Assessment of Limestone of Fatha Formation for Ordinary Portland cement industry in Zurbatiya Area, Eastern Iraq

Al-Hadithi, Ahmad O.; Al-Khafaji, Sattar J.

doi:10.33899/earth.2024.148980.1274

	Assessment of Limestone of Fatha Formation for Ordinary Portland cement industry in Zurbatiya Area, Eastern Iraq
Iraqi National Journal of Earth Science (INJES)
Article 5, Volume 25, Issue 3, July 2025, Pages 61-78 PDF (1.48 M)
Document Type: Research Paper
DOI: 10.33899/earth.2024.148980.1274
Authors
Ahmad O. Al-Hadithi¹; Sattar J. Al-Khafaji^* ²
¹Department of Geology, College of Science, University of Basrah, Basrah, Iraq.
²Department of Geology, College of Science, University of Basrah, Basrah, Iraq
Abstract
Limestone deposits from Fatha formation were assess for prepare of ordinary Portland cement. X-ray diffraction (XRD) analyses revealed that calcite is the most abundant mineral in limestone, followed by quartz, and trace amount of dolomite. Chemical analyses by X-ray fluorescence analyses (XRF) showed that the major oxides (CaO, SiO₂, Al₂O₃, Fe₂O₃, MgO, Na₂O, K₂O, TiO₂, SO₃, and P₂O₅) are within the acceptable limits required for the cement industry. Based on the chemical parameters of cement (LSF, SR, and AR), the mixture was made from limestone of the Fatha Formation and the claystone from the Injana Formation. Based on the chemical parameters of cement (LSF, SR, and AR), another mixture was prepared using limestone and claystone as in the first mixture, with the addition of (sand and bauxite) as corrective materials, in order to enhance the quality of the product. The mixture was burned at 1450°C by using special program burning, the produced clinker was assessed mineralogically and chemically to detect the major and minor phases of clinker. Bogue's equations indicated the percentage of (Alite, Billet, Aluminate and Ferrite) within international accepted limits. Moreover, the Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) test indicates clear crystalline shapes of the clinker phases. The produced clinker has good quality and meet the required standard of ordinary Portland cement.
Keywords
Fatha Formation; Zurbatiya; SEM; Clinker; OPC

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