Cement Technology

Portland cement
 Portland cement and process of Manufacturing
what is Portland Cement?

 Portland cement is an extreme ground material having adhesive and

cohesive properties, which provide a binding medium for discrete
ingredients.
 Cement undergoes a chemical reaction with water and sets and hardens
when in contact with air or underwater.
 Portland cement is a general term uses to describe hydraulic cement.
 Chemical Composition of Portland Cements

 The raw materials used in the manufacture of Portland cement consist

mainly of lime, silica, alumina and iron oxide.
 The oxides account for over 90% of the cement.
 The oxide composition of (ordinary) Portland cement may be
expressed as follows:

Summary of Typical Ingredient

Percentages
• CaO: 60-67%
• SiO₂: 20-25%
• Al₂O₃: 5-10%
• Fe₂O₃: 0.5-6%
• SO₃: 2-4%
• MgO: 0.5-4%

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 SO3 (sulfur trioxide): Comes from gypsum (CaSO4˙2H2O).

 MgO (magnesia): To control the detrimental expansion, MgO is limited

to 5% (expansion due to the hydration of free MgO in hardened

concrete).

 Free CaO: Same as free MgO, free CaO is undesirable.

 Because these oxides hydrate much later than other compounds of

cement. Besides, they show a large volume expansion after hydration

resulting in disintegration of hardened concrete.

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 Na2O & K2O (alkali oxides):

 A limiting value of alkali oxides is often specified for cements which

are used with reactive aggregates to prevent alkali-aggregate

reaction which results in disruptive expansion.

 L.O.I. (loss on ignition):

 LOI is the loss of the weight of a cement sample when heated at

10000C.It is calculated by comparing the weight of a sample before

and after it has been subjected to the high temperatures during

ignition.

 i.e. LOI <= 3% (ASTM) 5

 I.R. (insoluble residue):

 Fraction of cement which is insoluble in HCl acid. It comes mainly

from the silica which has not reacted to form silicate compounds in

the rotary kiln. It is a measure of the completeness of reactions in

the kiln.

 IR<= 0.75% (ASTM)

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 What is Portland Cement made of?
 For the bulk and continuous manufacturing and production of Portland
Cement following mineral materials are used:
 calcareous materials -High calcium oxide ingredients,CaCO3 > 75% such
as limestone, marl, chalk,
 argillaceous material -Combination of silica & alumina,CaCO3 < 40%
such as clay, sandstone, shell
 blast furnace slag
 silica sand
 iron ore and
 Gypsum as raw material.
Limestone Clay

Shale
Marl
 Manufacture of Portland cement
 Cement factories are established where these raw materials are
available in plenty and facilities of long-distance transportation of raw
and finished materials.
 The cement manufacturing plant can be divided into five steps:
• Crushing & prehomogenization: cement crusher crush limestone
and other materials and stacker and reclaimer homogenize them.
• Raw material preparation: use cement mill to process materials into
required sizes for cement clinker production.
• Clinker production: In the cyclone preheater system, the raw
material powder exchange heat with high-temperature air in the
state of suspension. Burning them to sintering in a kiln at a
temperature of about 1350 to 1500 ⁰C. The further rapid
decomposition of carbonate in the rotary kiln produce the cement
clinker..
• Cement grinding: Cement mill grinding cement clinker into finished
cement, which is related to quality of cement.
• Packing: Cement delivery can be delivered in bags or bulk.
 Manufacture of Portland cement
 During this process, these materials partially fuse to form nodular
shaped clinker by breaking of chemical bonds of the raw materials and
recombined into new compounds.
 The clinker is cooled and ground to a fine powder with the addition of
about 3 to 5% of gypsum. By this process, the product formed is
Portland cement.
Manufacture of Portland cement
 Methods of Manufacturing Process of Cement
Preparation Of Cement Raw Materials
 The preparation of cement raw materials is a link of cement production.
The cement raw materials is formed with calcareous materials, clayey
materials and slight corrective material in appropriate proportion, and
grinded into certain fineness.
 The raw material production of cement plant can be classified into four
steps: crushing, grinding, mixing and homogenizing.
• Crushing: the limestone and other materials are crushed into small
pieces by cement crusher, such as hammer crusher, cone crusher,
jaw crusher, impact crusher, etc.
• Mixing: according to the requirement of clinker, compound desired
raw material for cement production line.
• Grinding: grinding all materials into required fineness by cement
mill. Cement ball mill and vertical cement mill are two common
types.
• Homogenizing: homogeneous kiln feed is the precondition of clinker
production, so homogenization of raw materials guard a pass of
cement plant.
 Methods of Manufacturing Process of Cement
Cyclone Preheater
 The cyclone preheater, also called cement preheater, suspension
preheater, is a kind of preheater in cement plant.
 As the core equipment of dry method cement production line, cyclone
preheater use suspension preheating to preheat and partly decompose
the cement raw mix, shorten the length of the rotary kiln, fully mix
raw mix and hot air in the kiln, increase heat exchange rate, which
promotes the efficiency of rotary kiln plant and reduce the energy
consumption.
Advantages of cement preheater
 High productivity: the cyclone preheater adopts multistage cycle suspension
preheating to improve the production rate.
 Low investment: due to the reasonable structure of cyclone preheater, reduce
the problems of equipment, cost-effective, low investment and higher benefits.
 Low energy consumption: make full use of heat in the kiln, reduce the energy
consumption of clinker production, and reduce the room required.
 Wide application: custom-design cyclone preheater can be provided according
to different regions and production scales, the turnkey project of preheater.
 Methods of Manufacturing Process of Cement
Precalciner
What is precalciner in cement plant?
 The precalciner is also called cement calciner, calciner in cement
plant, etc. as the thermal equipment for cement rotary kiln, and it
can be used for fuel combustion, heat exchange, and
decarbonation.

Why the precalciner is necessary for cement plants?

 The precalciner can uniformly distribute the raw materials so that
the raw materials do not form an accumulation phenomenon.
 The material can be complete when the temperature rises, and
because the material has a relatively high melting point and a
short residence time in the equipment, the material cannot be
completely decomposed, resulting in more impurities in the
calcined clinker.
 Methods of Manufacturing Process of Cement

Clinker Production
 After the raw material is preheated and precalcined, the next step
is clinker manufacturing.
 In the rotary kiln, the carbonate is further rapidly precalcined and
a series of solid phase reactions occur to form minerals in the
cement clinker.
 As the temperature of the material increases, the mineral
becomes a liquid phase and reacts to form a large amount
(clinker).
 After the clinker is fired, the temperature begins to decrease.
 Methods of Manufacturing Process of Cement
 At present Portland Cement is manufactured by two processes, Dry
Process, and Wet Process.
 The main difference between these two methods of manufacturing of
cement is that in the dry process, calcareous and argillaceous raw
materials are fed into the burning kilns in a perfectly dry state.
 ..and, In the wet process, however, these materials are supplied into the
kiln in the form of an intimate mixture with water called SLURRY.
 In the old age, because of the possibility of more accurate control in the
mixing of raw materials, the wet process is popular. The techniques of
the intimate mixing of raw materials in powder form were not available
then.
 Later, the dry process is wide uses, because of the modem development
of the technique of dry mixing of powdered materials using compressed
air.
 The dry process requires much less fuel as the materials are already in a
dry state, whereas in the wet process the slurry contains about 35 to 50
percent water. In the wet process, the drying process is fuel
consumption.
 1. Dry Process of Manufacture of Cement

 Following are the main steps in this process of cement manufacturing:

i. Treatment of Raw Materials

ii. Burning of the Dry Mix
iii. Grinding of the Clinker
iv. Packaging and Storage
(i) Treatment of Raw Materials:
 The raw materials (limestone and clay) are subjected to such processes
as, crushing, drying, grinding, proportioning, and blending or mixing
before they are fed to the kilns for calcination or burning process.
 The crushing stage involves breaking the raw materials into small
fragments that vary in size between 6-14 mm. Machines called Crushers
are used for this purpose.
 The drying stage is typical of the Dry Process. Drying of crushed
materials is essential and is achieved by heating these materials
(separately) at temperatures sufficiently high to drive out uncombined
water.
 As a professional cement plant manufacturer can use all kinds of cement
crusher, such as jaw crusher, hammer crusher, cone crusher and impact
crusher
Jaw crusher
cone crusher
impact crusher
Hammer crusher
 Heating is done in drying kilns which are generally of the rotary type.
 The grinding of each material as obtained from the driers is done in two
stages.
 First, the preliminary grinding, in which the materials are reduced to a
fineness of 50 mesh. Ball mills are generally used for preliminary
grinding.
 Second, the fine grinding, in which the size of the materials is reduced to
200 mesh. This is done by grinding in Tube Mills.
 Each raw material is thus reduced to a required degree of fineness and is
stored separately in suitable storage tanks called SILOS or bins where
from it can be drawn out conveniently in requisite quantities.
SILOS
 Proportioning and Blending: Predetermined proportions of finely dried
and ground raw materials are mixed together before they are fed into
the kiln.
 The different materials thus combined together are mixed very
thoroughly either by mechanical or by pneumatic methods.
 The blended materials are now ready for feeding into the burning kilns.
From this stage onwards, there is practically no major difference
between the dry and wet processes, except in the design of the rotary
kiln.
(ii) Burning or Calcination of the Dry mix:
 The well proportioned finely powdered mixture is charged into a long
steel cylinder, called the Rotary Kiln.
 The kiln is adjusted in an inclined position, making an angle of 15
degrees with the horizontal and rotates around its longer axis (hence the
name suggests).
 It has a charge end and a burner end, the former for introducing the
materials (called feed) and the latter for supplying fuel.
 Rotary kilns differ in design and dimensions in accordance with the
production requirements.
Figure of Rotary Kiln.
 Thus, these may be 100-180 meter in length, 3-5 meter in diameter
and have a rotation of 60-90 revolutions per hour.
 Coal in finely pulverized form, fuel oil and gas are common fuels used
in these kilns.
 The raw mixture is burnt in the kiln untill the proper burning is
achieved. This is indicated by its taking a greenish black color and
vitreous (shining like glass) lustre.
 This burnt material, now called CLINKER, it is cement in composition
but not in size; it is in about walnut-sized lumps when it comes out of
the kiln.
At least following three reactions are to take place in the charge during the
burning stage:
(a) Complete dehydration: Water is completely driven off at the very initial
stages of burning at temperatures as low as 400° C.
(b) Dissociation of Carbonates: Carbonates of calcium and magnesium are
completely dissociated at temperatures between 800-900°C, as per
following reactions:
CaCO3 = CaO+ CO2

Mg CO3 = MgO + CO2

 Compounds of cement clinker
(c) Compound Formation: Lime and magnesia as formed above are
combined in the next stage with silica, alumina and ferric oxide to form the
basic compounds of cement, namely, the tri-calcium and di-calcium
silicates, tri-calcium aluminates and tetra-calcium-alunino ferrite.

 These compound formation reactions start at temperatures around

1200°C and require temperatures as high as 1550°C for their
completion.
 Compounds of cement clinker

The temperature in the kiln reaches about 1300-1500oc.

This drives off water and gases and produces new chemical
compositions in particles called clinker.
 Compounds of cement clinker
1. Tricalcium silicate = 3CaO·SiO2 = C3S
•Properties: C3S hydrates quickly and is responsible for the early strength
development of cement. It contributes significantly to the strength and
durability of concrete. The proportion of C3S ranges from 50-70%
•Hydration Reaction:
C3S+H2O→C−S−H+CH
(Where C-S-H is calcium silicate hydrate and CH is calcium
hydroxide.)
2. Dicalcium Silicate (C2S)(Belite)
• Properties: C2S hydrates more slowly than C3S and contributes to the
long-term strength of the cement. It helps improve the durability of
concrete over time. The proportion of C2S ranges from 15-30%.
• Hydration Reaction:
𝐶2𝑆+𝐻2𝑂 →𝐶−𝑆−𝐻+ 𝐶𝐻
 Compounds of cement clinker

3. Tricalcium Aluminate (C3A)

• Formula: 3CaO·Al₂O₃
• Properties: C3A hydrates rapidly and is primarily responsible for the initial
setting time of the cement. It can contribute to the strength of early-age
concrete but is less influential in long-term strength. It constitutes 5-10%
• Hydration Reaction:
𝐶3𝐴 + 𝐻2𝑂 + 𝐶𝐻 → 𝐶−𝐴−𝐻 +CH
(Where C-A-H is calcium aluminate hydrate.)

4. Tetracalcium Aluminoferrite (C4AF)

• Formula: 4CaO·Al₂O₃·Fe₂O₃
• Properties: C4AF hydrates slowly and has a minor influence on the properties
of cement compared to C3A and silicates. It contributes to the color of the
cement and affects the setting time.
• Hydration Reaction:
𝐶4𝐴𝐹 + 𝐻2𝑂 + 𝐶𝐻 → 𝐶−𝐴−𝐹−𝐻
The proportion of C4AF ranges from 5-15%
Good in resisting chemical attack
 Summary of characteristics of the four compounds of clinker

Characteristics C 3S C2S C3A C4AF

Rate of hydration Medium Slow Fast Slow

Strength - early High Low Medium Low

- Ultimate High High Low Low

Amount of heat Medium Low High Low

liberated

Resistance to Good Good Poor Good

chemical attack
• In addition to the main compounds listed in
Table 1.1, there exist minor compounds, such as MgO, TiO2, Mn2O3,
K2O and Na2O; they usually amount to not more than a few per cent
of the mass of cement.

• Two are of particular interest: Na2O and K2O, known as the alkalis (although other
alkalis also exist in cement).
• They have been found to react with some aggregates, the products of the reaction
causing disintegration of the concrete, and have also been observed to affect the rate
of the gain of strength of the concrete.
 The content of MgO* is usually limited to 4-5%, because
quantities of this component in excess of about 2% can occur
as periclase (magnesium oxide), which through slow reaction
with water can cause destructive expansion of hardened
concrete. Free lime (calcium oxide) can behave similarly.
(iii) Grinding of Clinker:
 The completely burnt or calcined raw materials of cement are Converted
to a lump-shaped product called clinker which is drawn out from the
lower end of the rotary kiln.
 It is extremely hot when discharged, and is, therefore, first cooled in
clinker coolers.
 A predetermined batch of gypsum (CaSO4. 2H2O) is added to the
cooled clinker, and both (clinker and gypsum) are sent for pulverizing.
 The mixture is reduced to an extremely fine powder by grinding it in two
stages; the preliminary grinding and the fine grinding.
 The preliminary grinding is achieved by using a gyratory type of
crushers whereas for fine grinding use is made of tube mills.
 The tube-mill crushers are generally provided with air separators
through which material of desired fineness can only pass.
 The coarser, portion of the cement is fed back into the mill for further
grinding.
(iv) Packing and Storage of Cement:
 This also forms a very important operational step since cement needs
very careful packing and storage arrangements.
 It is, in fact, a delicate product and when handled carelessly can
deteriorate to a useless set material.
 Cement is most commonly stored after its manufacture in specially
designed concrete storage tanks called SILOS, where-from it is drawn off
mechanically for the market.
 For cement packing, cloth, jute, and high-density Polythene (HDPE) bags
are commonly used.
 For convenience, the cement comes to the customer in bags containing
measured quantity.
 2. Wet Process of Manufacturing of Cement.

 It is considered a better and convenient process for the

manufacture of cement, especially where limestone of soft variety

is available in abundance.

 We can discuss this process under three headings;

o Preparation of slurry;

o Burning or calcination; and

o Treatment of clinker.
Fig.1. Wet process of cement manufacturing (Flow chart)
 (i) Preparation of Slurry:
 In Wet Process, raw materials are supplied to the kiln in the form of an intimate mixture
with a lot of water in it. This is called SLURRY.
 To obtain the SLURRY of a standard composition, the raw materials are first crushed
separately using crushers for limestones and grinding mills (wet) for clays. These crushed
materials are stored in separate tanks or silos.
 They are drawn from the silos in prefixed proportions into the wet grinding mills where,
in the presence of a lot of water, these get ground to a fine, thin paste. This is slurry
which is stored in a third SILO.
 Its composition is tested once again and corrected by adding limestone slurry or clay
slurry in required proportions. Such corrected slurry is then fed into the Rotary Kiln.
(ii) Burning or Calcination:
 For burning of the slurry, a rotary kiln of almost similar type is used as
described under the dry process.
 In this kiln, however, the length of drying zone is larger because the material is
fed into the kiln with abundant water.
 All the moisture is driven off from the slurry as it passes through the drying
zone. In the subsequent zones, it undergoes the same transformation as
mentioned under DRY PROCESS.
 In this stage, there is practically no difference in the wet and dry process.
(iii) Grinding of Clinker.
 As the lump-shaped clinker comes out from the kiln, it is extremely hot. It is,
therefore, passed through air-cooling rotary cylinders.
 After that, it is mixed with 3-4 percent of gypsum and ground to a very fine
powder as discussed above in the DRY PROCESS of cement manufacturing.
 The fine cement so obtained is stored and packed in a way similar to that used
in the Dry Process.
 Uses of Portland Cement

Cement is used widely for the construction of various structures. Some of

them are listed below:
(i) Cement slurry is used for filling cracks in concrete structures.
(ii) Cement mortar is used for masonry work, plastering and pointing.
(iii) Cement concrete is used for the construction of various structures like
buildings, bridges, water tanks, tunnels, docks, harbours etc.
(iv) Cement is used to manufacture lamp posts, telephone posts, railway
sleepers etc.
(v) For manufacturing cement pipes, garden seats, dust bins, flower pots
etc. cement is commonly used.
(vi) It is useful for the construction of roads, footpaths, courts for various
sports etc.
Kilns In Cement Plant
 Cement Kiln
 Cement kiln is a kind of construction material manufacturing equipment,
mainly used in the production of Portland cement and other types of
hydraulic cement.
 In terms of the equipment function, it is the device that finally
completes the clinker sintering.
 After the raw materials are heated at high temperature in the cement
kiln, a series of chemical reactions will take place, and then the cement
clinker will be finally formed. However, during this process, the kiln
diameter, thermostability, cooling speed, kiln speed, kiln model and
many other factors will affect the cement quality.
 Types Of Cement Kilns
 When a cement plant is build, there are many types of cement kiln to
choose from.
 According to different preparation processes of raw materials, cement
kiln can be divided into dry process cement kiln & wet process cement
kiln.
Dry process cement kiln: the dry process cement kiln is much more
thermally efficient than wet process cement kiln.
 This is because raw meal prepared for the dry process is dry powder
with water content less than 1%, which reduces the amount of heat
needed to evaporate water.
 Besides, the dry process cement kiln has a higher heat transfer
efficiency.
 It is usually used with a cyclone preheater, in which raw meal will be pre-
heated and decarbonated before entering the kiln so that the kiln body
can be shorter and of smaller diameter.
 Wet process cement kiln: before entering the wet process cement kiln,
the raw meal is supplied in the form of a slurry with 40%-45% water
content.
 Therefore, it needs to take a lot of extra energy to evaporate the water
and the kiln body shall be longer than normal cement kiln.
 While the ingredient of slurry-like raw meal is more even than powder
raw meal so the clinker quality is relatively high.
In accordance with the equipment structure, the cement kiln can be
divided into shaft kiln & cement rotary kiln.

Cement Rotary Kiln Shaft Kiln

 What Is Cement Rotary Kiln?

 Under normal circumstances, the body of cement rotary kiln is placed

horizontally and inclined to a certain angle with the ground.
 Materials enter from the kiln tail and move to the other end with a slow
rotation. During this process, cement raw meal will undergo
decomposition, sintering and other technological processes under high-
temperature heating to finally form cement clinker.
 What Is Vertical Shaft Kiln?

 Vertical shaft kiln is a kind of vertical cement kiln, the kiln body is
upright on the ground and can not rotate. Materials in the kiln move
from top to bottom, and the combustion-supporting air flows from
bottom to top.
 Kiln Refractory Requirement
 The refractory lining on the interior of the cement rotary kiln is a crucial
component in ensuring the kiln’s working efficiency and protecting the
kiln shell from melting down.
 Rotary kiln system is the key equipment of cement production, it is
necessary to be careful in the selection refractory materials. Wrong
refractory materials will not only affect the operation of the cement
plant, but also cause production accidents.
Zones in a cement rotary kiln
 1. The Discharge Port and Discharging Zone

 The refractory lining used in these two parts of the rotary kiln suffers
both severe mechanical wear and chemical erosion. Therefore, the
lining materials for these parts must have characteristics of abrasion
resistance and temperature change resistance.
 The refractory lining materials generally used in the discharging zone
are heat shock resistant high alumina brick (70-80% Al2O3) ,spinel
brick(Magnesia alumina) , and magnesia chrome brick.
 2. The Sintering Zone

 In general, the refractory lining of the sintering zone is directly bonded

mag-Cr (Magnesia Chrome ) bricks and alkali resistant brick. These
materials have been widely used because of their high cold and hot
strength and good thermal shock stability.

Mag-Cr Bricks
 3. The Transition Zone

 The transition zone is adjacent to the sintering zone. In this zone, the
temperature changes frequently, the temperature of the cylinder is high,
the kiln skin may be hanging or falling off, and the chemical erosion is
also serious.
 The suitable refractory lining materials for the transition zone include
high alumina brick made of corundum and bauxite with 50-80% Al2O3,
directly bonded mag-cr brick, ordinary mag-cr brick, and spinel brick.
 4. The Cooling Zone
 The temperature in the cooling zone is still relatively high, but the
chemical erosion is not so severe compared to other zones. The
refractory lining materials for the cooling zone can be mag-cr brick, high
alumina brick, phosphate bonded high alumina brick and magnesia
alumina spinel brick, etc.
5. The Calcining Zone :In the part where the calcining zone is connected
with the preheating zone, due to the small thermal and chemical stress,
clay bricks, high alumina bricks, ordinary magnesia chrome bricks can be
used as the refractory lining;
 6. The Preheating Zone

 The lining material used in the preheating zone should have sufficient
alkali resistance and heat insulation performance. The ideal lining
material is alkali resistant and heat insulation clay brick.
 When light brick is used, the temperature of the kiln shell can be
reduced by 60-100 ℃ compared with clay brick with the same thickness.
Wet vs Dry Process
 Wet vs Dry Process

Wet Process Dry Process

The raw ingredients are combined with water in In this process, the raw ingredients are
this process to create a slurry, which is then fed ground into a fine powder and then fed into a
into a kiln. kiln.

It is employed where there is a plentiful supply of This method is employed in regions with
water and where the conditions are conducive to limited access to water or when dry weather
the cement hardening. is suited to the cement’s ability to solidify.

Since the raw materials must be dried before The raw materials do not need to be dried
grinding and heating, the wet process takes before being ground and heated, hence the
longer than the dry process. dry process is quicker than the wet process.

Consumes more fuel compared to dry process Consumes less fuel compared to wet process

Size of the kiln required in this process is

Size of the kiln required in this process is less
more
Production cost is more Production cost is less

Quality of cement produced is superior due to Quality of cement produced is inferior due to
homogeneity of the raw mix uneven raw material mixing
o CO2 emission is high CO2 emission is less