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Cement is the primary ingredient in concrete and the second most consumed material globally, essential for housing and infrastructure. Its production involves several stages, including quarrying raw materials, grinding, burning in a kiln, and final grinding, with processes categorized into dry and wet methods. The cement industry faces challenges such as rising energy costs, CO2 emission reduction requirements, and the need for quality raw materials.

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4 views

Report 101

Cement is the primary ingredient in concrete and the second most consumed material globally, essential for housing and infrastructure. Its production involves several stages, including quarrying raw materials, grinding, burning in a kiln, and final grinding, with processes categorized into dry and wet methods. The cement industry faces challenges such as rising energy costs, CO2 emission reduction requirements, and the need for quality raw materials.

Uploaded by

alana.ramnarine
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© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Cement

What is cement?

Cement is the main ingredient in concrete and the second most consumed material in the world
(after water) that is used for global housing and modern infrastructure.

Manufacture if cement

Raw materials employed in the manufacture of cement are limestones, slates, and some shales.

The main stages in the manufacture of Portland cement:

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

(4) Burning the prepared mix in a kiln

(5) grinding the burned product, known as “clinker,” together with some 5 percent of gypsum (to
control the time of set of the cement).

2 CEMENT PRODUCTION
Raw components utilized to produce cement involve mud, sand, limestone, and shale. These
components
undergo many processes, such as crushing, grinding, and blinding, as well as other stages shown in
Fig 2
[39]. It is necessary to understand the cement production system in order to evaluate the movement
of
components from the cement company during production steps. From Fig 2 Can be seen that
cement

Page 3

J. Res. Technol. Eng. 5 (2), 2024, 12-27


JRTE©2024
14
production stages are divided into four major steps [40]. Those are
2.1 Quarrying Process (Raw materials)
The extraction of limestone is done by exploding, and silica is extracted by ground flaking. Materials
are then transported by dump truck to a loading area, where they are dumped, and then they are
transported by dump truck to a crusher and crushing device. Finally, a belt conveyor is used to
deliver the materials to the factory [23].
2.2 Raw material preparation process (milling of raw materials and fuels preparations)
The mixing and grinding of extracted raw materials in this stage to achieve an appropriate chemical
mixture [39]. This step include:
2.2.1 Grinding raw materials in raw mill
In this step, the raw materials are blended in a specific proportion, then recycled hot air from the
furnace
room is used to operate in a centrifugal action to maintain a typical temperature of 290 °C. The raw
mill
consists of three chambers: a drying chamber for using hot air to dry the raw material, compartment
I for
grinding coarse materials with a ball mill, and compartment II for grinding fine materials with a
smaller
ball mill (where the ball mill in compartment I is larger than the one in compartment II). The
resulting
raw mix, which is the material refined by the raw mill, undergoes filtration and enters a separate
chamber.
The fine material is directed to a mixing silo for a homogenization process, while the residual coarse
material is recycled back to compartment II of the raw mill. Homogenizing in the mixing silo is crucial
to
achieving an appropriate material composition and reducing fluctuations in the quality of the raw
mix.
This is essential for maintaining kiln performance, as the kiln operation can be disrupted if the
materials
are not homogeneous [38].
2.2.2 Preparing fuel in a coal mill
Coal will be ground in this step in precisely the same way as it is in the raw mill. In the end, the kiln
will
receive the finely ground coal and inject it with air via a burner [38].
2.2.3 Burning in kiln
In this stage, the raw mixture is heated to 500 °C. Then, the mixture is transferred to the kiln, where
it
contains dust and hot gas at a temperature of 330 °C, thereby being directed to the air conditioning
tower
to reduce the temperature to 120 °C. This process helps in the electrode separation of fines and
particles
suspended in gas. The raw mixture consisting of (CaO) and (MgO) undergoes several processes in
which
the temperature of the mixture is raised from 1100 to 1450 °C. During this process, (CO2) and
carbonate
compounds are emitted; for this reason, the mixture is cooled by spraying water on it [38].
2.2.4 The final grinding in the cement mill
The clinker temperature must be maintained from 100 to 125 °C in this stage to prevent dry or wet
clogging of the cement plant equipment. This can occur due to the accumulation of dust on the
equipment
or the formation of wet and sticky materials that may adhere to the production equipment. Gypsum
and
clinker are processed in the mill, divided into two stages: the grinding stage in chamber I and the
milling
stage in chamber II. In the final stage, the cement is transferred to the separation stage, where the
raw
material is returned to the mill while the fine cement is stored in the storage silo [38, 40].
2.3 Cement Packaging and Dispatch
In this step, conveyors and bucket elevators are used to move the finished product to storage silos.
The
majority of cement is shipped in large quantities to clients via trucks, railways, and bags, typically
weighting 50 kg each. Most cement is used in concrete as an essential material in the construction
industry [38, 40].
There are two types of processes used in cement production: the dry process and the wet process
[38].
• Dry process: In this process, the raw materials are dried using different types of dryers or air
separators,
either through the grinding process or before grinding [40].
• Wet process: In this process, water is added to the process during grinding [40].

(Mason, Lea, & M., 2024)

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

The cement industry is facing challenges such as:

 Cost increases in energy supply


 Requirements to reduce CO2 emissions
 Supply of raw materials in sufficient qualities and amounts.
According to the International Energy Agency, the main levers for cement
producers are the increase in energy efficiency and the use of alternative
materials, be it as fuel or raw materials.

(Schneider, Romer, Tschudin, & Bolio, 2011)

ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS OF CEMENT PRODUCTION

REFERENCES

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

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