The precursor material of Portland cement (PC) colloquially referred to as clinker is produced primarily via calcination of limestone (CaCO 3 ). Magnesia‐based cements can similarly be formed via calcination of magnesite (MgCO 3 ) among other routes. Dolomitic minerals typically contain a mixture of these carbonate mineral phases. The current study monitors and explores the electrochemical transformation of CaCO 3 and MgCO 3 synthetic mixtures approximating dolomite and investigates their applicability in forming cementitious phases. The transformation of such mixtures indicates that Mg‐ and Ca‐based electrolysis products, namely Ca(OH) 2 and Mg(OH) 2 , respectively, display different precipitation parameters. Mg(OH) 2 precipitates more rapidly in the form of flower‐shaped micro‐aggregates, while Ca(OH) 2 forms slower in comparison, precipitating in larger hexagonal prismatic structures. These findings point toward possible mixture separation techniques for PC and magnesia‐based cements.
Ramuglia et al. (Wed,) studied this question.