wanted to sell out. A Blue Circle director travelling in Mexico wrote them

1782-688: A very advanced civilisation in El Tajin near Mexico City, in Mexico. A detailed study of the composition of the aggregate and binder show that the aggregate was pumice and the binder was a pozzolanic cement made with volcanic ash and lime. Any preservation of this knowledge in literature from the Middle Ages is unknown, but medieval masons and some military engineers actively used hydraulic cement in structures such as canals , fortresses, harbors , and shipbuilding facilities . A mixture of lime mortar and aggregate with brick or stone facing material

1881-422: Is hydraulic cement , which hardens by hydration of the clinker minerals when water is added. Hydraulic cements (such as Portland cement) are made of a mixture of silicates and oxides, the four main mineral phases of the clinker, abbreviated in the cement chemist notation , being: The silicates are responsible for the cement's mechanical properties — the tricalcium aluminate and brownmillerite are essential for

1980-512: Is pozzolanic , so that ultimate strength is maintained. Because fly ash addition allows a lower concrete water content, early strength can also be maintained. Where good quality cheap fly ash is available, this can be an economic alternative to ordinary Portland cement. Portland pozzolan cement includes fly ash cement, since fly ash is a pozzolan , but also includes cements made from other natural or artificial pozzolans. In countries where volcanic ashes are available (e.g., Italy, Chile, Mexico,

2079-520: Is a major emitter of global carbon dioxide emissions . The lime reacts with silicon dioxide to produce dicalcium silicate and tricalcium silicate. The lime also reacts with aluminium oxide to form tricalcium aluminate. In the last step, calcium oxide, aluminium oxide, and ferric oxide react together to form brownmillerite. A less common form of cement is non-hydraulic cement , such as slaked lime ( calcium oxide mixed with water), which hardens by carbonation in contact with carbon dioxide , which

SECTION 20

#1732791465442

2178-573: Is about 4.4 billion tonnes per year (2021, estimation), of which about half is made in China, followed by India and Vietnam. The cement production process is responsible for nearly 8% (2018) of global CO 2 emissions, which includes heating raw materials in a cement kiln by fuel combustion and release of CO 2 stored in the calcium carbonate (calcination process). Its hydrated products, such as concrete, gradually reabsorb atmospheric CO 2 (carbonation process), compensating for approximately 30% of

2277-417: Is completely evaporated (this process is technically called setting ), the carbonation starts: This reaction is slow, because the partial pressure of carbon dioxide in the air is low (~ 0.4 millibar). The carbonation reaction requires that the dry cement be exposed to air, so the slaked lime is a non-hydraulic cement and cannot be used under water. This process is called the lime cycle . Perhaps

2376-518: Is constantly fed into a rotary kiln, it allowed a continuous manufacturing process to replace lower capacity batch production processes. Calcium aluminate cements were patented in 1908 in France by Jules Bied for better resistance to sulfates. Also in 1908, Thomas Edison experimented with pre-cast concrete in houses in Union, N.J. In the US, after World War One, the long curing time of at least

2475-674: Is more usually added to Portland cement at the concrete mixer. Masonry cements are used for preparing bricklaying mortars and stuccos , and must not be used in concrete. They are usually complex proprietary formulations containing Portland clinker and a number of other ingredients that may include limestone, hydrated lime, air entrainers, retarders, waterproofers, and coloring agents. They are formulated to yield workable mortars that allow rapid and consistent masonry work. Subtle variations of masonry cement in North America are plastic cements and stucco cements. These are designed to produce

2574-531: Is often questioned. The targeted countries responded with a wide variety of new, and mostly permanent, initiatives to contain their further dependency. The 1973 "oil price shock", along with the 1973–1974 stock market crash , have been regarded as the first event since the Great Depression to have a persistent economic effect. A crisis emerged in the United States in 1979 during the wake of

2673-403: Is present in the air (~ 412 vol. ppm ≃ 0.04 vol. %). First calcium oxide (lime) is produced from calcium carbonate ( limestone or chalk ) by calcination at temperatures above 825 °C (1,517 °F) for about 10 hours at atmospheric pressure : The calcium oxide is then spent (slaked) by mixing it with water to make slaked lime ( calcium hydroxide ): Once the excess water

2772-483: Is responsible for early strength in modern cements. The first cement to consistently contain alite was made by William Aspdin in the early 1840s: This was what we call today "modern" Portland cement. Because of the air of mystery with which William Aspdin surrounded his product, others ( e.g., Vicat and Johnson) have claimed precedence in this invention, but recent analysis of both his concrete and raw cement have shown that William Aspdin's product made at Northfleet , Kent

2871-493: Is seldom used on its own, but rather to bind sand and gravel ( aggregate ) together. Cement mixed with fine aggregate produces mortar for masonry, or with sand and gravel , produces concrete . Concrete is the most widely used material in existence and is behind only water as the planet's most-consumed resource. Cements used in construction are usually inorganic , often lime - or calcium silicate -based, and are either hydraulic or less commonly non-hydraulic , depending on

2970-438: Is to make concrete. Portland cement may be grey or white . Portland cement blends are often available as inter-ground mixtures from cement producers, but similar formulations are often also mixed from the ground components at the concrete mixing plant. Portland blast-furnace slag cement , or blast furnace cement (ASTM C595 and EN 197-1 nomenclature respectively), contains up to 95% ground granulated blast furnace slag , with

3069-460: The 1970s energy crisis . The company's UK capacity reached its peak of 13 million tonnes per annum in 1973, and ultimately fell to half that level. Simultaneous worldwide contraction of markets led to severe retrenchment. In the 1980s, major overseas investments were sold, notably the by-then very large Mexican operation. The Mexican plants became incorporated into the Cemex group, which by 2006 became

Blue Circle Industries - Misplaced Pages Continue

3168-559: The Arab world and some other predominantly Muslim countries. The animosity between the Arabs and the Israelis became a global issue during the 1970s. The Yom Kippur War of 1973, with the supplying of Israel by its Western allies while some Arab states received Soviet supplies, made this one of the most internationally threatening confrontations of the period. The large oil discoveries in

3267-506: The Bretton Woods Accord and taking the U.S. off the established Gold Exchange Standard in 1971. The change resulted in instability in world currencies and depreciation of the value of the U.S. dollar , as well as other currencies. The revenues of OPEC also took a hit since they priced oil in dollars. Finally OPEC started pricing oil against gold to combat the situation. But OPEC still struggled to maintain stability in

3366-692: The Iranian Revolution . Amid massive protests, the Shah of Iran , Mohammad Reza Pahlavi , fled his country in early 1979, allowing the Ayatollah Khomeini to gain control. The protests shattered the Iranian oil sector. While the new regime resumed oil exports, it was inconsistent and at a lower volume, forcing prices to go up. Saudi Arabia and other OPEC nations, under the presidency of Dr. Mana Alotaiba increased production to offset

3465-478: The Isle of Portland , Dorset, England. However, Aspdins' cement was nothing like modern Portland cement but was a first step in its development, called a proto-Portland cement . Joseph Aspdins' son William Aspdin had left his father's company and in his cement manufacturing apparently accidentally produced calcium silicates in the 1840s, a middle step in the development of Portland cement. William Aspdin's innovation

3564-561: The Middle East gave some Muslim countries unique leverage in the world, beginning in the 1960s. The 1973 and 1979 crises, in particular, were demonstrations of the new power that these countries had found. The United States and other countries were forced to become more involved in the conflicts between these states and Israel. One of the first challenges OPEC faced in the 1970s was the United States' unilaterally pulling out of

3663-619: The National Bureau of Economic Research , the U.S. economy slid into a recession during the period of 1973-75. Inflation levels remained high even when an economic expansion took place afterwards. During this recession, the Gross Domestic Product of the United States fell 3.2%. Although the recession ended in March 1975, the unemployment rate did not peak for several months. In May 1975, the rate reached its height for

3762-688: The North Sea offshore fields of the United Kingdom and Norway, the Cantarell offshore field of Mexico, and oil sands in Canada. As a result of the 1973 crisis many nations created strategic petroleum reserves (SPRs), crude oil inventories (or stockpiles) held by the governments of particular countries or private industry, for the purpose of providing economic and national security during an energy crisis. The International Energy Agency (IEA)

3861-501: The 1960s, petroleum production in some of the world's top producers with extraction technology at the time began to peak. West Germany reached its production peak in 1966, Venezuela and the United States in 1970, and Iran in 1974. Canada 's conventional oil production peaked around this same time (though non-conventional production later helped revive Canadian production to some degree). The worldwide production per capita peaked soon afterward. Although production in other parts of

3960-406: The 1973 and 1979 energy crises) and the energy conservation spurred by high fuel prices. The inflation adjusted real 2004 dollar value of oil fell from an average of $ 78.2 per barrel in 1981 to an average of $ 26.8 in 1986. In June 1981, The New York Times stated an "Oil glut! ... is here" and Time Magazine stated: "the world temporarily floats in a glut of oil", though the next week

4059-463: The 1980s, both the recessions of the 1970s and adjustments in local economies to become more efficient in petroleum usage, controlled demand sufficiently for petroleum prices worldwide to return to more sustainable levels. The period was not uniformly negative for all economies. Petroleum-rich countries in the Middle East benefited from increased prices and the slowing production in other areas of

Blue Circle Industries - Misplaced Pages Continue

4158-524: The 1980s. Ever since Israel declared independence in 1948 there was conflict between Arabs and Israelis in the Middle East , including a number of wars . The Suez Crisis , also known as the Second Arab–Israeli war, was sparked when Israel's southern port of Eilat was blocked by Egypt , which also nationalized the Suez Canal belonging to Anglo-French investors. One of the objectives of

4257-525: The Ancient Roman term opus caementicium , used to describe masonry resembling modern concrete that was made from crushed rock with burnt lime as binder. The volcanic ash and pulverized brick supplements that were added to the burnt lime, to obtain a hydraulic binder , were later referred to as cementum , cimentum , cäment , and cement . In modern times, organic polymers are sometimes used as cements in concrete. World production of cement

4356-523: The Art to Prepare a Good Mortar published in St. Petersburg . A few years later in 1825, he published another book, which described various methods of making cement and concrete, and the benefits of cement in the construction of buildings and embankments. Portland cement , the most common type of cement in general use around the world as a basic ingredient of concrete, mortar , stucco , and non-speciality grout ,

4455-491: The British cement manufacturing capacity (1.25 million tons per annum out of a total 1.8 million tons). The company had acquired, at considerable cost, patents related to the use of rotary kilns (see cement kiln ). However, the patents proved valueless, since rotary kilns were already in place or being installed by their competitors. In the ensuing decade, the majority of the rotary kilns installed in Britain were installed by

4554-622: The Middle East, which complicated the situation. To address these developments, the Nixon Administration began parallel negotiations with both Arab oil producers to end the embargo, and with Egypt , Syria , and Israel to arrange an Israeli pull back from the Sinai and the Golan Heights after the fighting stopped. By January 18, 1974, Secretary of State Henry Kissinger had negotiated an Israeli troop withdrawal from parts of

4653-543: The New York Commissioner of Highways to construct an experimental section of highway near New Paltz, New York , using one sack of Rosendale to six sacks of Portland cement. It was a success, and for decades the Rosendale-Portland cement blend was used in concrete highway and concrete bridge construction. Cementitious materials have been used as a nuclear waste immobilizing matrix for more than

4752-463: The Philippines), these cements are often the most common form in use. The maximum replacement ratios are generally defined as for Portland-fly ash cement. Portland silica fume cement. Addition of silica fume can yield exceptionally high strengths, and cements containing 5–20% silica fume are occasionally produced, with 10% being the maximum allowed addition under EN 197–1. However, silica fume

4851-568: The Sinai. The promise of a negotiated settlement between Israel and Syria was sufficient to convince Arab oil producers to lift the embargo in March 1974. By May, Israel agreed to withdraw from the Golan Heights . Independently, the OPEC members agreed to use their leverage over the world price-setting mechanism for oil to stabilize their real incomes by raising world oil prices. This action followed several years of steep income declines after

4950-468: The United States after Richard Nixon requested $ 2.2 billion to support Israel in the war. Nevertheless, the embargo lasted only until January 1974, though the price of oil remained high afterwards. The real price of petroleum was stable in the 1970 timeframe, but there had been a sharp increase in American imports, putting a strain on American balance of trade, alongside other developed nations. During

5049-425: The United States and some other parts of the world peaked in the late 1960s and early 1970s. World oil production per capita began a long-term decline after 1979. The oil crises prompted the first shift towards energy-saving (in particular, fossil fuel-saving) technologies. The major industrial centers of the world were forced to contend with escalating issues related to petroleum supply. Western countries relied on

SECTION 50

#1732791465442

5148-409: The ability of the cement to set in the presence of water (see hydraulic and non-hydraulic lime plaster ). Hydraulic cements (e.g., Portland cement ) set and become adhesive through a chemical reaction between the dry ingredients and water. The chemical reaction results in mineral hydrates that are not very water-soluble. This allows setting in wet conditions or under water and further protects

5247-616: The absence of pozzolanic ash, the Romans used powdered brick or pottery as a substitute and they may have used crushed tiles for this purpose before discovering natural sources near Rome. The huge dome of the Pantheon in Rome and the massive Baths of Caracalla are examples of ancient structures made from these concretes, many of which still stand. The vast system of Roman aqueducts also made extensive use of hydraulic cement. Roman concrete

5346-467: The available hydraulic limes, visiting their production sites, and noted that the "hydraulicity" of the lime was directly related to the clay content of the limestone used to make it. Smeaton was a civil engineer by profession, and took the idea no further. In the South Atlantic seaboard of the United States, tabby relying on the oyster-shell middens of earlier Native American populations

5445-532: The beginning of 1971 (and shortages, especially for heating oil, started from there). The "embargo" as described below is the "practical name" given to the crisis. For the main Arab producers, the "embargo" allowed them to show to "the Arab street " that they were doing something for the Palestinians. In real market terms (number of barrels) the embargo was almost a non-event, and only from a few countries, towards

5544-479: The company itself. But it was not until 1978 that the UK company name was officially changed from APCM Ltd to Blue Circle Industries plc. The company gradually built up a competence in the technical aspects of low-cost cement manufacture, and installed many new plants during the period 1950–1970, to its own specifications. It also sold manufacturing and plant-installation turnkey consultancy. The company faltered following

5643-537: The company owned or part-owned manufacturing capacity in Australia, New Zealand, Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines, India, Nigeria, Zimbabwe, Kenya, Tanzania, Egypt, Ireland, Spain, Denmark, Greece, United States, Chile and Brazil. During the 1970s Blue Circle became, briefly, the largest cement manufacturer in the world. In the 1920s the company's main brand name – Blue Circle – began to be used informally for

5742-419: The competition, including several newly launched companies. Because of the circumstances of the company's launch, it was short of cash and could ill afford investment. By 1910, its capacity remained 1.25 million tons per annum, although competing capacity had risen to 1.8 million tons. Although a few favoured plants had been modernized and updated, the majority of the original 35 plants had been shut down. In 1911,

5841-518: The conflict. With the US actions seen as initiating the oil embargo, the long-term possibility of embargo-related high oil prices, disrupted supply and recession, created a strong rift within NATO ; both European countries and Japan sought to disassociate themselves from the US Middle East policy. Arab oil producers had also linked the end of the embargo with successful US efforts to create peace in

5940-544: The cycle of 9%. The recession also lasted from 1973 to 1975 in the United Kingdom . The GDP declined by 3.9% or 3.37% depending on the source. It took 14 quarters for the UK's GDP to recover to that at the start of recession. High oil prices in the 1970s induced investment in oil production by non-OPEC countries, particularly for reserves with a higher cost of production. These included Prudhoe Bay in Alaska,

6039-505: The decline, and the overall loss in production was about 4 percent. However, a widespread panic resulted, driving the price far higher than would be expected under normal circumstances. In 1980, following the Iraqi invasion of Iran , oil production in Iran nearly stopped, and Iraq's oil production was severely cut as well. After 1980, oil prices began a decline as other countries began to fill

SECTION 60

#1732791465442

6138-420: The development of new cements. Most famous was Parker's " Roman cement ". This was developed by James Parker in the 1780s, and finally patented in 1796. It was, in fact, nothing like material used by the Romans, but was a "natural cement" made by burning septaria – nodules that are found in certain clay deposits, and that contain both clay minerals and calcium carbonate . The burnt nodules were ground to

6237-607: The earliest known occurrence of cement is from twelve million years ago. A deposit of cement was formed after an occurrence of oil shale located adjacent to a bed of limestone burned by natural causes. These ancient deposits were investigated in the 1960s and 1970s. Cement, chemically speaking, is a product that includes lime as the primary binding ingredient, but is far from the first material used for cementation. The Babylonians and Assyrians used bitumen (asphalt or pitch ) to bind together burnt brick or alabaster slabs. In Ancient Egypt , stone blocks were cemented together with

6336-461: The first decade of the nineteenth century. Vicat went on to devise a method of combining chalk and clay into an intimate mixture, and, burning this, produced an "artificial cement" in 1817 considered the "principal forerunner" of Portland cement and "...Edgar Dobbs of Southwark patented a cement of this kind in 1811." In Russia, Egor Cheliev created a new binder by mixing lime and clay. His results were published in 1822 in his book A Treatise on

6435-402: The formation of the liquid phase during the sintering ( firing ) process of clinker at high temperature in the kiln . The chemistry of these reactions is not completely clear and is still the object of research. First, the limestone (calcium carbonate) is burned to remove its carbon, producing lime (calcium oxide) in what is known as a calcination reaction. This single chemical reaction

6534-439: The hardened material from chemical attack. The chemical process for hydraulic cement was found by ancient Romans who used volcanic ash ( pozzolana ) with added lime (calcium oxide). Non-hydraulic cement (less common) does not set in wet conditions or under water. Rather, it sets as it dries and reacts with carbon dioxide in the air. It is resistant to attack by chemicals after setting. The word "cement" can be traced back to

6633-426: The initial CO 2 emissions. Cement materials can be classified into two distinct categories: hydraulic cements and non-hydraulic cements according to their respective setting and hardening mechanisms. Hydraulic cement setting and hardening involves hydration reactions and therefore requires water, while non-hydraulic cements only react with a gas and can directly set under air. By far the most common type of cement

6732-732: The invasion was the removal of President Gamal Abdel Nasser who was aligning with the Soviet Union . The Six-Day War of 1967 included an Israeli invasion of the Egyptian Sinai Peninsula , which resulted in Egypt's closure of the Suez Canal for eight years . The canal was cleared in 1974 and opened again in 1975 after the 1973 Yom Kippur War , when Egypt tried to take back the Sinai. OAPEC countries cut production of oil and placed an embargo on oil exports to

6831-404: The low pH (8.5–9.5) of its pore water) limited its use as reinforced concrete for building construction. The next development in the manufacture of Portland cement was the introduction of the rotary kiln . It produced a clinker mixture that was both stronger, because more alite (C 3 S) is formed at the higher temperature it achieved (1450 °C), and more homogeneous. Because raw material

6930-470: The main cause of the glut was declining consumption. In the United States, Europe and Japan, oil consumption had fallen 13% from 1979 to 1981, due to "in part, in reaction to the very large increases in oil prices by the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries and other oil exporters", continuing a trend begun during the 1973 price increases. After 1980, reduced demand and overproduction produced

7029-572: The members of Organization of Arab Petroleum Exporting Countries or the OAPEC (consisting of the Arab members of OPEC ) proclaimed an oil embargo "in response to the U.S. decision to re-supply the Israeli military" during the Yom Kippur war ; it lasted until March 1974. OAPEC declared it would limit or stop oil shipments to the United States and other countries if they supported Israel in

7128-514: The merger of Lafarge and Holcim, as part of another complex deal to appease European competition regulators, the Irish building materials company CRH plc took control of a number of former LarargeHolcim assets, including the Tarmac and Blue Circle brands, together with the former Blue Circle works locations of Aberthaw, Barnstone, Dunbar, Northfleet and Westbury. The Holcim Group retained control of

7227-460: The moment the U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve is one of the largest government-owned reserves, with a capacity of up to 713.5 million barrels (113,440,000 m ). Recently, other non-IEA countries have begun creating their own strategic petroleum reserves, with China being the second largest overall and the largest non-IEA country. Since Israel's declaration of independence in 1948 this state has found itself in nearly continual conflict with

7326-465: The other materials in the mix to form calcium silicates and other cementitious compounds. The resulting hard substance, called 'clinker', is then ground with a small amount of gypsum ( CaSO 4 ·2H 2 O ) into a powder to make ordinary Portland cement , the most commonly used type of cement (often referred to as OPC). Portland cement is a basic ingredient of concrete , mortar , and most non-specialty grout . The most common use for Portland cement

7425-474: The point that some states stopped building highways and roads with cement. Bertrain H. Wait, an engineer whose company had helped construct the New York City's Catskill Aqueduct , was impressed with the durability of Rosendale cement, and came up with a blend of both Rosendale and Portland cements that had the good attributes of both. It was highly durable and had a much faster setting time. Wait convinced

7524-513: The price of West Texas Intermediate crude oil increased 250 percent. Although all states felt the effects of the stock market crash and related national economic problems, the economic benefits of increased oil revenue in the Oil Patch states generally offset much of this. Following the 1970s, the global energy consumption per capita broke away from its previous trend of rapid growth, instead remaining relatively flat for multiple decades until

7623-426: The production shortfalls from Iran and Iraq. The 1973 and 1979 energy crisis had caused petroleum prices to peak in 1980 at over US$ 35 per barrel (US$ 129 in today's dollars). Following these events slowing industrial economies and stabilization of supply and demand caused prices to begin falling in the 1980s. The glut began in the early 1980s as a result of slowed economic activity in industrial countries (due to

7722-428: The recent failure of negotiations with the major Western oil companies earlier in the month. For the most part, industrialized economies relied on crude oil, and OPEC was their major supplier. Because of the dramatic inflation experienced during this period, a popular economic theory has been that these price increases were to blame, as being suppressive of economic activity. However, the causality stated by this theory

7821-536: The recession included the Vietnam War , which turned out costly for the United States and the fall of the Bretton Woods system . The emergence of newly industrialized countries rose competition in the metal industry, triggering a steel crisis , where industrial core areas in North America and Europe were forced to re-structure. The 1973–1974 stock market crash made the recession evident. According to

7920-402: The region as the negotiations between them and other Western oil companies bore little to no positive results. The major oil-producing regions of the U.S.— Texas , Oklahoma , Louisiana , Colorado , Wyoming , and Alaska —benefited greatly from the price inflation of the 1970s as did the U.S. oil industry in general. Oil prices generally increased throughout the decade; between 1978 and 1980

8019-403: The resources of countries in the Middle East and other parts of the world. The crisis led to stagnant economic growth in many countries as oil prices surged. Although there were genuine concerns with supply, part of the run-up in prices resulted from the perception of a crisis. The combination of stagnant growth and price inflation during this era led to the coinage of the term stagflation . By

8118-447: The rest Portland clinker and a little gypsum. All compositions produce high ultimate strength, but as slag content is increased, early strength is reduced, while sulfate resistance increases and heat evolution diminishes. Used as an economic alternative to Portland sulfate-resisting and low-heat cements. Portland-fly ash cement contains up to 40% fly ash under ASTM standards (ASTM C595), or 35% under EN standards (EN 197–1). The fly ash

8217-407: The sea, they set hard underwater. The Greeks used volcanic tuff from the island of Thera as their pozzolan and the Romans used crushed volcanic ash (activated aluminium silicates ) with lime. This mixture could set under water, increasing its resistance to corrosion like rust. The material was called pozzolana from the town of Pozzuoli , west of Naples where volcanic ash was extracted. In

8316-412: The two remaining former Blue Circle UK cement works, Cauldon and Cookstown, as part of Aggregate Industries , using the "Lafarge Cement" brand. The following British cement plants are among those which have been owned by Blue Circle: Cement A cement is a binder , a chemical substance used for construction that sets , hardens, and adheres to other materials to bind them together. Cement

8415-411: The world was increasing, the peaks in these regions began to put substantial upward pressure on world oil prices. Equally as important, control of the oil supply became an increasingly important problem as countries like West Germany and the U.S. became increasingly dependent on foreign suppliers for this key resource. The 1973 oil crisis is a direct consequence of the US production peak in late 1960 and

8514-734: The world's largest cement manufacturer. Lafarge continued to use "Blue Circle" as its cement brand name in the UK. An agreement in 2012 between Lafarge and Anglo American proposed the creation of a joint venture to be known as Lafarge Tarmac. The Office of Fair Trading referred the deal to the Competition Commission , which instructed the two companies to sell off the Hope works in Derbyshire along with over half of their proposed joint UK ready-mix concrete capacity, together with sundry other facilities including asphalt plants, as

8613-501: The world's third largest cement manufacturer. This was followed by several failed attempts at diversification, which also failed to enhance investor confidence. In the late 1990s, the company again attempted to expand its cement operations geographically, this time facing intense competition from other large companies. In 2001, the company, now shrunk to sixth largest worldwide, was bought by the French company Lafarge . Lafarge thus became

8712-402: The world. Some other countries, such as Norway, Mexico, and Venezuela, benefited as well. In the United States, Texas and Alaska , as well as some other oil-producing areas, experienced major economic booms due to soaring oil prices even as most of the rest of the nation struggled with the stagnant economy. Many of these economic gains, however, came to a halt as prices stabilized and dropped in

8811-444: Was a true alite-based cement. However, Aspdin's methods were "rule-of-thumb": Vicat is responsible for establishing the chemical basis of these cements, and Johnson established the importance of sintering the mix in the kiln . In the US the first large-scale use of cement was Rosendale cement , a natural cement mined from a massive deposit of dolomite discovered in the early 19th century near Rosendale, New York . Rosendale cement

8910-479: Was counterintuitive for manufacturers of "artificial cements", because they required more lime in the mix (a problem for his father), a much higher kiln temperature (and therefore more fuel), and the resulting clinker was very hard and rapidly wore down the millstones , which were the only available grinding technology of the time. Manufacturing costs were therefore considerably higher, but the product set reasonably slowly and developed strength quickly, thus opening up

9009-473: Was developed in England in the mid 19th century, and usually originates from limestone . James Frost produced what he called "British cement" in a similar manner around the same time, but did not obtain a patent until 1822. In 1824, Joseph Aspdin patented a similar material, which he called Portland cement , because the render made from it was in color similar to the prestigious Portland stone quarried on

9108-505: Was extremely popular for the foundation of buildings ( e.g. , Statue of Liberty , Capitol Building , Brooklyn Bridge ) and lining water pipes. Sorel cement , or magnesia-based cement, was patented in 1867 by the Frenchman Stanislas Sorel . It was stronger than Portland cement but its poor water resistance (leaching) and corrosive properties ( pitting corrosion due to the presence of leachable chloride anions and

9207-629: Was formalized by French and British engineers in the 18th century. John Smeaton made an important contribution to the development of cements while planning the construction of the third Eddystone Lighthouse (1755–59) in the English Channel now known as Smeaton's Tower . He needed a hydraulic mortar that would set and develop some strength in the twelve-hour period between successive high tides . He performed experiments with combinations of different limestones and additives including trass and pozzolanas and did exhaustive market research on

9306-479: Was formed in the wake of this crisis and currently comprises 31 member countries. According to the IEA, approximately 4.1 billion barrels (650,000,000 m ) of oil are held in strategic reserves by the member countries, of which 1.4 billion barrels (220,000,000 m ) is government-controlled. The remainder is held by private industry. These reserves are intended to be equivalent to at least 90 days of net imports. At

9405-460: Was founded in 1900 as Associated Portland Cement Manufacturers Ltd by the amalgamation of 24 cement companies, owning 35 cement plants, all but two of which were on the Thames and Medway estuaries near London. These included the two cement plants (Robin's and Swanscombe) that first manufactured Portland cement in the 1840s. The initial prospectus of the merger (in a time before anti-trust laws )

9504-405: Was rarely used on the outside of buildings. The normal technique was to use brick facing material as the formwork for an infill of mortar mixed with an aggregate of broken pieces of stone, brick, potsherds , recycled chunks of concrete, or other building rubble. Lightweight concrete was designed and used for the construction of structural elements by the pre-Columbian builders who lived in

9603-400: Was to unify the entire British cement industry, eliminating competition, and excluding imports. The merger plan failed because a number of small companies – many of them outside the London area – refused to discuss the proposition, four major players in the initial discussions dropped out, and a further three committed companies dropped out at the last minute. Nonetheless, the company held 70% of

9702-407: Was used in house construction from the 1730s to the 1860s. In Britain particularly, good quality building stone became ever more expensive during a period of rapid growth, and it became a common practice to construct prestige buildings from the new industrial bricks, and to finish them with a stucco to imitate stone. Hydraulic limes were favored for this, but the need for a fast set time encouraged

9801-748: Was used in the Eastern Roman Empire as well as in the West into the Gothic period . The German Rhineland continued to use hydraulic mortar throughout the Middle Ages, having local pozzolana deposits called trass . Tabby is a building material made from oyster shell lime, sand, and whole oyster shells to form a concrete. The Spanish introduced it to the Americas in the sixteenth century. The technical knowledge for making hydraulic cement

#441558