Unit III

CEMENT PRODUCTION PLANT

Cement
Cement is a crystalline pulverized compound of calcium silicates
and other calcium bearing compounds with impressive hydraulic
properties.

It develops binding forces due to reaction with water.

Very often, cements that harden upon reaction with water for the
formation of water-resistant product are called hydraulic cements.
Under ASTM C150 naming, Portland cement is a hydraulic
cement which hardens and remains stable under water.
The main components of Portland cement are compounds of
calcium silicates and some amount of gypsum.

Raw Materials of Cement

The main raw materials of cement along with their respective sources
are given in the following table.

Important components

Respective Sources

Lime ( CaO)

Limestone, Shale, Marl

Silica (SiO2)

Sand, Clay, Shale, Marl

Alumina (Al2O3)

Clay, Shale, Slag

Iron Oxide (Fe2O3)

Iron Ore, Clay, Mill Scale

Trace Sulfate (SO3)

Gypsum

Types of processes
There are two main process routes for the
manufacture of cement. These are:
1.Dry process:-In the dry process, the raw
materials are ground and dried to raw meal in
the form of a flow-able powder. The dry raw meal
is fed to the pre-heater or pre-calciner kiln or,
more rarely, to a long dry kiln.
2.Wet process:- the raw materials (often with high
moisture content) are ground in water to form
pump able slurry. The slurry is either fed directly
into the kiln or first to slurry dryer.
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Cement Production
Process
The basic process of Cement production involves the following five
major steps:
1.

Acquisition of raw materials(quarying)

2.

Preparation of the raw materials for pyro- processing(crushing,

proportionating/pre-homogenization,),raw mill grinding,
Homogenization ,raw meal pre-heating).

3.

Pyro -processing of the raw materials to form cement

clinker(dehaydration,calcination,clinkering and cooling).

4.

Grinding the clinker to Cement, and

5.

Storage & Packing

Process flow diagram

Detailed process description

1- Acquisition of raw materials
The core raw material for the production of cement is
limestone rock .

After quarrying limestone reach rock, the next process is size

reduction.
Crushed limestone have an approximate size of 15 cm
during first stage of crashing.
The rock then goes to the next crashing stages ,most probably
hammer mills, for reduction to a size which is smaller than the
original size.

2- Preparation of the raw materials for

pyro- processing
Preheating of the raw materials of cement and subsequent pyroprocessing in a kiln have certain size requirements.
Hence , the main aim of this process is to grind the material to a
size of 90 microns or less which is suitable size for pyro processing.
This process is done in a unit equipment called raw mill.
Raw mill basically is a closed circuit ball mill equipped with high
efficiency separator.
After achieving ~ 90 microns size, the fine grinded material (raw
meal) is sent to the continuous blending silos for homogenization.
The homogenized material will then be extracted by means of load
cell hopper for the next step which is feeding to the kiln pre heaters.

3-Pyro -processing of the raw materials

to form cement clinker
During pyro-processing , the homogenized raw material is heated
to about 1,450 C in cylindrical steel rotary kiln lined with special
firebrick.
Normally the raw material is fed in to the higher end of an
inclined Kiln and at the lower end there exists a blast flame
produced by precisely controlled burning of powdered coal, oil or
gas under forced draft.

The combustion gasses and the raw material flow in countercurrent mode and the firebrick acts as insulator for protecting the
heat losses to the ambient.

Rotary kiln-pictorial representation

Pyro processing details

Kiln temperature dependency

Flame Temperature is the temperature attained by the products of
combustion, when fuel is burnt with air or oxygen.
The combustion flame temperature is affected by the following
factors:
(1) the calorific value (and chemical composition) of the fuel;
(2) the air-to-fuel ratio at which combustion takes place; and
(3) the initial temperature (preheat) of the air and fuel.

Chemistry in kiln
Water

(100 0C)
(100 -600)0C

Clay
Calcium Silicates

CaO +
C3A+C4AF

SiO2
Al2O3
Fe2O3

(800 -900)0C

10000C

~13500C

Evaporation
SiO2
Al2O3
Fe2O3
CaO + CO2

2Cao.SiO2=C2S
3CaO.Al2O3=C3A
4CaO.Al2O3.Fe2O3=C4AF

Liquid+ remained (caO+C2S)---- C3S

ASTM classification of Portland cement

Tricalcium silicate (C3S) or alite,

Dicalcium silicate (C2S) or belite,
Tricalcium aluminate (C3A) and
Tetracalcium aluminoferrite (C4AF) .
Gypsum (CSH2)

Clinker formation

Expressed at its simplest, the series of chemical reactions converts the

calcium and silicon oxides into calcium silicates, cement primary

constituent. At the lower end of the kiln, the raw materials emerge as a
new substance red-hot particles called clinker.

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clinker cooler
The clinker tumbles onto a grate cooled by forced air. Once cooled the
clinker is ready to be ground into the grey powder known as Portland
cement. To save energy, heat recovered from this cooling process is re
circulated back to the kiln or pre-heater tower.

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Cement mill
The clinker is then ground with other mineral components to cement.
Gypsum is used to control the setting time of the product;Slag and fly
ash can also be used to control other properties of the cement.
Traditionally, ball mills is used for cement milling.

Portland cement is produced by inter-grinding cement clinker with a

few percent of natural or industrial gypsum (or anhydrite) in a cement
mill.

Blended cements (orcomposite cements) contain other constituents in

addition such as granulated blast-furnace

slag, natural or industrial pozzolana (for example, volcanic tuffs or fly

ash from thermal power plants), or inert fillers such as limestone

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In recent years technologies with better energy efficiency have been

developed.

Compound

mill

systems

include

pre-crushing

and

sophisticated separator systems to reduce electricity consumption.

Vertical cement mills mill the material in a roller mill with reduced
electricity consumption also.
From the grinding mills, the cement is conveyed to silos for shipment.

Most cement is shipped in bulk by trucks, rail or barge. A small

percentage of the cement is bagged for customers who need only small
amounts or who have special needs.

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Energy flows
The cement making process is highly energy intensive accounting
for nearly 40 50 % of the production costs.
Energy flows:

Electrical Energy -mill drives, fans and conveying systems.

Thermal Energy-kiln and precalciner.

Thermal energy accounts for about half the energy costs incurred
in cement manufacture.

Energy flow-details

Assignment 1
The following table is a typical ultimate analysis data for dry ash free premier coal. The
calorific value is 20MJ/kg and was burned under exact amount of air . Calculate the value
of adiabatic flame temperature? What will be the value if 30% excess air is used for
combustion?
Ultimate Analysis
(DAF Basis)

Range

Typical

Carbon

73-78%

74%

Hydrogen

4-5%

4.3%

Nitrogen

1.2-1.4%

1.3%

Oxygen

16-21%

19.8%

Sulphur

0.3-0.8%

0.6%

Mass balance for 1kg of Cement

Flame
Temperature

1. Energy Balance on a System

A simple steady-state thermal energy balance can be constructed
around a constant-pressure combustion system (such as a boiler).

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Before the energy balance is developed it is worth looking

more closely at the terms involved:
(a)
HR, HP and CV (calorific value) are all related to
the standard temperature of 25.
The enthalpy of the entering air is considered
to be sensible heat only (i.e., the fuel/air is
considered to be a dry mixture).
(b) The enthalpy of the flue gas must be consistent
with the calorific value of the fuel which is used
in the balance.

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If the gross calorific value is used, then HR should

contain a latent heat term equal to the mass of water
produced per kilogram of fuel multiplied by the latent
heat of evaporation of water at 25 (hfg).
If the net calorific value is used, then the flue gas
enthalpy will consist of sensible heat terms only.
In this chapter we are concerned with predicting the
temperature reached within the flame, hence the net
calorific value/sensible heat terms system is the more
appropriate.

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The energy balance about the system can be

written as:
CV + HR = HP + Qc + Qu
(1)
HR, the sensible heat in the air and fuel (ref. 25)
is very small and often neglected.
The case loss from the outside of the plant, Qc, is
also generally small compared to the other energy
fluxes and is similarly often considered negligible.

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2. Adiabatic Flame Temperature

Values of the predicted adiabatic flame
temperature for hydrocarbon fuels are affected
by the following factors:
(1)the calorific value (and chemical composition)
of the fuel;
(2)the air-to-fuel ratio at which combustion takes
place; and
(3)the initial temperature (preheat) of the air and
fuel.

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The following table shows flame temperatures for some

common fuels. The higher the flame temperature, the greater
should be the effectiveness of the heat exchanger section.
Table Flame temperatures for some common fuels
Fuel
Adiabatic flame temperature ()
Natural gas
2,070
Kerosine
2,093
Light fuel oil
2,104
Medium fuel oil
2,101
Heavy fuel oil
2,102
Bituminous Coal
2,172
Anthracite
2,180
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We can use the idea of the energy balance about

the combustion system to derive a straightforward
way of estimating the temperature of a flame.
It is assumed that combustion takes place under
adiabatic conditions, i.e. no heat transfer is
permitted across the boundary of the system.
The implication of this is that
Qc = 0
and Qu = 0
Hence equation (1) simplifies down to
CV + HR = HP
(2)

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It will be taken that CV is the net specific heat of the

fuel, hence HP contains only sensible heat terms.
The terms on the left-hand side of equation (2) are
simple to evaluate as CV will be known for the fuel used
and HR, the enthalpy of the fuel and air (ref. 25, can
easily be calculated from

ti isthe
temperature.
H RWhere
(ti 25)
(mcinitial
)
P R

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The specific heats of the fuel, oxygen and nitrogen can be

evaluated at the mean temperature
(ti + 25)/2 and the enthalpy of the reactants is thus easily
evaluated.
The right-hand side of equation (2), however, is not so easily
evaluated as it is defined by

HP = (t f -H25)
P =(t(mc
f - 25)
P ) P (mcP ) P
where tf is the flame temperature. This relationship cannot be
solved explicitly for tf as there will be a considerable difference
between tf and the reference temperature 25, hence the value
of tf is required to evaluate the specific heats of the combustion
products.
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CALORIFIC VALUE
It would be expected that the higher the calorific
value of the fuel the higher the final flame
temperature produced.
The picture is, however, not quite as simple as this
since the chemical composition of the fuel also
plays a part.
For example, natural gas has a carbon-to-hydrogen
ratio of around 3.1 and a calorific value of 54 MJ/kg
(gross). A typical coal, on the other hand, has a
carbon-to-hydrogen ratio of around 18.0 and a
calorific value of 33.3 MJ/kg.

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Fuels with a higher proportion of hydrogen will

generate more water vapor in their combustion
products; a glance at Table 4.3 shows that water
vapor has a higher specific heat than the other
combustion products, which will lower the
adiabatic flame temperature.

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It can be seen that there is quite a small variation in

the calculated flame temperature, given the wide
variation between the calorific values of these fuels.
The conformity is due to the effect of the
hydrogen in the fuel discussed above.

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AIR-TO-FUEL RATIO
Any excess air will increase the mass of flue gas
relative to the mass of fuel, with a corresponding
reduction in temperature.
With sub-stoichiometric air supply the flame
temperature will also fall, as although the mass of
flue gas is reduced, the effective calorific value of
the fuel is also reduced by an amount equivalent to
the calorific value of the carbon monoxide which is
present in the flue gas.

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The net calorific value of carbon monoxide is 10.11

MJ/kg.

Next slide (Fig. 4.2)

It shows the temperature calculated for a natural
gas flame as a function of the excess air ratio, and
demonstrates the effects described above.

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Very high flame temperature can be achieved by

oxygen enrichment of the flame, as the mass of
flue gas is considerably reduced.
Oxygen flames are used in a number of process
applications, in particular welding, but the
temperatures in oxygen-enriched flames are so
high that dissociation effects (discussed later) are
highly significant.

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PREHEAT
Common sense (and equation (2)) suggest that
preheating the air will increase the final
temperature of the flame.
This is a useful feature because by increasing the
temperature difference between the flue gas and
the heat extracting fluid, greater heat transfer will
be obtained for the same fuel input rate.

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This will result in an increase in the thermal

efficiency of the plant.

An example of the effect of preheat on the

adiabatic temperature of a natural gas flame at 5%
excess air is shown in Fig. 4.3 (next slide).

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In practice, there are a number of reasons why the

actual flame temperature will be lower than the
value predicted by this procedure.
The most significant of these is that at the high
temperature achieved in flames the combustion
products will dissociate back into reactants or
other higher reactive species: this process is
accompanied by an absorption of energy, hence
reducing the actual flame temperature.

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The results of above calculations are then more

correctly referred to as undissociated adiabatic
flame temperatures, which acknowledges the
simplifications inherent in them.
In order to understand the more complete picture
it is necessary to gain some insight into the
principles of chemical equilibrium, which are
introduced in the next chapter.

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3. Specific Heats of
Gases
Simple ideal gas theory predicts that the specific heat of a
gas is not a function of its temperature or pressure.
While the latter implication is effectively true in practice,
the specific heat of a gas does increase with temperature
above about 100. This effect arises because molecules
have vibrational (internal) energy as well as kinetic energy
due to the motion of the complete molecule.
This additional mode of storing energy will mean that
the specific heat of a gas will increase as its temperature
rises.
This cannot be modelled using the ideas of classical
mechanics but the effect can be predicted using quantum
theory.

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Empirical equations which allow the calculation of

specific heats as a function of temperature have
been in use for some time. A polynomial expression
is normally used, with either fractional or integer
powers.
A straightforward integer power series is most
convenient:
CP = a[0] + a[1]t +a[2]t2 + a[3]t3 +..
Values for the coefficients for the polynomials for
some gases are given in next slides.
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Site selection
The Site of cement processing pant is usually near to the
location of the main raw materiallime.

Waste water
No pronounced effect for dry processing.
But for processing plants that use coal mines as energy
source there may exist contamination of ground water.

Air pollution
Carbon dioxide emissions can be grouped as energyrelated, referring to emissions that result from the
combustion of fossil fuel, and process- related, referring to
the emissions from the decomposition of calcium carbonate.
Studies have shown that one ton of carbon dioxide gas is
released into the atmosphere for every ton of Portland
cement which is made anywhere in the world.
The only exceptions are so-called 'blended cements', using
such ingredients as coal fly ash, where the CO2 emissions are
slightly suppressed, by a maximum of 10%-15%.

Air pollution
Cement, (Portland cement), results from the calcination of

limestone (calcium carbonate) at very high temperatures of

approximately 1450-1500 C, and silico-aluminous material
according to the reaction.
5CaCO3 + 2SiO2 --> (3CaO,SiO2) + (2CaO,SiO2) + 5CO2
this means that the manufacture of 1 metric tonne of
cement generates 1 metric tonne of CO2 greenhouse gas.

Energy Efficiency
Opportunities
Energy efficiency improvement reduces CO2 emissions
Reduction in CO2 emissions from the cement plant
involves a two pronged strategy.
1. By improving energy efficiency
2. By promotion of blended cements which can decrease
the clinker percentage in cement, thus reducing the process
CO2 emissions

Steps for Improving Energy

Efficiency