Portland Cement - History

History

Portland cement was developed from natural cements made in Britain in the early part of the nineteenth century, and its name is derived from its similarity to Portland stone, a type of building stone that was quarried on the Isle of Portland in Dorset, England.

Joseph Aspdin, a British bricklayer from Leeds, is considered to be the originator of Portland cement. A process for the manufacture of Portland cement was patented in 1824. This cement was an artificial cement similar in properties to the material known as "Roman cement", which had been patented in 1796 by James Parker. Aspdin's process was similar to a process patented in 1822 and used since 1811 by James Frost who called his cement "British Cement". The name "Portland cement" is also recorded in a directory published in 1823 being associated with a William Lockwood, Dave Stewart, and possibly others.

James Frost is reported to have erected a manufactory for making of an artificial cement in 1826. In 1843, Aspdin's son William improved their cement, which was initially called "Patent Portland cement", although he had no patent. In 1848, William Aspdin further improved his cement and in 1853, he moved to Germany where he was involved in cement making.. William Aspdin made what could be called meso-Portland cement (a mix of Portland cement and hydraulic lime). John Grant of the Metropolitan Board of Works in 1859 set out requirements for cement to be used in the London sewer project. This became a specification for Portland cement. The Hoffman "endless" kiln which gave "perfect control over combustion" was tested in 1860 and showed the process produced a better grade of cement. This cement was made at the Portland Cementfabrik Stern at Stettin, which was the first to utilize a Hoffman kiln. It is thought that the first modern Portland cement was made there. The Association of German Cement Manufacturers issued a standard on Portland cement in 1878.