Grinding of Clinker Replacement Materials

Soeren Worre Joergensen, General Manager, Grinding Technology, F.L.SMIDTH

Grinding of Clinker Replacement Materials

Introduction
Blended cements have been produced for decades in some countries, and in recent years, a
renewed interest in the production of such cements can be found all over the world. There are
many reasons for this, with one of the main reasons being that the production of blended
cements results in a lower overall production cost, a fact that has been strongly accentuated
with the increase in fuel and power prices. The ability to have a partial substitution of clinker
with replacement materials also results in an overall increased plant capacity without a large
capital investment in terms of additional clinker production. Blended cements can have some
advantages over pure Portland cement in end use properties such as lower heat development
during hardening and an improved durability of the final concrete structures. Finally, saving
of natural resources, utilization of industrial by-products and reduction of CO2 emissions are
important contemporary issues favouring production of blended cements.
There are a variety of solutions for the grinding of clinker replacement materials, whether by
separate grinding or by intergrinding into blended cement. Selecting the correct solution for a
specific application, whether it is a new grinding installation or an upgrade to an existing
installation, can be a difficult task. In making the selection, one must consider not only the
initial investment cost and the production cost, but also the simplicity of the operation,
maintenance issues, drying issues, etc. This paper will present the experience of various
grinding circuits for grinding clinker replacement materials, including ball mills, roller
presses and vertical roller mills, and describe the benefits and comparisons of each system.
Clinker Replacement Materials
Blended cement is a mixture of separately ground or interground cement clinker, gypsum and
mineral admixture(s). The mineral admixture(s), clinker replacement materials, will typically
be one or more of the following materials:

Granulated Blastfurnace Slag (GBS)

Natural Pozzolans
Fly Ash (PFA)
Limestone

The properties of those materials vary a lot as far as reactivity (i.e. clinker replacement
potential), grindability, granulometri, humidity and abrasiveness is concerned.
Granulated Blastfurnace Slag (GBS)
This material is able to react in an alkaline or sulphatic medium to form hydrates of the
same kind as formed by Portland cement hydration. This so-called latent hydraulic
property is the basis for the use of GBS in blended cements and slag cements.
The water quenching process applied to form GBS generates a product with a physical
appearance like coarse sand. Hence the word granulated blast furnace slag or the
German name Httensand. Just after water quenching the material can contain up to

30% of water. This may be reduced during transportation and storage to around 15 % of
water. This is still a rather high moisture content that must be taken into consideration
when grinding slag and slag cement.
As GBS is dominated by a dense glassy structure with few large pores it is difficult to
grind. Hence, on average it requires about 30-50% more grinding energy than clinker to
reach the typical cement fineness of 300-500 m2/kg (Blaine). Further, the glassy
structure of GBS makes it a very abrasive material to handle in the grinding circuit.
The fairly high reactivity of ground GBS makes it possible to make blended cements
with high clinker replacement level. Products with up to 80% slag are made. The
standard specifications in many slag-cement producing countries make a distinction
between slag and clinker dominated products. Products based on 80-100% slag are also
produced. They are used for special purposes or as for pure slag for combinations
with OPC during mixing of concrete.
Slag cement can be ground in combined grinding or by separate grinding of slag and
cement clinker with subsequent mixing. In combined grinding the slag component will
end up in the coarser fraction of the product as slag usually is harder to grind than the
cement clinker. This will in particular be the case in open circuit grinding. Although this
phenomenon is somewhat reduced in closed circuit grinding systems, the hard slag
component will still be concentrated in the circulation load, and hence have a steeper
particle size distribution than the clinker component. The distribution of grinding energy
to the slag component and to the clinker component respectively, which can not be
controlled in combined grinding, may not be the optimum with respect to energy
expenditure and product quality. More energy spent on the slag and less on the clinker
would be more beneficial with respect to late strength and/or the grinding energy
consumed.
The benefits of combined grinding are good homogenization of the product, a reduced
tendency of agglomeration and coating in the ball mill (grinding aid effect), and ability
to use the heat from the clinker for drying the slag.
Separate grinding of the slag and cement clinker is more economical in terms of energy
consumption. The fineness of the separate components can be optimized to achieve the
required product quality at minimized energy consumption. Further, with adequate
storage and mixing facilities available a wide range of products can be offered to meet
the end-users specific demands.
In some countries separately ground slag is produced and sold directly to the concrete
producers, who then use it together with Portland cement in their concrete mixes.
Pozzolan
A Pozzolan can be defined as a siliceous material that is non-hydraulic, but which is
able to combine with lime and water at normal (ambient) temperatures to form hydrates
with cementing properties Due to the microporous structure of many pozzolans they are
generally easy to grind to products of high specific surface. Although easy to grind

pozzolans are often quite abrasive and they may often have a moisture content that
requires provisions for drying in the grinding circuit.
Pozzolans generally contribute more slowly to strength than GBS. For this reason, and
sometimes also due to problems with water demand, the fraction of natural pozzolans in
pozzolan cements is usually kept below 35%.
In the product from combined grinding of pozzolan and cement clinker the pozzolan
will be expected to be very fine and the clinker part to be very coarse due to the large
difference in grindability of the two materials. This will in general terms result in a
strength development with low early strengths and high late strengths. Further, PortlandPuzzolan cement from combined grinding will tend to have a higher water demand
due to the very fine pozzolan than a product mixed of separately ground components
with individually optimized particle size distributions.
Fly Ash (PFA)
Fly ash (or Pulverized Fuel Ash = PFA) is an artificial pozzolanic material with a
reactivity similar to the reactivity of natural pozzolans. Hence, practical clinker
replacements are normally below 40% with 20-30% as a typical range.
The particles of PFA are mostly spherical, with a small fraction being hollow. The
fineness of PFA usually varies between 200 and 500 m2/kg (Blaine), (or 45 m residues
of 10-40%), which means that it has a fineness similar to that of Portland cement.
Therefore PFA is often introduced into blended cement with little or no grinding at all.
If grinding is performed it will first result in crushing of the hollow and porous particles.
A subsequent further grinding of the dense glassy material will tend to be rather energy
consuming.
PFA is usually available as a dry powder suitable for pneumatic transportation.
A comparison of the three methods of making fly ash cement combined grinding,
separate grinding and direct intermixing of the PFA as it is received indicated that the
most favourable ratio between cement strength achieved and the corresponding grinding
energy is obtained with combined grinding. The direct intermixing of the PFA offers the
poorest solution of the three.
In many plants partial combined grinding is implemented in the way that the PFA is
introduced to the separator irrespective of the type of grinding circuit and only the
coarse particles are returned to the mill for further grinding. Those particles and
agglomerates are then reduced in size and the reactivity is improved.
Mill systems for grinding of blended cements and clinker replacement materials
As grinding of blended cement and slag has become more and more common a large number
of existing ball mills have been brought into operation for these applications. Such mills,
however, offer limited options for a plant that wishes to grind a blended cement or slag
without investment in additional equipment. A main issue that then needs to be addressed is

how to dry the wet mill feed materials before grinding. Other mill types like roller presses and
especially the vertical roller mill are much more suitable for grinding and drying of materials
with considerable moisture content. Mill circuits with these types of mills are today often
designed and installed specifically for grinding such materials. Further, the roller mills in
comparison to a ball mill system offer much lower specific energy consumption.
Ball mills
As stated previously most existing ball mills designed for grinding Portland cement are not
particularly suited for drying wet materials like, say many of the clinker replacement
materials. However, the ability to dry the feed materials can be increased significantly if a hot
gas generator is included in the mill circuit and the mill is provided with a drying
compartment. An example of such mill is shown in the below FIGURE 1.
FIGURE 1: Ball Mill with Drying Compartment

The mill shown has only one grinding compartment, which is typical for slag grinding
applications, as the raw slag is fine enough to be ground with relatively small grinding balls,
say less than 50 mm. Further, the flow of hot drying gas through the mill is facilitated without
an intermediate diaphragm in the mill. However, for blended cement with clinker and lower
moisture content in the mill feed material a two-compartment mill will usually be more
suitable.
A rather large number of those mills are in operation grinding various types of blended
cement and slag.
A mill of this type in closed circuit operation was commissioned recently in Poland and main
data for the installed machinery, design conditions, and typically obtained performance
figures appear from the below TABLE 1.

TABLE 1: Ball mill in closed circuit operation for slag grinding.

Mill, type and size
Mill Gear Power
Separator
Production, t/h
Feed moisture, %
Blaine, cm2/g
Spec. energy consumption
Mill, kWh/t
Fan, kWh/t
Separator, kWh/t
Total, kWh/t

FLS UMS 5.0 x 15.0 + DC

5750 kW
SEPAX 355
Achieved
Design conditions
performance
101
88
7.9
10
3794
3500
49.8
2.9
0.3
53.0

As seen from the table this mill provided with drying compartment and hot gas generator is
able to grind and dry slag with up to 10% moisture.
A ball mill offers a very well proven and sturdy technology for grinding of blended cements
and slag. However, the ball mill has its limitations as regards drying of the wet clinker
replacement materials, and further it has fairly high energy consumption. Consequently, other
types of mills are becoming increasingly more common for grinding of these types of
materials.
Hydraulic Roller Press (HRP)
It is a well-known fact that high-pressure roller presses are much more efficient in the
comminution process than ball mills. For every 1 kWh/t that the HRP contributes to the
grinding circuit, the ball mill power is reduced by approximately 2 kWh/t or even more,
dependent on the type of material to be ground. Maximizing the work done by the HRP
results in a more efficient overall grinding process. In order to increase the amount of work
done by a HRP, it is necessary to recycle a portion of the pressed material back to the press
for further grinding.
From the mid eighties to the mid nineties a large number of roller presses were introduced for
various applications, including grinding of blended cement. However, slag in particular is an
ideal material for grinding in a roller press. The glassy and thus brittle structure of the slag
makes grinding under high pressure very efficient. Further, with a suitable amount of
moisture present slag forms a very stable grinding bed that allows a higher circulation of
material back to the press without the associated operational instability as compared to clinker
grinding. In many applications of a roller press for slag grinding at least a partial drying of
the raw slag is required to attain a moisture content in the feed material that will provide
adequate operating conditions for the press. Obviously the facilities for drying of the slag will
usually add to the complexity of the installation.

In many cases the roll press is used as a pregrinder, with only a mechanical splitter to divide
the crushed slag exiting the roller press and recirculate it back to the press for further
processing. FIGURE 2 shows a roller press in a typical pregrinding arrangement.
FIGURE 2:

The various suppliers of grinding equipment offer a variety of grinding systems designed for a
larger utilization of the roller press than can be achieved in a pregrinding arrangement. Such
systems, often named semi-finish systems, hybrid systems or the like, comprise a roller press,
a ball mill, drying facilities and a separator arrangement that can be and have been combined
in a multitude of arrangements. In particular the design of the separator arrangement is
specific for the individual suppliers. Anyhow, whichever separator arrangement is applied
they all have the ability to disagglomerate the product from the press and separate it in a
course fraction recirculated to the press and a finer fraction for the ball mill and/or the fines
separator. With the fines removed from the coarse material recirculated back to the roller
press the operation is stabilized. Circulation factors around the press of over five can be
achieved, resulting in a press energy input of >10 kWh/t, and significant reduction in the
overall circuit power.
In the extreme the ball mill can actually be eliminated this is described as finish grinding in
the roller press. An example of such arrangement is shown in FIGURE 3. Although not
shown in the figure slag drying facilities are required in this arrangement as good control of
the roller press feed moisture (1-2 %) is of significant importance to the operation of the roller
press. Finish grinding operation results in very large savings in the specific energy
consumption of the grinding system. One of the drawbacks to this type of system is the fact
that the slag produced will have a very steep particle size distribution, which may not be
optimum in terms of the effects of the setting time and the water requirements. However, it
appears in some cases to have been possible to remedy this problem somewhat by
recirculation of a portion of the pressed material back to the press for further grinding.

FIGURE 3:

TABLE 2 illustrates operating data from selected plants for both a pregrinding arrangement,
and a finish grinding arrangement with a roller press.
TABLE 2: Roll Press Systems for Slag Grinding

Grinding Arrangement
Ball Mill Size
Installed Power
Roller Press Size
Installed Power
Capacity, t/h
Blaine, cm2/g
Mill kWh/t
Press kWh/t
Total Grinding kWh/t

Plant A
Pregrinding
4.0M x 12.5M
2700 kW
HRP 1.25
2 x 450 kW
55
4850
48.5
9.2
57.7

Plant B
Finish
N.A.
HRC 60.38
2 x 900 kW
61
3100
18.5
18.5

The cost of installation of a HRP, along with the associated transport systems, can be quite
high. However, the significant savings in power consumption as well as the increase in the
output of the system can offer an attractive return.
The maintenance of a roller press is much more critical than that required by a ball mill. Wear
of the grinding rollers must be repaired. This maintenance is more expensive and requires a
higher degree of sophistication and labour than a ball mill, if only for the reason that a roller
press system comprises more equipment and equipment of a higher complexity than a ball
mill circuit.

Vertical Roller Mills (VRM)

Vertical roller mills have been employed for slag grinding for many years. Starting in the mid
1980s, the Japanese machinery manufacturers, most notably Onoda-Kobe with the OK mill,
began to market the vertical roller mill for cement and slag grinding. Today, VRMs for
cement and slag grinding are accepted by the industry as both proven machinery and process
technology. The vertical roller mill is an ideal machine as it addresses all of the issues related
to grinding and drying of blended cement and slag in a single integrated unit.
The grinding economy of the vertical roller mill is far better than a ball mill. Typically, in
slag grinding the grinding energy is 40-50% less for a vertical roller mill than the ball mill,
depending on the required Blaine for the slag. Although the associated fan power for a
vertical mill is higher than the ball mill, the overall system specific energy consumption is far
lower.
Not only are VRMs very energy efficient, but also they are very versatile in terms of being
able to handle wet raw materials as slag, and additives such as PFA, limestone, pozzolan, etc.
The VRM can utilize much higher quantities of waste gases for drying than a ball mill;
therefore the percent substitution of additives is not limited by the system drying capacity.
FIGURE 4 illustrates the versatility of a vertical roller mill. The graphic represents a survey
of the products ground in the first 10 OK mills that F.L.Smidth has supplied. (F.L.Smidth
market and sell the OK mill under a license from Onoda Engineering and Kobe Steel). The
product range comprises ordinary Portland cement, various types of blended cement and pure
slag.
FIGURE 4:
OK mills - Composition of mill feed
100
90
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
A+B

F+G+
H

I+J

I+J

Plant
Clinker, %

Gypsum, %

Limestone, %

Pozzolana, %

Slag, %

Fly ash, %

10

Many mill systems of this type are now operating worldwide. These mills are producing
many different types of cements, with Blaine from 2800 to over 4400 cm2/g. Slag and slag
cement are also produced with Blaine up to 6000 cm2/g. Two examples of experience from
operation of OK mills grinding blended cement will be presented in the following.
Cementos Progreso, Guatemala: (Ref. no. 1).
In 1996-97 F.L.Smidth supplied an OK 33-4 mill to Cementos Progreso, Guatemala. This
vertical mill for finish grinding was the first such installation in the Americas and one of the
first in the world for grinding blended cement. The decision to select a vertical roller mill for
grinding pozzolanic cement with a clinker factor of 75% and under variable conditions of feed
moisture and temperature of clinker was taken after thorough evaluation of available
technology for clinker grinding and considering the high cost of energy in Guatemala. A key
criterion for selecting the new grinding system was among others the capability to achieve
similar cement quality as achieved by the existing mill system comprising a roller press
(pregrinder) and a ball mill. An example of product quality figures achieved appears from
TABLE 3.
The quantity of water required for the concrete was a concern during the study phase;
however, the cement produced in the vertical mill showed no difference in this regard
compared to the cement produced in the ball mills.
This vertical mill option involving an OK mill had the advantage of accomplishing the drying,
grinding and classifying in a single unit, providing operating cost savings of about 8 kWh/t
and resulting in an excellent product.
TABLE 3:
Product quality: Vertical mill versus ball mill system
Roller press + Ball
Parameters
OK Mill
mill
Fineness
93.2
92.3
% passing 45 m
Blaine, cm2/g
3601
4064
Concrete strength
3 day, psi
2774
7 day, psi
3734
3645
28 day, psi
5112
4982
56 day, psi
5867
5598
Cementos Minetti, Campana, Argentina: (Ref. no. 2)
In 1998 Cementos Minetti, Argentina, decided to set up a new grinding station in Campana
for grinding of mainly Portland cement and slag cement.

11

During evaluation of technologies prior to selection of process it soon became apparent that a
vertical roller mill would offer a number of advantages. Producing and end product of similar
quality compared to a ball mill system the vertical roller mill offered several benefits, such as
lower energy consumption, lower maintenance costs and ability to dry the wet feed materials.
Further, the OK mill was evaluated to offer a high flexibility in operation for instance
separate grinding practically without periods with transition products.
The plant layout provides the options to co-grind the various feed components, i.e. clinker,
gypsum, limestone and slag, or to grind Portland cement and slag separately involving
facilities for mixing of the separate products.
A comparison of the quality of slag cement produced in co-grinding in the OK mill and of a
similar product ground in the companys ball mill installation appears from TABLE 4.
From the table the following can be stated regarding the quality of the product from the OK
mill compared to the ball mill cement:

The OK roller mill allows a 4% higher clinker substitution

Similar water demand
Comparable setting time
Almost identical compressive strength at similar sieve residue

Further and above all, for concrete a better workability is observed when using cement from
the roller mill.
TABLE 4:
System
Clinker
Gypsum
Limestone
Slag
Blaine
Sieve residue
Content of SO3
Water demand
Setting time
Comp. strength

Initial
Final
2d
7d
28 d

%
%
%
%
cm2/g
% R 32 m
%
%
min
min
MPa
MPa
MPa

Ball mill
74
5
21
3200
20.5
2.44
24.8
146
240
15.0
32.8
46.4

OK roller mill
70
5
5
20
3750
21.3
2.48
25.2
167
250
15.4
32.8
45.4

As mentioned previously, besides the new OK mill installation in Campana, Cementos

Minetti also operates a ball mill installation grinding slag cement.
A comparison of the specific energy consumption of the two grinding systems appears from
TABLE 5.

12

TABLE 5:
System
Clinker
%
Gypsum
%
Slag
%
Blaine
cm2/g
Spec. energy consumption
Mill
kWh/t
Separator
kWh/t
Fans
kWh/t
System
kWh/t

Ball mill
78
4
18
3640 *

Roller mill OK 36-4

75
5
20
3640

34.4
0.4
5.2
40.0

17.2
0.1
8.4
25.7

*Adjusted to same fineness

In this comparison the figures on the OK mill represents operation without limestone, which
otherwise would result in a high Blaine surface compared to the sieve residue. The feed
composition for the two mills may thus be considered similar and the energy figures may
therefore reasonably be adjusted to represent operation with the same fineness of the end
product.
It appears that the specific energy consumption of the OK mill system is around 35% lower
than that of the ball mill system. Similar energy savings are often observed in comparisons of
OK mills and ball mills, in particular when grinding to high fineness or with a considerable
fraction of slag in the feed material.
A typical flow-sheet for an OK mill installation for grinding of slag and slag cement is shown
in FIGURE 5.
As can be seen a vertical roller mill offers a very simple arrangement with few machines in
the grinding circuit, in particular compared to the roller press systems.
FIGURE 5:

13

As the grinding, transport and separation processes in the vertical roller mill are all closely
coupled, the internal circulation of material from the grinding bed to the separator is quite
high. This can lead to a rather steep product particle size distribution, which can result in a
high water demand. For this reason, it is imperative that there is control of the grinding
process so that final product cement has the correct quality to satisfy the market demands.
This actually is easily addressed in the operation of the OK mill. Adjustments in grinding
pressure and airflow will influence the product particle size distribution, as will making
physical changes to the dam ring. However, the correction of the particle size distribution
comes with some price the specific power consumption will be increased as the PSD is
made wider.
FIGURE 6 shows the relationship of the mill specific grinding power vs. adjusting the
product size distribution by changes in the grinding process.

30,0

30,00

28,0

29,00

26,0

28,00

24,0

27,00

22,0

26,00

20,0

25,00

18,0
0,92

24,00
0,97

1,02

1,07

RRSB slope (3 - 30 m)
Specific energy

Water demand

Some of the clinker replacement materials, in particular slag, can be quite abrasive and cause
a heavy wear of the grinding parts in a vertical roller mill. However, various technologies are
available to facilitate the maintenance works on these parts and lower the corresponding costs.
Some mills have rollers with segmented wear parts that fairly easily can be reversed for better

Water demand, %

Mill specific energy, kWh/t

FIGURE 6:

14

utilization of the wear parts before replacement with new ones. Special wear resistant
materials have been developed for grinding parts. Further, it has become common practice, in
particular for slag mills, to repair worn grinding parts by hardfacing. By regular hardfacing it
is possible to minimize the deterioration of the mill performance usually associated with a
progressing wear.
Conclusion:
Today there is a fairly wide range of mill arrangements available for grinding the various
types of clinker replacement materials.
All the systems described have been in the market for several years and with proper
adjustments to the operational parameters or adjustments to the arrangement, each is capable
of producing a product that satisfies the markets requirements to end product quality.
A ball mill and a vertical roller mill offer a simple plant arrangement, while arrangements
with a roller press generally are somewhat more complicated with more equipment, which in
many cases comprises a separate drying installation.
A ball mill represents sturdy and well proven technology and it is easy to maintain. The roller
press and the vertical roller mill are more complicated machines and maintenance work
requires more skill. The maintenance costs may also be higher for the more complicated
machines, to some extent depending on the materials ground.
The specific energy consumption for a ball mill system is significantly higher than for
systems with roller presses or vertical roller mills. The high energy consumption of the ball
mill is actually the most decisive disadvantage of this technology.
The vertical roller mill is the most versatile of the three grinding machines. Separate drying
facilities are not required and it is easy to change from one product type to another product
with practically no transition periods between products.
Generally the ball mill system offers the lowest plant installation cost, including the costs for
civil works. The total cost for a vertical roller mill installation is usually somewhat higher,
and the cost for an installation with roller press will in most cases be the highest. However,
the relative costs of the systems will obviously depend on specific plant arrangements and in
particular on regional variations of costs for civil works.
Today the vertical roller mill appears to become the most common mill for grinding of clinker
replacement materials, or at least for slag grinding. Within the last two years the vertical roller
mill has, based upon information available, acquired a market share of around 70% of new
mills sold for slag grinding. The corresponding figures for roller presses and ball mills appear
to be around 20% and 10% respectively.

15

References:
1. ZEPEDA, Erick, and IRELAND, Toms, A CENTURY OF CEMENT, World Cement,
March 1999.
2. FISCH, Hanspeter, and JOERGENSEN, Soeren Worre, Erfahrungen mit einer FLS
Wlzmhle (OK Mhle) fr die Mahlung von Portlandzement, Kompositzement und
Httensand, VDZ Verfahrenstag 2001.