Portland Cement Manufacturing

Cement plant.

Portland cement is a fine powder, gray or white in color, that consists of a mixture of hydraulic cement materials comprising primarily calcium silicates. More than 30 raw materials are known to be used in the manufacture of portland cement, and these materials can be divided into four distinct categories: calcareous, siliceous, argillaceous, and ferrifrous. These materials are chemically combined via pyroprocessing and subjected to subsequent mechanical processing operations to form gray and white portland cement. Gray portland cement is used for structural applications and is the more common type of cement produced. White portland cement has lower iron and manganese contents than gray portland cement and is used primarily for decorative purposes.

Portland cement, which consists of a mixture of the hydraulic cement minerals, calcium silicates, aluminates and aluminoferrites, and calcium sulfates, accounts for 95 percent of the hydraulic cement production in the United States. The balance of domestic cement production comprises primarily masonry cement. Both of these materials are produced in portland cement manufacturing plants.

The production of both portland and masonry cement can be divided into the following primary components: 

• Raw materials acquisition and handling
• Kiln feed preparation
• Pyroprocessing
• Finished cement grinding

Raw Materials Acquisition and Handling

Typically, these raw materials are obtained from open-face quarries, but underground mines or dredging operations are also used. Raw materials vary from facility to facility. The materials found in some quarries that supply raw materials for portland cement have a high degree of calcinated limestone, whereas the material from other limestone quarries must be blended with "cleaner" limestone to produce an acceptable product. In addition, pockets of pyrite, which significantly increase emissions of sulfur dioxide (SO2), can be found in deposits of limestone, clays, and shales used as raw materials for portland cement. Because a large fraction (approximately one third) of the mass of this primary material is converted to carbon dioxide (CO2) in the kiln, portland cement plants are located in close proximity to a raw material source whenever possible. Other metallic elements included in the raw feed mix are silicon, aluminum, and iron. These materials are obtained from ores and minerals such as sand, shale, clay, and iron ore. Again, these materials are most commonly extracted via open-pit quarries or mines, but they may be dredged or excavated from underwater deposits.

Either gypsum or natural anhydrite, both of which are forms of calcium sulfate, is introduced to the process during the finish grinding operations described below. These materials are also excavated from quarries or mines. However, they are generally purchased from an external source, rather than obtained directly from a captive operation by the cement plant. In addition, the portland cement manufacturing industry is relying increasingly on replacing virgin materials as described above with waste materials or byproducts from other manufacturing operations, to the extent that such replacement can be implemented without adversely affecting plant operations or product quality. Materials that have been used include fly ash, mill scale, and metal smelting slags.

Kiln Feed Preparation

The second step in portland cement manufacture is preparing the raw mix or kiln feed for the pyroprocessing operation. Raw material preparation includes a variety of blending and sizing operations that are designed to provide a feed with appropriate chemical and physical properties. The raw material processing operations differ somewhat for wet and dry processes, as described in the paragraphs below.

Cement raw materials are received with an initial moisture content varying from 1 to more than 50 percent. If the facility uses dry process kilns, this moisture is usually reduced to less than 1 percent before or during grinding. Drying alone can be accomplished in impact dryers, drum dryers, paddle- equipped rapid dryers, air separators, or autogenous mills. However, drying can also be accomplished during grinding in ball-and-tube mills or roller mills. While thermal energy for drying can be supplied by exhaust gases from separate, direct-fired coal, oil, or gas burners, the most efficient and widely used source of heat for drying is the hot exit gases from the pyroprocessing system.

Materials transport associated with raw milling systems can be accomplished by a variety of mechanisms, including screw conveyors, belt conveyors, drag conveyors, bucket elevators, air slide conveyors, and pneumatic conveying systems. The dry raw mix is pneumatically blended and stored in specially constructed silos until it is fed to the pyroprocessing system.

In the wet process, water is added to the raw mill during the grinding of the raw materials in ball or tube mills, thereby producing a pumpable slip or slurry of approximately 65 percent solids. The slurry is agitated, blended, and stored in various kinds and sizes of cylindrical tanks or slurry basins until it is fed to the pyroprocessing system.

Pyroprocessing

The heart of the portland cement manufacturing process is the pyroprocessing system. This system transforms the raw mix into clinkers, which are gray, glass-hard, spherically shaped nodules that range from 0.32 to 5.1 centimeters (cm) (0.125 to 2.0 inches [in.]) in diameter. The chemical reactions and physical processes that constitute the transformation are quite complex, but they can be viewed conceptually as the following sequential events:

1. Evaporation of free water; 
2. Evolution of combined water in the argillaceous components; 
3. Calcination of the calcium carbonate (CaCO3) to calcium oxide (CaO); 
4. Reaction of CaO with silica to form dicalcium silicate; 
5. Reaction of CaO with the aluminum and iron-bearing constituents to form the liquid phase; 
6. Formation of the clinker nodules; 
7. Evaporation of volatile constituents (e.g., sodium, potassium, chlorides, and sulfates); and 
8. Reaction of excess CaO with dicalcium silicate to form tricalcium silicate. 

This sequence of events may be conveniently divided into four stages, as a function of location and temperature of the materials in the rotary kiln.

1. Evaporation of uncombined water from raw materials as material temperature increases to 100 deg. C (212 deg. F); 
2. Dehydration as the material temperature increases from 100 deg. C to approximately 430 deg. C (800 deg. F) to form oxides of silicon, aluminum, and iron; 
3. Calcination, during which carbon dioxide (CO2) is evolved, between 900 deg. C (1650 deg. F) and 982 deg. C (1800 deg. F), to form CaO; and 
4. Reaction of the oxides in the burning zone of the rotary kiln to form cement clinker at temperatures of approximately 1510 deg. C (2750 deg. F). 

Rotary kilns are long, cylindrical, slightly inclined furnaces that are lined with refractory to protect the steel shell and retain heat within the kiln. The raw material mix enters the kiln at the elevated end, and the combustion fuels generally are introduced into the lower end of the kiln in a countercurrent manner. The materials are continuously and slowly moved to the lower end by rotation of the kiln. As they move down the kiln, the raw materials are changed to cementitious metal oxides by the direct heat exchange. The most commonly used kiln fuels are coal, natural gas, and occasionally oil. Many cement plants currently burn coal, but use of supplemental fuels such as waste solvents, scrap rubber, and petroleum coke has expanded in recent years.

Five different processes are used in the portland cement industry to accomplish the pyroprocessing step: the wet process, the dry process (long dry process), the semidry process, the dry process with a preheater, and the dry process with a preheater/precalciner. Each of these processes accomplishes the physical/chemical steps defined above. However, the processes vary with respect to equipment design, method of operation, and fuel consumption. Generally, fuel consumption decreases in the order of the processes listed above. The paragraphs below briefly describe the process, starting with the wet process and then noting differences in the other processes.

In the wet process and long dry process, all of the pyroprocessing activity occurs in the rotary kiln. Depending on the process type, kilns have length-to-diameter ratios in the range of 15:1 to 40:1. While some wet process kilns may be as long as 210 m (700 ft), many wet process kilns and all dry process kilns are shorter. Wet process and long dry process pyroprocessing systems consist solely of the simple rotary kiln. Usually, a system of chains is provided at the feed end of the kiln in the drying or preheat zones to improve heat transfer from the hot gases to the solid materials. As the kiln rotates, the chains are raised and exposed to the hot gases. Further kiln rotation causes the hot chains to fall into the cooler materials at the bottom of the kiln, thereby transferring the heat to the load.

Dry process pyroprocessing systems have been improved in thermal efficiency and productive capacity through the addition of one or more cyclone-type preheater vessels in the gas stream after the rotary kiln. This system is called the preheater process. The vessels are arranged vertically, in series, and are supported by a structure known as the preheater tower. Hot exhaust gases from the rotary kiln pass countercurrently through the downward-moving raw materials in the preheater vessels. Compared with the simple rotary kiln, the heat transfer rate is significantly increased, the degree of heat utilization is more complete, and the process time is markedly reduced owing to the intimate contact of the solid particles with the hot gases. The improved heat transfer allows the length of the rotary kiln to be reduced. The hot gases from the preheater tower are often used as a source of heat for drying raw materials in the raw mill. Because the catch from the mechanical collectors, fabric filters, and/or electrostatic precipitators (ESP's) that follow the raw mill is returned to the process, these devices are considered to be production machines as well as pollution control devices.

Additional thermal efficiencies and productivity gains have been achieved by diverting some fuel to a calciner vessel at the base of the preheater tower. This system is called the preheater/precalciner process. While a substantial amount of fuel is used in the precalciner, at least 40 percent of the thermal energy is required in the rotary kiln. The amount of fuel that is introduced to the calciner is determined by the availability and source of the oxygen for combustion in the calciner. Calciner systems sometimes use lower-quality fuels (e.g., less-volatile matter) as a means of improving process economics.

Preheater and precalciner kiln systems often have a bypass system between the feed end of the rotary kiln and the preheater tower to remove the undesirable volatile constituents. Otherwise, the volatile constituents condense in the preheater tower and subsequently recirculate to the kiln. Buildup of these condensed materials can restrict process and gas flows. In a bypass system, a portion of the kiln exit gas stream is withdrawn and quickly cooled by air or water to condense the volatile constituents to fine particles. The solid particles, which are removed from the gas stream by fabric filters and ESP's, are then returned to the process.

The semidry process is a variation of the dry process. In the semidry process, the water is added to the dry raw mix in a pelletizer to form moist nodules or pellets. The pellets then are conveyed on a moving grate preheater before being fed to the rotary kiln. The pellets are dried and partially calcined on the moving grate through which hot kiln exhaust gases pass.

Regardless of the type of pyroprocess used, the last component of the pyroprocessing system is the clinker cooler. This process step recoups up to 30 percent of the heat input to the kiln system, locks in desirable product qualities by freezing mineralogy, and makes it possible to handle the cooled clinker with conventional conveying equipment. The more common types of clinker coolers are (1) reciprocating grate, (2) planetary, and (3) rotary. In these coolers, the clinker is cooled from about 1100 deg. C to 93 deg. C (2000 deg. F to 200 deg. F) by ambient air that passes through the clinker and into the rotary kiln for use as combustion air. However, in the reciprocating grate cooler, lower clinker discharge temperatures are achieved by passing an additional quantity of air through the clinker. Because this additional air cannot be utilized in the kiln for efficient combustion, it is vented to the atmosphere, used for drying coal or raw materials, or used as a combustion air source for the precalciner.

Finished Cement Grinding

The final step in portland cement manufacturing involves a sequence of blending and grinding operations that transforms clinker to finished portland cement. Up to 5 percent gypsum or natural anhydrite is added to the clinker during grinding to control the cement setting time, and other specialty chemicals are added as needed to impart specific product properties. This finish milling is accomplished almost exclusively in ball or tube mills. Typically, finishing is conducted in a closed- circuit system with product sizing via air separation.

Process Systems & Design are dry bulk material handling experts and can assist you in any sand, gravel, cement, or concrete handling requirement. Contact them at (410) 861-6437 or visit their website at http://www.processsystemsdesign.com.

The Cement Manufacturing Process

 

Cement is a finely ground powder which, when mixed with water, forms a hardening paste of calcium silicate hydrates and calcium aluminate hydrates. Cement is used in mortar (to bind together bricks or stones) and concrete (bulk rock-like building material made from cement, aggregate, sand, and water). By modifying the raw material mix and the temperatures utilized in manufacturing, compositional variations can be achieved to produce cements with different properties. In the U.S., the different varieties of cement are denoted per the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) Specification C-150.

Cement is produced from raw materials such as limestone, chalk, shale, clay, and sand. These raw materials are quarried, crushed, finely ground, and blended to the correct chemical composition. Small quantities of iron ore, alumina, and other minerals may be added to adjust the raw material composition. The fine raw material is fed into a large rotary kiln (cylindrical furnace) which rotates while the contents are heated to extremely high temperatures. The high temperature causes the raw material to react and form a hard nodular material called “clinker”. Clinker is cooled and ground with approximately 5 percent gypsum and other minor additives to produce Portland cement.

The heart of clinker production is the rotary kiln where the pyroprocessing stage occurs. The rotary kiln is approximately 20 to 25 feet (ft) in diameter and from 150 ft to well over 300 ft long; the kiln is set at a slight incline and rotates one to three times per minute. The kiln is most often fired at the lower end (sometimes, mid-kiln firing is used and new units incorporate preheating as well as precalcining), and the raw materials are loaded at the upper end and move toward the flame as the kiln rotates. The materials reach temperatures of 2500°F to well above 3000°F in the kiln. Rotary kilns are divided into two groups, dry-process and wet-process, depending on how the raw materials are prepared.

In wet-process kilns, raw materials are fed into the kiln as a slurry with a moisture content of 30 to 40 percent. To evaporate the water contained in the feedstock, a wet-process kiln requires additional length (in comparison to a dry kiln). Additionally, to evaporate the water contained in the slurry, a wet kiln consumes nearly 33 percent more kiln energy when compared to a dry kiln. Wet-process kilns tend to be older operations as compared to dry-processes where raw materials are fed into the process as a dry powder. There are three major variations of dry- process kilns in operation in the U.S.: long dry (LD) kilns, preheater (PH) kilns, and preheater/precalciner (PH/PC) kilns. In PH kilns and PH/PC kilns, the early stages of pyroprocessing occur before the materials enter the rotary kiln. PH and PH/PC kilns tend to have higher production capacities and greater fuel efficiency compared to other types of cement kilns.

Three important processes occur with the raw material mixture during pyroprocessing. First, all moisture is driven from the materials. Second, the calcium carbonate in limestone dissociates into CO2 and calcium oxide (free lime); this process is called calcination. Third, the lime and other minerals in the raw materials react to form calcium silicates and calcium aluminates, which are the main components of clinker. This third step is known as clinkering or sintering. The formation of clinker concludes the pyroprocessing stage.

Once the clinker is formed in the rotary kiln, it is cooled rapidly to minimize the formation of a glass phase and ensure the maximum yield of alite (tricalcium silicate) formation, an important component for the hardening properties of cement. The main cooling technologies are either the grate cooler or the tube or planetary cooler. In the grate cooler, the clinker is transported over a reciprocating grate through which air flows perpendicular to the flow of clinker. In the planetary cooler (a series of tubes surrounding the discharge end of the rotary kiln), the clinker is cooled in a counter-current air stream. Reciprocating type grate coolers can also be used to cool the clinker. The cooling air is used as secondary combustion air for the kiln to improve efficiency since the cooling air has been preheated during the process of cooling the clinker.

After cooling, the clinker can be stored in the clinker dome, silos, bins, or outside in storage piles. The material handling equipment used to transport clinker from the clinker coolers to storage and then to the finish mill is similar to that used to transport raw materials (e.g. belt conveyors, deep bucket conveyors, and bucket elevators). To produce powdered cement, the nodules of clinker are ground to the consistency of powder. Grinding of clinker, together with additions of approximately 5 percent gypsum to control the setting properties of the cement can be done in ball mills, ball mills in combination with roller presses, roller mills, or roller presses. While vertical roller mills are feasible, they have not found wide acceptance in the U.S. Coarse material is separated in a classifier that is re-circulated and returned to the mill for additional grinding to ensure a uniform surface area of the final product.