In the manufacture of Portland cement, clinker occurs as lumps or nodules, usually 3 millimetres (0.12 in) to 25 millimetres (0.98 in) in diameter, produced by sintering (fusing together without melting to the point of liquefaction) limestone and aluminosilicate materials such as clay during the cement kiln stage.
Clinker consists of various calcium silicates including alite and belite. Tricalcium aluminate and calcium aluminoferrite are other common components. These components are often gene...
