What is the difference between opc & pcc Cement?

What is the difference between opc and ppc cement?
16 ANSWERS
Isaac Gaetz
Isaac Gaetz, Professional Engineer
34.5k Views • Isaac is a Most Viewed Writer in Concrete Floor with 40+ answers.
Originally Answered: Which is better for concrete, PPC or OPC?
OPC typically means Ordinary Portland Cement. This is standard concrete used for many purposes.

PPC mean Pozzolanic Portland Cement. Pozzolans are siliceous material than can be added to concrete mixtures, potentially lower the mix cost without harming the performance characteristics. In some cases pozzolans will actually increase a concrete's resistance to chemical intrusion. This increases the concrete's performance when subjected to chlorides or sulfates. Pozzolans may slow the curing rate of the concrete, resulting in low break strengths at early tests, such as a 1-day test, when compared to Ordinary Portland Cement. In the long term, PPC cements typically achieve strengths equal to or greater than OPC.

As with most things, the actual answer depends on the specific use and location. Not all types of concrete are available in all locations, and the costs may vary. If the pozzolanic material is not available, or has to be shipped from a distant location, while the portland cement is produced locally, OPC concrete may be cheaper than PPC.
Written 6 Aug 2013 • View Upvotes
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OTHER ANSWERS
Sumanth Reddy
Sumanth Reddy, Concrete technologist, Structural and construction material forensic engineer
36.3k Views • Sumanth is a Most Viewed Writer in Cement.
Ordinary Portland Cement (OPC) and Portland Pozzolana cement (PPC) differ primarily in their  composition ultimately affecting its applicability.

PPC commonly has pozzolan material added to cement (either before clinkering or added to ground clinker). Pozzolan commonly used is fly as and is put upto 15%.

Pozzolans have an effect in reacting with the Calcium hydroxide formed after hydration of alite and belite phases in cement. Their composition is primarily Silica and alumina, though they are essential for formation of alite and belite in cement clinker, this external addition is an attempt to control the free calcium hydroxide presence in the paste.

In terms of utility, long term strength of such cements are strength gaining with the hydration period extending quite longer than OPC. On the downside, the early strength properties are going to be affected. The fresh properties are going to be slightly better because of action of fly ash as filler.
Written 13 Sep 2014 • View Upvotes
Himanshu Gautam
Himanshu Gautam, Man of concrete and steel
16.8k Views • Himanshu is a Most Viewed Writer in Cement.
OPC - Ordianry Portland Cement
OPC is obtained by adding raw materials like calcareous materials and argillaceous materials.

PPC - Portland Pozzolona Cement
PPC is obtained by adding pozzolonic materials like flyash, pumicites, volcanic ashes, shales, tuffs, etc.,

OPC (Ordinary Portland Cement) is the basic form of cement with 95% of it being the clinker and 5% being gypsum which is added as an additive to enhance the setting time of the cement to a workable 30 minutes odd or so. This cement is the standard norm being manufactured and sold by cement manufacturers around the world. As the Understanding-Cement website puts it: "In particular, 'Ordinary Portland Cement' is the normal, grey, cement with which most people are familiar".
However, with changing times and with enhanced energy requirements and associated environmental implications that came along with, the thermal (coal based) power plants the world over started producing multitude of coal ash (commonly known as 'Flyash or Fly Ash'), which is a waste product otherwise, in the form of finely divided residue resulting from the combustion of ground or powdered bituminous coal or sub bituminous coal (lignite) and transported by the flue gases of boilers fired by pulverized coal or lignite.
Then, with the bitter fact the world faced about the disposal of fly ash becoming a serious problem in itself, and on the other hand this fly ash being found to have certain useful cementious properties, the worldwide statutory and academic bodies allowed addition of up to 35% of fly ash in making the type of cement, commonly known as the Pozzolanic Portland Cement (PPC). This way, the waste product which could have become a serious environmental hazard, has now become a sought-after raw material for manufacture of modern day large-scale produced cement known as the Pozzolanic Portland Cement (PPC).
Some people have presumption that since PPC uses a waste product as an ingredient, it makes it less good than the good old OPC. However, on the other hand PPC has certain distinct advantages over OPC, as listed below:
Low heat of hydration reducing chances of surface cracks
Longer setting time making it more workable than OPC
Ultimate strength higher than OPC
Lower porosity imparting the concrete more water tightness
Lower manufacturing cost compared to OPC
Waste utilization making it more environmental friendly
Updated 23 Aug 2015 • View Upvotes
Anirban Acharyya
Anirban Acharyya
10.6k Views
Originally Answered: Which is better for concrete, PPC or OPC?
It depends.

PPC or Portland Pozzolana Cement is considered to be a more Sustainable substitute of Ordinary Portland Cement. Limestone used in cement manufacturing is an exhaustive resource and in few decades there will be a great shortage of limestone particularly in the west. Flyash- the pozzolanic material used in PPC is a waste product of thermal power generation units and causes huge disposal problems. By partially replacing OPC with flyash in PPC, not only there is a saving in limestone there is also a waste product utilization. In a country like India where thermal power is the largest source of electricity, there is an abundance of flyash. So PPC is cheaper and  more sustainable than OPC. But as Issac Gaetz mentions in his answer where flyash is not available locally cost of PPC may be higher.

Trivia - According to a latest circular by the Government of India, any construction in highways surrounding 50 km of a thermal power station is asked to utilize flyash in form of base course/concrete admixture in order to encourage waste utilization. Hence, There is a greater demand for PPC in concrete pavement construction than OPC.

However, the rate of  strength gain is low in the case of PPC. Hence it may be cited unsuitable for quick setting concrete, or certain  high performance concrete.
Updated 27 Apr 2015 • View Upvotes
Ritesh Shah
Ritesh Shah
318 Views
OPC is the acronym commonly used in reference to Portland Cement (or Ordinary Portland Cement, which explains the “O” in the acronym). It is the most common cement type used worldwide. OPC is the basic component used for concrete, mortars, stucco, and other common construction essentials that require cement in the mixture. It is designated as a type of hydraulic cement, which means that it is a type of cement that doesn’t only harden as a reaction to being mixed with water, but also becomes water-resistant once it cures. It is produced through pulverizing Portland cement clinkers, which consists of hydraulic calcium silicates, producing a fine powder. The Portland cement clinkers are initially created through heating a mixture of raw materials, the most important being limestone. Secondary materials include a source of aluminosilicate (often clay, but could also be impure limestone). Other common secondary materials are shale, sand, iron ore, bauxite, fly ash, and slag. These are then heated at around 1450 °C, which is the standard temperature used for producing most cements in this day and age. When water is mixed with OPC, it takes some hours to settle and gradually hardens and increases in durability. This process can vary depending on what the mixture is and what the desired result is.
Ordinary Portland Cement is the most prevalent because of the readily available raw materials in the area where it is produced. This is also why OPC is an ideal option for cement needs throughout the world today as the costs of producing it is very low without compromising quality. Being a low-cost cement product leads to OPC being widely used in the production of concrete, which is the most popular material used for construction in the world for roads, houses, buildings, dams, and the like. OPC is also used for mortars and in making grouts.
In relation to this, PPC refers to a form of Portland Cement which is Portland Pozzolana Cement. PPC is produced when pozzuolans are used in the mixture. A pozzuolana is a cement extender improving the strength and durability of the cement or even reducing the costs of producing concrete. The term came from the root word “pozzuolana” which is a form of volcanic ash. The introduction of pozzuolana into a hydraulic cement like OPC, or any similar material, leads to a pozzuolanic reaction. This, in turn, leads to a cementitious material that uses less cement but has the same or even greater material durability than without this addition. A pozzuolanic material by itself has few, if any, cementitious properties by itself, but adding it into a cement mixture will result in the above-mentioned results (provided the cement has a greater volume in relation to the pozzuolanic material added). PPC may take a longer time to settle than OPC, but it will eventually produce similar results given time. Though volcanic ash is the first form of pozzuolana used, this now includes natural and artificial siliceous or siliceous, aluminous materials such as clay, slag, silica fume, fly ash, and shale. Note that some of these are effectively “waste” materials from other processes but are ideal to produce PPC. With the production of PPC, the use of overall OPC is greatly reduced in the mixture (by close to 50 per cent) to produce the same results.
Knowing about the differences and the relationship between OPC and PPC is certainly useful, particularly for those in the construction industry. Determining which of the two is best suited for the needs and costs of a project can be very important in ensuring a successful endeavor.
Summary:
1. Ordinary Portland Cement (OPC) is the most common cement used in the world because of the abundance and low cost to produce it.
2. Portland Pozzolana Cement (PPC) is a variation of OPC which includes a mixture of a pozzuolanic material which can increase the strength of the concrete and reduce the amount of OPC used.
3. OPC is produced simply by grinding to a powder limestone and secondary materials; PPC is the result of adding pozzuolan or similar materials such as volcanic ash, clay, slag, silica, fume, fly ash, or shale with OPC.
4. PPC can greatly reduce the amount of OPC used in concrete.
5. OPC generally used for High rise buildings, Commercial and industrial hevay structures, Roads and runways, Heavy defense structures. While PPC generally used for Plaster and brick work, RCC work for residential building, Mass concrete works.
Advantages of PPC:
Higher durability of concrete structure due to less permeability of water.
More resistance towards the attack of alkalies, sulphates, chlorides, chemicals.
Better work ability.
Low heat of hydration.
Due to high fineness, PPC has better cohesion with aggregates and makes more dense concreteness.
Comparative lower Water-Cement ratio provides an added advantage for the further increase of compressive strength of the concrete.
Better surface finish.
Advantages of OPC:
Produces highly durable and sound concrete due to very low percentage of alkalis, chlorides, magnesia and free lime in its composition.
Almost negligible chloride content results in restraining corrosion of concrete structure in hostile environments.
Significant saving in cement consumption while making concrete of grades M15, M20, M25, M35 and pre-cast segments due to high strength.