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BEBRE BERHAN UNIVERSITY

INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY
COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING
DEPARTMENT OF CHEMICAL
ENGINEERING
PROCESS II INDIVIDUAL ASSIGNMENT-1
NAME-HABTEWOLD ZEWDIE

ID NO 0493/10

SUBMISSION -DATE 28-04-2013

SUBMITTED -TO -MR ABREHA

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Table of content
1. Introduction…………………
…
2. History of
cement………………
3. Raw material for cement
production…………………….
4. Cement manufacturing
process...
5. Ingredient for cement
production………..
6. Equipment in cement
production………..
7. Major unit operation……….
8. Application of
cement………..
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9. Conclusion……..

Introduction
Cement production is a thermal energy intensive process ,which requires heating solids
particles up to 1450ºc and cooling it.
Cement manufacturing is a complex process that begins with mining and then grinding
raw materials that includes lime stone and clay,to a fine powder ,called raw meals, which
is then heated to a sintering temperature.

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History of Cement
Cement has been in use by humans throughout history; variations of the material were used by
the ancient Greeks, romans and Egyptians, with the earliest archaeological discovery dated to 12-
10,000bc in modern-day turkey. The romans used a mixture of lime (calcium oxide) and crushed
volcanic ash – to create hydraulic cements, which could set under water. Other cements used
crushed brick, tiles and ceramic pottery as aggregates. Famous historical buildings made from
concrete, still standing today, are the coliseums and pantheon in Rome, and the Hagias Sophia in
Istanbul.

The middle ages were a quiet time in the history of cement; any discoveries made during this era
remain unknown, although masons are known to have used hydraulic cements to build structures
such as fortresses and canals.

The industrial revolution in Europe in the late 18 th century saw a flurry of new developments in
cement and concrete, with important contributions made by john Seaton, who discovered that the
hydraulic city of lime was directly related to the limestone’s clay content, James parker, Louis

The precursor to modern-day cement was created in 1824 by joseph asp din, a British bricklayer
and builder, who experimented with heating limestone and clay until the mixture calcite,
grinding it and then mixing it with water. Asp din named this port land cement, after the
famously strong building stone from the isle of Portland in Dorset, up. His son, William asp din,
made the first cement containing elite (an impure form of tri calcium silicate).

In 1845, Isaac Johnson fired chalk and clay at much higher temperatures than the asp dins, at
around 1400-1500oc, which led to the mixture clinkering, and produced what is essentially
modern-day cement.

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Since the 1900s, rotary kilns have replaced the original vertical shaft kilns, as they use
radioactive heat transfer, more efficient at higher temperatures, achieving a uniform clinkering
temperature and produces stronger cement. Gypsum is now also added to the resulting mixture to
control setting and ball mills are used to grind clinker.

Other developments in the last century include calcium aluminates cements for better sulphate
resistance, the blending of Rosendale (a natural hydraulic cement produced in New York) and
Portland cements to make a durable and fast-setting cement in the USA, and the increased usage
of cementations’ materials to store nuclear waste. New technologies and innovations are
constantly emerging to improve the sustainability, strength and applications of cement and
concrete. Some advanced products incorporate fibres and special aggregates to create roof tiles
and countertops, for example, whilst offsite manufacture is also gaining prominence with the rise
of digitalisation and air, which could reduce waste and improve efficiency and on-site working
conditions. Cements are also being developed which can absorb co 2 over their lifetimes, reducing
the carbon footprint of the building material.

Raw material for production of cement

Raw materials used for manufacturing of cement are found naturally in the earth’s crust. It is
made primarily from calcareous and argillaceous materials and gypsum. Calcareous materials
contain limestone or chalk while argillaceous materials comprise an oxide of silica-alumina
materials used in the cement manufacturing process.
 There are around three type raw materials that we need for cement

 Primary raw materials

-limestone ℂaℂO3 & lime stone containing materials/minerals.

 Secondary raw materials
-Aluminum; iron oxide ; AlᴤOᴣ sand silica
 Tertiary raw materials
-gypsum and other alternative raw materials like slag mill scale etc.
The most common types of raw rock used in cement production are:
o Limestone (supplies the bulk of the lime)
o Clay, marl or shale (supplies the bulk of the silica, alumina and ferric oxide)
o Other supplementary materials such as sand, fly ash/ pulverized fuel ash (PFA),
or ironstone to achieve the desired bulk composition.

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Cement Manufacturing Process

The cement manufacturing process involves several key steps, including preparing the raw
materials, grinding the materials together, heating the newly formed clinker in a kiln, and
finishing the cement with fine grinding. Some of the main ingredients used to make cement
include limestone, clay, shale, iron, and sand. Different manufacturing techniques will use either
wet or dry grinding, but each cement manufacturing process will culminate in heating and fine
grinding to finish the product.
Preparing the raw materials is often the first step in the cement manufacturing process, and
involves mining the limestone or obtaining safe industrial waste products. Drilling, blasting, and
crushing machinery convert mined limestone to fragments about 0.39 inches (about 1 cm) in
diameter, after which it is stored until needed. Crushing practices will sometimes be used on the
other materials as well, especially if they contain large or irregularly sized fragments.

Grinding is the next step in the cement manufacturing process, and it can occur in either wet or
dry forms. Wet grinding involves combining all of the materials in a mill with water and
grinding it into slurry. In contrast, dry grinding processes combine and grind the materials
without water, creating a substance known as kiln feed. Both types of grinding will yield
material that contains an average particle size of about 75 micrometers. After each process, the
materials are further mixed for proper homogeneity and placed in storing units.

Heating occurs next, and it takes place in a rotary kiln that is fired at high temperatures. The kiln
heats the clinker, the name for the dried material formed after the grinding process, until it
reaches upwards of 2732°F (about 1500°C). Afterward, the material is sent to a clinker cooler
where the temperature lowers to a reasonable level, at which point the material can be stored
once again.

The cement manufacturing process is completed when the cooled clinker is ground once again in
a rotating finishing mill. A combination of gypsum and limestone will usually be added in small
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amounts to the heated cement during this last grinding step, and coloring agents can also be
added here. The fineness of the finished particles will vary according to individual preferences,
and the cement can reach a level of fineness where it will travel through liquid sieves.
Completion of the finishing step means that the cement is ready to be packaged and distributed
to builders and consumers.

Ingredients for cement production

The general percentage of these ingredients in cement is given below the table.

Percentage in
 Ingredient
cement

Lime 60-65

Silica 17-25

Alumina 3-8

Magnesia 1-3

Iron oxide 0.5-6

Calcium Sulfate 0.1-0.5

Sulfur Trioxide 1-3

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Alkaline 0-1

Equipment in cement production

Cement crusher
As we all know, the first step of the cement production line is raw material preparation. Cement
crusher is the main equipment of this step. The raw materials are fed into cement crusher by
vibratory feeder; the breaking material is transported by the belt conveyor to the impact crusher
for further crusher.

There are various types of cement crusher on the market, including jaw crusher, cone crusher ,
hammer crusher , impact crusher, and etc. AGICO Cement can provide all types of cement
crusher. Our cement crusher can fully crush the raw material, reduce feed size into the mill, and
increase the reaction of raw material in the following cement manufacturing process, reduce the
energy consumption of the whole cement production line.

Cement mill
Cement mill is another necessary cement equipment of the cement plant. After raw material
crushing, cement mill plays vital role in the further cement manufacturing process. Cement ball
mill, vertical cement mill and cement roller press are common types of cement grinding plant.
Cement mill has two functions of the cement production line. Firstly, cement mill is used to
grind the crushed material into fine size before clinker production. A cement mill is also applied
for grinding clinker into finished cement. The cement clinker grinding is the last step of the
cement manufacturing process, in this step, cement mill grinds cement clinker, gelatinizing agent
and other materials into the required size, which can meet the requirement of cement.
AGICO Cement adopts the advanced internal selection and special compartment device, add the
activation device. The grinding tail has a special discharge grate plate, which greatly reduces the
size of the grinding media of the grinding bin, greatly improves the grinding efficiency, and
achieves the goal of high output and low energy.

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Cement kiln
Cement kiln is used to make cement clinker, and it is the core equipment of cement production
line; usually, apply for dry method cement production. There are two main kinds of cement kiln
to manufacture cement clinker. One is the cement rotary kiln and it is horizontal and can rotate.
Rotary kiln is widely applied to the cement clinker production. Another one is vertical and fixed
kiln, so it is called as a vertical kiln
Clinker cooler and dryer
Clinker cooler and dryer are two necessary parts of cement clinker production. The dryer
produced by AGICO can apply for various raw materials and easy to adjust. During the
operation, the dryer supplies heat stably, ensures the drying quality and cement quality.
The cement cooler is also used for clinker production. Using blower blowing cold air, quench the
cement clinker that laid on the grate plate, decrease the temperature of clinker from 1200℃ to
100℃ and below, the cooling exhaust gas enters into the kiln as secondary air.

In fact, every cement plant requires different cement equipment. Except for the cement
equipment we mentioned above, there are many other cement making machines applied for the
cement plant. In the real application, as a professional EPC cement plant project provider,
AGICO Cement always provides a solution according to clients ’ needs, such as mini cement
plant VSK cement plant We also provide single cement equipment with high quality and
competitive price, welcome to contact!

Cement crusher is the equipment adopted in cement production lines and stone crushing
plants for raw material crushing. Manufactures cone crusher, jaw crusher, impact crusher e.t.c

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Major unit operations

1. Quarrying
2. Crushing
3. Proportionating /Pre-homogenization
4. Raw mill Grinding
5. Homogenization/Silo
6. Raw meal preheating
7. Kiln operation
8. Clinker cooling/storage
9. Cement mill and gypsum addition/ storage
Process descriptions
1. Quarrying
• Rock blasted from the quarry is transported to the primary crusher where large "run of
mine" rocks are broken into pieces of approximately 100mm.
• Generally the other raw materials do not require crushing.
• Cement factory raw material deposits are extracted using open pit quarries in the vast
majority of cases. There are just a few examples around the world where the raw
materials are extracted from underground mines. This significantly increases the costs of
raw material extraction and cement manufacture.
2. Crushing • Cement plant raw materials blasted in the quarry requires size reduction
for further processing, size reduction is performed in crushers and grinding mills.
Crushing is commination in the coarse range. • Primary crushing involves limestone rock
fed through large capacity crushers. This reduces the rock to a maximum size of
approximately 150 mm. Secondary crushing further reduces this to 75mm or under.
Residue material is stacked and reclaimed with a bridge reclaimed in a cross section so
that the homogeneous limestone is fed further in the process.

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3. Proportionating/pre homogenization/Raw Material Storage &

Blending
• The raw materials are then proportioned to the correct chemical balance and milled
together to a fine powder, raw meal, to ensure high quality of cement, the chemistry of
the raw materials and raw meal is very carefully controlled.
4. Drying • for dry process the raw material has to be dried before milling. • Kiln
exhaust gases are used to dry the raw materials. In some gases with wet materials,
additional heat sources are required for drying.

5. Grinding • grinding refers to commination in the fine range. The grinding media
(steel ball) and the feed material to be ground are brought together in a rotating tubular or
drum-shaped compartment. The media and material rises to an optimum height,
necessary for grinding operation, and come tumbling down (cascading and/or
contracting).
The actual height to which they are lifted depends on a number of factors: the speed of
mill, the type of lining, the filing ratio (mill loading percentage), and the properties of
mill feed material (like moisture content.
6.Kiln operation
• Materials are homogenized to ensure consistency of product quality. • The kiln feed is
routed to a homogenization silo, where it is mixed by blowing compressed air through
pads in the base of the silo. The blending silo is maintained full and some of the blended
raw mix continuously cascades to a further blending silo where it is further mixed by air
blown through pads in the base of the silo. The twice blended raw mix is continuously
extracted to the kiln feed storage silos. • Modern dry process cement factories have large
combined homogenization and storage kiln feed silos. Raw mill product is distributed in
layers in the silo, and extracted in funnels rotating around the radius of the silo. Some of
these silos have an internal, pressure relieved mixing chamber.
7. Preheater/Cyclones/
A pre-heater is a series of vertical cyclones. Where the raw meal is passed down
through these cyclones it comes into contact with the swirling hot kiln exhaust gases
moving in the opposite direction and as a result heat is transferred from the gas to
material.
• This pre-heats the material before it enters the kiln so that the necessary chemical
reactions will occur more quickly and efficiently. By retaining energy from the exhaust
gases, energy is saved.
8. Pre - Calcinations
The calciner is a combustion chamber at the bottom of the pre-heater above the kiln
backend. Up to 65% of the total energy needs of the kiln system can be supplied to the
calciner.
• Calciners allow for shorter rotary kilns and for the use of lower grade alternative fuels.
Calcination is the decomposition of CaCO3 to CaO and CO2. CaCO3 CaO + CO2.

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• These process emissions comprise 60% of the total emission from a cement kiln. The
combustion of the fuel generates the rest.

10.Kiln operation (pyro-processing)

Raw meal, more accurately termed "hot meal" at this stage then enters the rotary kiln.
The kiln is the world's largest piece of industrial equipment. As the kiln rotates at about
3-5 revolutions per minute, the material slides and tumbles down through progressively
hotter zones towards the flame. Fuel is fired directly into the rotary kiln and the heat is
absorbed into the material being processed.

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Diagram process for cement production

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Applications of cement
The applications of cement over various fields of construction have made it a very important
civil engineering material. Some of the numerous functions of cement are given below. It is used
in mortar for plastering, masonry work, pointing, etc. It is used for making joints for drains and
pipes.

Cement is primarily used to produce concrete the world’s most versatile and durable
construction material. Some other applications for cement, however, are now growing in
importance.

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Conclusion of production process cement

Cement is typically made from limestone and clay or shale. These raw materials are extracted
from the quarry crushed to a very fine powder and then blended in the correct proportions.
This blended raw material is called the 'raw feed' or 'kiln feed' and is heated in a rotary kiln
where it reaches a temperature of about 1400 C to 1500 C. In its simplest form, the rotary kiln is
a tube up to 200m long and perhaps 6m in diameter, with a long flame at one end. The raw feed
enters the kiln at the cool end and gradually passes down to the hot end, then falls out of the kiln
and cools down.
The material formed in the kiln is described as 'clinker' and is typically composed of rounded
nodules between 1mm and 25mm across.
After cooling, the clinker may be stored temporarily in a clinker store, or it may pass directly to
the cement mill.
The cement mill grinds the clinker to a fine powder. A small amount of gypsum - a form of
calcium sulfate - is normally ground up with the clinker. The gypsum controls the setting
properties of the cement when water is added.

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Reference
1. Chandak, Shobhit. (2011) Report on cement industry in
India, Scripted pp 17.
2. F.W. Taylor. (1997) Cement Chemistry, Thomas Telford,
London.
3. Berkes, Howard(2011). EPA Regulations Give Kilns
Permission To Pollute: NPR.
4. Mohammad, Abu Qudera. (1998) Studied the occurrence of
chalk in the Azraq basin areas PP 12-20
5. Other soft copies

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