Moving
On With
Modular
Technology
Fernando Dueñas, Cemengal, details the advantages of
flexible and modular grinding units.
C
ementos Melón, a reference
manufacturer of cement and
ready‑mixed concrete in Chile
is a private company on the
Chilean Market and controlled by the
Peruvian BRECA Industrial Group that
belongs to the holding of the BRESCIA
Family. Currently employing over 1000 staff
across Chile, the company’s production
and distribution activities are based at its
clinker plant in La Calera, two grinding
units are located at the sites of Ventanas
and Puerto Montt, and several batching
and aggregate plants for ready-mixed
concrete preparation are placed across
the country.
Over the last years, the company has
focused its expansion strategy in the
South of Chile, with the main objective
being to maintain the sustainable and
environmental development of its
MODULAR GRINDING
integrated cement and concrete activities.
As a result of this strategy, an initial
conventional grinding plant was built and
commissioned in 2007 at the Puerto Montt
plant. Lately, major infrastructure and
housing projects in the southern regions of
Chile have been driving demand for more
technical performances. This has resulted
in the production of high Blaine cements.
Project background
In order to meet these trends,
Cementos Melón decided to upgrade its
production capacities at its grinding and
distribution plant in Puerto Montt. As a
result of this, in mid-2017 CEMENGAL
was awarded with the supply of the
equipment for the first Plug&Grind®
XTREME modular grinding unit. The
modular mill unit was delivered by July
2018, in order to allow the first cement and
commissioning of the plant before the end
of the year; this was just at the beginning
of the peak of demand during summer in
the southern hemisphere.
The industrial grinding project includes all
the mechanical, electrical, and automation
equipment necessary on a modular ball
mill circuit for 300 000 tpy of high strength
cements, such as the MELÓN Extra and
MELÓN Especial premium products
marketed in Chile.
Thanks to the portability advantages of
the Plug&Grind modular configuration, as
well as its short delivery time, Cementos
Melón was able to reduce the timing and
cost of the project in order to satisfy the
cement demand from local projects just
when it was needed. Other technical risks
associated with the industrial projects,
like demurrages on logistics, site installation, and
the construction of deep foundations, were also
mitigated. The Plug&Grind XTREME plant that was
supplied for this project included the most modern
technologies for cement grinding, separation, and
filtration, in order to achieve enhanced performance
values in terms of production capacity for ultrafine
cements, the reduction of power consumption, and
the efficient recovery of dust in accordance with
European environmental regulations.
As a quick expansion strategy to consolidate the
brand as the referenced product in the Southern
regions of Chile, Cementos Melón decided
to upgrade the Puerto Montt factory with new
cement grinding and distribution facilities. The
plant is located at a strategic location, close to
local pozzolana quarries and the nearest bulk port
facilities for the reception of clinker vessels shipped
from producers located in Eastern Asian countries,
like Japan, Vietnam, and China. The logic of the
project was clear: a prefabricated mill grinding unit
was to be placed to extend the current mill plant and
ensure a quick implementation, with possibilities
for expansion in the future. First cement was
scheduled 12 months after the order formalisation
in order to meet the client’s engagements with local
customers in the region.
Figure 1. 3D layout model of the Puerto Montt
plant upgrade with Plug&Grind® XTREME mill.
Figure 2. A Plug&Grind XTREME mill fully
enclosed inside a transportable module.
Both companies shared the same challenge and
the targets were clear: the avoidance of demurrage
at ports and the reduction of risky overcosts on
construction. In addition, operational reliability,
compliance with local environmental regulations,
simplicity of production processes, and the energy
efficiency of the Plug&Grind type installations were
also of key importance.
Last but not least, almost 40 references of similar
projects in the field, some of them very successful
in the South American region (including projects
in Peru, Uruguay, Colombia, Panamá, Mexico,
Guatemala, Belize, Honduras, and El Salvador) and
totalling an installed capacity of around 2 million t,
helped to convince Cementos Melón to use a modular
mill technology.
On a semi-turnkey basis, CEMENGAL will
provide full engineering, procurement, and
supervision services for the complete grinding and
cement dispatching line, ranging from raw material
preparation, a Plug&Grind XTREME grinding unit for
quick site installation, and packing facilities.
Description and scope of equipment
The main components include a modular Plug&Grind
XTREME circuit of about 2150 kW installed power for
360 000 tpy (referenced to standard cements), with
feed bins, and mill circuit and auxiliary components
on transportable modules. The Plug&Grind mill shop
was supplied with a complete scope of mechanical,
electrical, and automation components that were
preinstalled at CEMENGAL’s production facilities.
The heart of the plant is a two compartment
ball mill with the dimensions of 3.2 m x 12 m.
The grinding circuit is mainly equipped with a
high-efficiency Magotteaux XP4-i separator, with a
process fan and dust precipitation cyclone fitted in
the same machine, and a 30 000 m3/hour mill bag
filter, designed and built-in by CEMENGAL inside
transportable modules.
The plant was designed to produce around 250 000
tpy of CEM 52.5 high strength MELÓN EXTRA
cements, in a range of 32 tph to 36 tph. The cements
would follow different mix recipes and medium to
high Blaines, from 4600 to 5500 cm2/gr, that are
commonly used for prefab applications. The mill is
fully engineered by CEMENGAL and its modular
conceptual design permits the manufacturing and
placement of the mill shell with accessories inside
a transportable module at its final position. Due to
its prefab configuration and weight optimisation,
the plant can be easily installed at a shallow slab
foundation, and dismantled if required.
The ball mill is supported on roller bearings
manufactured by SKF. The main drive consists of a
Flender central drive unit composed by a planetary
gear box, and a motor actioned at medium voltage
with installed power of 1600 kW. The feed materials
to be used for cement grinding are comprised of
imported clinker, gypsum, and pozzolana that is
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sourced from local quarries in the region. The
clinker and additives are dosed separately by
Schenck weighfeeders, then the fresh feed is
transported to the mill inlet via enclosed belt
conveyors, in order to keep the facility free of
any dust. A hot gas generator is also included in
the scope of supply to dry the fresh feed when
pozzolana with moisture contents is used as an
additive.
In addition, due to the severe climatic
conditions of the site, this hot gas generator is
also used to heat up the circuit when starting up
the mill in the winter and on rainy days. To ensure Figure 3. Panoramic view of the Plug&Grind XTREME
the most efficient clinker comminution, the ball plant at the site installation stages.
mill is equipped with Magotteaux diaphragms
and liners in the first and second chambers. The
fine material flows from the first to the second
chamber through a diaphragm and finally
the fines leave the mill through a discharge
diaphragm. The two compartments of this
Plug&Grind XTREME mill have an approximate
filling degree of 30%. The first chamber is filled
with Maxicrom grinding media of between 60 mm
dia. and 90 mm dia., and the second is filled with
Hardalloy grinding balls of between 20 mm dia.
and 60 mm dia., both supplied by Magotteaux. Figure 4. View of the installation activities of the
The circuit is completed by a fifth generation Plug&Grind XTREME mill.
separator and a process bag filter, designed and
manufactured at CEMENGAL facilities, that follow ensure all safety, quality, and schedule requirements
modular configurations. The whole plant meets in order to meet the project goals.
European environmental regulations for emissions Project engineering began immediately after the
to be kept under 10 mgr/m3 at the filter outlet. completion of the contract’s formalities in July 2017.
With regard to the electrical and automation system, Manufacturing activities began in CEMENGAL’s
The Plug&Grind XTREME plant is fully engineered workshops just four months after the commencement
by the CEMENGAL engineering department to keep of the project, once the two parties had agreed on
all the main electrical components like motor control the general layout of the plant that fitted with the
centres, programmable logic controllers, variable existing facilities. By August 2018, all the supplies
speed drives, and cooling systems fitted inside a were delivered at the Chilean Ports and, by that
containerised room. All power cables, low voltage, time, the client was already at the final stages of
and instrumentation devices are pre‑installed at the civil works and site foundations to receive the
CEMENGAL workshops along trays and supports grinding infrastructure.
that are fixed at the transportable modules to The construction of the Plug&Grind XTREME
speed up the plant installation onsite. Technologies modular mill equipment started in October 2018
from partners like Siemens, ABB, and Schneider and, after nine weeks of installation work, the
are standard for the electrical and automation first cement was produced following simple
sub-supplies. Thus, connections to the central commissioning works that were conducted by the
electrical room are simple and fast. client’s staff and supervised by the CEMENGAL
Following the current trend for cement produced team of equipment specialists.
at low temperature in Chile, a cement cooler was
also incorporated at the end of the mill shop, in Conclusion
order reduce temperatures to 70°C for improved The Plug&Grind modular grinding configuration
cement handling by the clients at the ready-mixed with flexible ball mill equipment is a suitable solution
concrete plants. The cement cooler can also be for the brownfield expansion of existing plants
bypassed in case such a low temperature is not that are unable to cope either with strong cement
necessary. demand, or limitations on the existing equipment
to reach very high Blaine cements with blended
Project execution compositions.
Due to the close relationship and good cooperation With Plug&Grind flexible plants, there are
between the project teams: Cementos Melón, different possibilities for the extension and
CEMENGAL, and local sub-contractors were able to production of new products with a wide range

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of capacities. This means that new investors and
current producers can benefit from its advantages,
to implement the project’s investments in a shorter
time with limited CAPEX.
Since its official launch into the worldwide
market in 2013, CEMENGAL has supplied several
Plug&Grind modular units in different regions: from
South to Central America and the Caribbean, from
North to East and West Africa in the Sub‑Saharan
region, and from Western Europe to Southeast
Asia, with excellent results in performance,
reliability, safety, and environmental protection.
Thanks to the advantages of modular technology,
Cementos Melón managed to meet the quality and
quantity demands of its clients. Additionally, the
overall timing and cost initially expected for the
mill commissioning was reduced. This project
implementation is being replicated at other plants
in Southern Chile.

About the author

Fernando Dueñas Pozo is a Sales and
Business Development Manager at CEMENGAL. He
joined CEMENGAL in January 2007 and achieved
major milestones for the company with regard to
market penetration, the increase of the company’s
key accounts, and turnkey project references.

Figure 5. View of the Plug&Grind XTREME mill

enclosed in a steel covered building.

Figure 6. The largest Plug&Grind XTREME

size for ultrafine cements with a production
capacity up to 400 000 tpy. Today, more than
six P&G XTREME references have been sold by
CEMENGAL.

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