Volume 74 of Reviews in Mineralogy and Geochemistry contains a selection of papers on the
applied mineralogy of cement and concrete by far the most popular modern building material by
volume with an annual production exceeding 9 billion cubic meters and steadily growing. Not
even all 'concrete' topics can be covered by a single volume but an interesting assortment was
finally obtained. The seven chapters deal with mineralogy and chemistry of (alumina) clinker
production and hydration (Pöllmann) alternative raw clinkering materials to reduce CO2
emission (Justnes) assessment of clinker constituents by optical and electron microscopy
(Stutzman) industrial assessment of raw materials cement and concrete using X-ray methods in
different applications (Meier et al.) in situ investigation of clinker and cement hydration
based on quantitative crystallographic phase analysis (Aranda et al.) characterization and
properties of supplementary cementitious materials (SCMs) to improve cement and concrete
properties (Snellings et al.) and deleterious alkali-aggregate reaction (AAR) in concrete
(Broekmans).
