LITERATURE REVIEW

Cement

What is cement?

Cement is the main ingredient in concrete and the second most consumed material in the world.
Water being the first. It has been used for global housing and modern infrastructure worldwide for
over 200 years and is still in use till this day. (Schneider, Romer, Tschudin, & Bolio, 2011)(Mohamad,
et al, 2022). Being an anhydrous material that contains no strength in dry form it requires mixing
with water and an aggregate to form a slurry. (Lea, M., Mason, & O., 2024). The chemical reaction
between the cement and the water occurs and when dried over a period of time, it forms concrete.
The cement acts as a sole binder in concrete that results in formation of solid material with its
impeccable ability to sustain load. (Mohamad, et al., 2022)

The characteristics of concrete that render it useful in constructing buildings and other infrastructure
are:

 It has excellent mechanical feature

MASS AND ENERGY BALANCES

During the cement manufacture process, large amounts of fossil fuels as natural gas are burnt
together with other alternative fuel sources to provide heat energy required in cement ovens, dryers
and preheaters. A lot of the energy is consumed in cement ovens and crushing machines in
particular. Thus, in order to manufacture a large volume of cement, an immense amount of energy is
consumed. (Mohamad, et al., 2022)

MASS BALANCES HERE

ENERGY BALANCES HERE

Regardless of the different cement manufacturing plants around the world, the general process of
manufacturing Portland cement remains the same.

STEP 1 – Quarrying the Raw Materials

The first step is to source the main materials needed from the quarry, extract it and take it to the
cement manufacturing plant.

The main materials in which cement is made from are as follows:

 Limestone
 Silica
 Iron

STEP 2 – The Crushing and Grinding of the Raw materials

The rocks extracted from the quarry are passed through the primary crusher to break apart the large
pieces of rocks into small pieces for further processing.

All except soft materials are first crushed, often in two stages; the primary and secondary crushers. It
is then ground in a rotating, cylindrical ball, or tube mills containing a charge of steel grinding balls.
This grinding is done wet or dry, depending on the process in use, but for dry grinding the raw
materials first may need to be dried in cylindrical, rotary dryers.

Soft materials are broken down by vigorous stirring with water in wash mills, producing a fine slurry,
which is passed through screens to remove oversize particles.

STEP 3 - Blending the materials in the correct proportions

Selective quarrying and control of the raw material and its chemical composition fed to the crushing
and grinding part of the plant is important in obtaining the particular cement that is required. Finer
control is obtained by drawing material from two or more batches containing raw mixes of slightly
different composition.

For the dry process, these mixes are then stored in silos where thorough mixing of the dry materials
in the silos is ensured by agitation and vigorous circulation induced by compressed air.

For the wet process, slurry tanks are used for storage and are stirred thoroughly by mechanical
means or compressed air or both. The slurry contains 35-45% water. A large amount The water in
the slurry is reduced by filtering which drops the water percentage to 20-30%. Reducing the water
content significantly reduces the amount of fuel consumed for burning. The filter cake is then sent to
the kiln. (Lea, F. M. and Mason, . Thomas O.,2024)

STEP 4 – BURNING

The raw material feed is sent to a fired heater called a rotary kiln which consists of a steel,
cylindrical shell that is lined with refractory materials. The kiln rotates slowly on an axis that
is inclined a few degrees to the horizontal and the raw material feed enters the upper end
and moves slowly down to the lower, firing end. The fuel used for burning may be
pulverized coal, oil, or natural gas which is injected through a pipe. The temperature at the
firing end ranges from about 1,350 to 1,550 °C, depending on the raw materials and their
chemical compositions being burnt. The product in the form of nodules that comes out of
the kiln is known as clinker. (Lea, F.M. et al., 2024)
Clinker composition:

 Calcium
 Silicon
 Aluminium
 Iron

(Mohamad, et al., 2022)

Iron decreases the temperature of the reaction and gives the cement its grey colour.
(Mohamad, et al., 2022)

STEP 5 – GRINDING

Clinker is a solid material formed and leaves the oven. It is the main ingredient in cement and is
crushed and blended with other ingredients such as limestone and gypsum to produced ordinary
Portland cement. (Mohamad, et al., 2022)

The clinker that leaves the kiln is air cooled and sent to horizontal grinding mills together with the
required amount of gypsum needed and is ground to a fine powder. (Lea, F.M. et al., 2024)

STEP 6 – STORAGE

The finished product is known as cement. It is pumped pneumatically to storage silos until it is ready
to be packaged into brown paper bags for sale or dispatched in bulk containers. (Lea, F.M. et al.,
2024)
Figure 1. Diagram showing the cement manufacture process from start to finish.
ENVIRONMENTAL DATA

ENVIRONMENMTAL CONCERNS

Continuous harvesting of resources from the natural environment for the manufacture of cement is
causing damages to the environment. Limestone, which is the main raw material used in the
manufacture of cement is a non-renewable resource and is slowly being depleted with the increase
in demand it faces each day. (Mohamad, et al., 2022)

The use of heavy equipment such as bulldozers and dump trucks in the quarry for digging, and
during the extraction of raw materials destroys the natural habitat of the plants and animals which
causes an upset in the ecological balance of these flora and fauna nearby. (Mohamad, et al., 2022)

The cement manufacturing process generates emissions that pollute the environment in more ways
than one, contributing to global warming, climate change and affecting human health. Contaminants
are as such:

 Air Pollution
 Solid wastes
 Noise pollution
 Water Pollution

AIR POLLUTION

Dust emissions are a major source of environmental pollution during cement manufacturing. It
contributes vastly to air pollution and is generated throughout the entire process of cement
production including transportation, loading and unloading of the clinker. Dust particles deposit on
the outside of the silo and settles on any vegetation nearby.

CO2 is one of the major greenhouse gas emissions which also a major contributor to global warming.
During the formation of CaO through cement production, CO2 is released with water vapour at high
temperatures. (Mohamad, et al., 2022)

Studies have shown cement production releases roughly 0.8 tonnes of CO2 per tonne of cement to
the atmosphere. In the meantime, it is reported that a tonne of Portland cement production
produces around a tonne of CO2 greenhouse gas emissions and about 2% to 8% of global power
consumption is due to the cement manufacturing process.

The CO2 emission from ordinary Portland cement (OPC) manufacturing, raw materials quarrying, and
transportation is estimated to be around 10% of global emissions (0.8–0.9 tons of CO2 per ton of
cement manufacturing), making the construction industry the second most significant contributor to
global warming and depleting natural resources. (Nadir et al., 2024)

Since the beginning of Industrial Revolution, the atmospheric CO 2 concentration increased by 47%.
(Mohamad, et al., 2022)

SOLID WASTES HERE

WATER POLLUTION HERE

CONTROL MEASURES

Information over the years on the negative impacts the cement industry has on the environment has
made persons aware that efforts must be taken to implement control mechanisms to reduce the
pollution caused by industrial activity. (Mohamad, et al., 2022)

Dust emission pathways can be reduced by repeated spraying of water, oil, or other soil stabilization
materials to keep the particles from being released into the atmosphere. (Mohamad, et al., 2022)

The dust emissions also can be limited by installation of cyclone arrestors, bag-filter systems or
electrostatic dust precipitators between the kiln exit and the chimney stack. (Lea, F.M. et al., 2024)
(Mohamad, et al., 2022). Careful and proper maintenance of any installation must be followed to
ensure emissions are controlled.

CHALLENGES

The cement industry is facing challenges such as:

 Cost increases in energy supply

Proposed Resolutions for future to minimize the negative impacts that the cement manufacturing
industry has on the environment are as such:
 1. Modify and enhance the cement production plants with better, safer equipment that is
newer in technology. This upgrade will contribute to cleaner production and less wastes
emitted.
2. Using industrial waste to produce cement-free concrete.
3. Alternative material tested and proven that would be environmentally friendly, economic,
consume less natural resources, would act as a binder in the concrete and would contribute
to the sustainable, healthier environment we desire.

(Mohamad, et al., 2022)

REFERENCES

How cement is made. Portland Cement Association. (2024, October 28).

Mohamad, N., Muthusamy, K., Embong, R., Kusbiantoro, A., & Hashim, M. H. (2022).
Environmental impact of cement production and solutions: A Review. Materials
Today: Proceedings, 48, 741–746. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.matpr.2021.02.212

Nadir, H. M., Ahmed, A., & Moshi, I. (2024). Elucidation of novel, alternative, fiber-
reinforced ironbased pozzolanic composites as SCMS. Academia Materials Science,
1(3). https://doi.org/10.20935/acadmatsci7277

Schneider, M., Romer, M., Tschudin, M., & Bolio, H. (2011). Sustainable cement production
—present and future. Cement and Concrete Research, 41(7), 642–650.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cemconres.2011.03.019

Lea, F. M. and Mason, . Thomas O. (2024, December 22). cement. Encyclopedia Britannica.
https://www.britannica.com/technology/cement-building-material