This themed issue has as its focus calcium sulfolauminate cements (C$A). These cements have long evolutionary history but have recently attracted attention because their production emits less carbon dioxide than Portland cement. Of course a successful building material has to meet many criteria but the structural use of C$A cements in China has attracted much attention. The Chinese cements rely mainly on hydration of ye'elemite, ideally 4CaO.3Al2O3.SO3, for strength gain and thus differ in mineralogy from Portland cement. Despite their structural use in China, C$A cements are used elsewhere mainly in special cement formulations, for example as adhesives and in repair materials, but the feeling has been that these cements have a bright future if only certain disadvantages can be overcome.
The papers in the themes issue were presented at the International Workshop on ‘Calcium Sulfoaluminate Cements’ organised by F. Winnefeld, B. Lothenbach, A. Telesca and M. Marroccoli in 4–6 June 2018 in Murten, Switzerland, which brought together more than 100 participants. This 2nd part of the dedicated issue incorporates three of the eight papers invited by the Organising Committee. Hargis et al. (2019) report on the nature and control of expansive hydration processes. The high water demand of C$A pastes a can be used to make self-desiccating formulations and Cau Dit Coumes et al. (2019) report on the development and properties of different formulations. Wolf et al. (2019) investigate the hydration of ternary C$A-Portland cement-calcium sulfate systems.
It is apparent that basic and applied work on C$A cements is proceeding at a rapid rate: significant advances are occurring in our understanding of these ‘green’ binders. As editors, it has been our pleasure to coordinate the themed issues. We thank the referees for their timeous action and the contributors for their rapid and comprehensive response.
