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The majority of Portland cement produced is through the dry process.

This involves various sub-


processes from mining to cement dispatch and consist of the following multi stages as highlighted below:

❏ Raw materials selection, crushing and grinding,

❏ Coal grinding

❏ Preheating

❏ Precalcining

❏ Clinkerisation

❏ Cement grinding

❏ Pyro-processing, and

❏ Clinker grinding and blending stage.


The raw meal is blended and then heated in the pre-heating system (cyclones) to start the dissociation
of calcium carbonate to calcium oxide. In the next stage, the raw meal is fed to the kiln where it is heated
to a temperature of 1450°C. Here, the calcium oxide reacts with other elements to form calcium silicates
and aluminates. This is known as clinker burning. The gases that are emitted during this reaction from
the kiln are made to pass through a precalciner after which they flow into the preheater (cyclone).

The product from the kiln is known as clinker. The temperature of clinker coming out of the kiln is in the
range of 1200–1400°C. This is cooled in a clinker cooler by passing air. A portion of this air enters the
kiln and is called secondary air. Tertiary air is fed to the precalciner through the TA duct and remaining
air from the cooler could be used to dry raw material or coal based upon moisture content and safety
limits. Some excess cooler air is vented out through the cooler exhaust. The clinker coming out of the
cooler is typically at 55°C above ambient temperature.

In the final stage, clinker is ground with gypsum and other materials (additives) to make cement. Figure
12 shows a simplified process flow diagram highlighting the cement manufacturing process.

Moreover, pyro-processing (preheater, calciner, kiln and coolers) is the most important and essential
stage since it consumes more than 90% of input energy. This means that more than 90% of air pollution
is emitted during the production. Detailed process description is summarized in subsequence pages:

The engineering design for the manufacturing of 50 tons/annum of Portland cement entails feed crushing
and grinding, coal grinding, preheating, precalcining, clinkerisation, pyro-processing, blending and
storage.

As portrayed in the design philosophy (Figure 3.2), the dedicated feed stream composed of limestone
and clay entered to the preheater stage. Properties and composition of the feed stream is shown in Table
3.2.
2.1.3 Precalciner

In the precalciner, raw meal is taken from the penultimate stage of the preheater to a vessel where heat
for calcination is generated by firing fuel in it(11). Preheated air for combustion can come from the kiln
or grate cooler. The preheater fan draws products of combustion and dissociated CO2 through the
calciner. Degree of calcination achieved is directly related to the amount of fuel fired in the calciner.
When 60% of the fuel is fired in a calciner, degree of calcination achieved is 90-95 %. The temperature
of raw mix begins to rise when calcination is complete, changing the flow characteristics. Therefore, in
precalciner stage, calcination is limited to 90%. The following reactions take place inside the precalciner
(8):

CaCO3→CaO +CO2

MgCO3→MgO +CO2

90-95% of the raw meal is calcined as per the above reactions and the remaining amount of raw meal is
calcined in the kiln.

Preheater stage consists of five (5) separators and mixers which were used to transfer heat from the hot
gas stream originated by calciner to raw materials. In this part, hot gas stream coming from the calciner
was counter currently mixed with feed stream and was then separated and sent to the upper mixer to
supply enough energy for preheating raw materials. Feed stream then leaves the preheater when the
temperature reached approximately 700˚C which was then fed to the calciner chamber.

Three (3) main energy sources for decalcination reaction in calciner were supplied by energy released
from combustion of coal, hot gas from the kiln and hot air from the coolers. In calciner, decomposition of
CaCO3 takes place at high temperature of 700˚C. This is the temperature at which the raw feed stream
entered the calciner while the calciner retain a temperature of 950˚C. Equation 1 states the calcination
reaction.

CaCO3 CaO + CO2, (1)

The generated CaO and CO2 on the product side leaved the calciner to be used in other parts. The solid
product from calciner which composed of CaO, SiO2, Al2O3 and Fe2O3 at 950˚C was then fed to the kiln.

In the kiln, heat was supplied from the combustion of coal as well as hot air stream from the cooler stage.
This energy was required for several chemical and physical reactions to produce clinker in a liquid form.
All reactions, temperature range, heat and the location of the reactions in simulation are tabulated in
Table 3.3.

Since final required temperature for reactions as well as forming liquid and nodular clinker is 1450˚C,
Kiln’s temperature was maintained at 1500˚C. Clinker having composition and properties shown in Table
3.4 in liquid form was then fed to the coolers before transfer for further processing such as grinding and
blending.

The pyro-processing/clinkerization takes place in the rotary kiln. The calcined


raw mix along with unconverted raw meal from precalciner is passed through
the kiln system. The kiln is designed to maximize the efficiency of heat transfer
from fuel to the raw material and also to ensure uniform mixing. In a dry rotary
kiln, feed material with much lower moisture content (0.5%) is used when
compared to the wet or semi-wet process, thereby reducing the need for
evaporation and reducing kiln length. Recent developments have added multi-
stage suspension preheaters (i.e. a cyclone) or shaft preheater. Precalciner, the
latest technology, adds a second combustion chamber between the kiln and a
conventional preheater, allowing for further reduction in specific fuel
consumption.

The kiln contains four sections namely preheating zone, calcination zone,
burning zone and cooling zone. In the preheater tower, the raw materials are
heated rapidly to a temperature of about 1000°C, where the limestone forms
burnt lime. In the rotating kiln, the temperature reaches 1450°C. At this high
temperature, minerals fuse together to predominantly form calcium silicate
crystals - cement clinker. The latest cement plants, which are mostly dry process
based, have preheating zones and precalcination zones that are external to the
kiln.

The unconverted raw meal undergoes complete calcination in the kiln by the
reactions given in the section 2.1.3 and the following additional reactions takes
place at around 1200 - 1300°C(8):

2CaO +SiO2→2CaO. SiO2

3CaO +SiO2→3CaO .SiO2

3CaO +Al2O3→3CaO. Al2O3

4CaO +Al2O3 +Fe2O3→4CaO. Al2O3.


Fe2O3

The first reaction among the above reactions is the formation of C2S, second one
is the formation of C3S, third reaction is the formation of C3A and the last reaction
is the formation of C4AF. The molten phase of clinker contains all these
compounds.

1.0 COMPOSITION OF PORTLAND CEMENT

Portland cement composition are categorized into two different ways, the analyst and the physical
chemist. The former is based on the quantities of certain elementary compounds such as silica,
alumina, lime, and others which are present in cement, while the later determines the relation which
these compounds bear to each other, their physical form, state of equilibrium, and the rest (Richard et.
al, 1926).
Cement is such a complex substance that two lots having identically the same analysis, fineness, and
others may yet have quite different setting properties. This is due to a difference in the chemical
structure of the two cements. A study of the latter is therefore necessary if the behaviour of cement is to
be understood (Richard et. al, 1926).
Enunciating first to the analysis of cement and the composition of the material as shown by this, it is
found that the present state of the art of cement analysis is by no means as satisfactory as it might be,
and expert and careful chemists do not always agree upon even the analysis of cement. After the
careful work done by two committees and one of the best chemists of the United States Geological
Survey, it would seem as if the conditions for accurate work had been so fully established as to insure
agreement among skillful chemists. That this is not so the following incident will show. Some years
ago the author was associated with two prominent American chemists in the examination of some thirty
samples of cement. The average results of the three sets of determinations are given below and
demonstrate clearly how unsatisfactory is the present state of analytical chemistry (Richard et. al,
1926).

Table 3-1 Achievement of Overall Project Progress

Chemist A B C Variance
Lime 60.75 61.13 61.19 0.46
Silica 22.59 22.28 22.11 0.48
Alumina 6.88 7.56 8.59 1.71
Iron Oxide 3.40 3.61 2.56 0.84
Magnesia 1.20 0.92 1.58 0.66
Sulphur Trioxide 1.09 1.20 1.31 0.22
Loss of Ignition 2.22 2.22 2.37 0.25

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