Quantitative Analysis of Chemical Compositions of selected Cement Brands in Nigeria.

Abstract

This work was carried out to evaluate the quality of cement produced by the Nigerian cement industries using atomic absorption spectrophotometer (AAS). Five brands of cement samples were analyzed. The percentage (%) composition of Na2O, K2O, Fe2O3, Al2O3, and MgO are within the acceptable range of British standard (BS) and American Society for testing materials (ASTM). The percentage composition of silica was below standard specification for Dangote, Sokoto, Burham, and Benue cement with the respective composition of 18.02%, 15.0%, 19.07%, and 14.53%. Ashaka cement alone has a specification close to the expected standard, the CAO content agrees well with British standard for all cement types with Dangote having the lowest of 51.67$, Ashaka 60.00%, Burham 56.17%, and Benue cement 55.90%. The results obtained for the five cement brands met 85.98% specification requirements and thus can be recommended for structures with low loading cappacities