CEMBUREAU BAT Reference Document

Chapter 3 Page 25

3.4. THE FOUR MAIN “WHOLE PLANT CONCEPTS”

Historically, the development of the clinker manufacturing process was

characterised by the change from “wet” to “dry” systems with the intermediate steps
of the “semi-wet” and “semi-dry” process routes. The first rotary kilns – introduced
around 1895 – were long wet kilns.

“Wet” kilns allowed for an easier handling and homogenisation of the raw materials,
especially in cases when the raw materials are wet and sticky or exhibit large
fluctuations in the chemical composition of the individual raw mix components. With
more advanced modern technology however, it is possible to prepare a
homogeneous raw meal using the “dry” process, i.e. without addition of water to
prepare a raw slurry. The main advantage of a modern dry process over a
traditional wet system is the far lower fuel consumption and thus, lower fuel cost.

Today, the selection of the wet process is only feasible under very specific raw
material and process conditions.

The four different basic processes (or “whole plant concepts”) can be shortly
characterised as follows (see also Figures 3.2 to 3.5):

Dry process: Dry raw meal is fed to a cyclone preheater or precalciner kiln or,
in some cases, to a long dry kiln with internal chain preheater.
Semi-dry process: Dry raw meal is pelletised with water and fed to a travelling
grate preheater prior to the rotary kiln or in some cases, to a long kiln equipped
with internal cross preheaters.
Semi-wet process: Raw slurry is first dewatered in filter presses. The resulting
filter cake is either
extruded into pellets and fed to a travelling grate preheater or
fed directly to a filter cake drier for (dry) raw meal production prior to a
preheater/precalciner kiln.
Wet process: The raw slurry is fed either directly to a long rotary kiln equipped
with an internal drying/preheating system (conventional wet process) or to a
slurry drier prior to a preheater/precalciner kiln (modern wet process).

The four processes are illustrated in the typical flow diagrams of Figures 3.2 to 3.5.
Their operating characteristics are summarised in Table 3.4, and a schematic
presentation of the production processes is given in Table 3.5. More detailed
descriptions are given in the following Chapter 3.5 as well as in Chapter 6.
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Table 3.5: Schematic Presentation of Cement Production Processes

Production Processes
Sub-Processes Process Steps Dry Semi-dry Semi-wet Wet
Quarrying RMat extraction
RMat crushing
RMat storage
RMat prehomogenisation
Raw Material Preparation Raw grinding / drying with ball
mills, vertical mills, etc.
RMeal storage
RMeal (blending and)
homogenisation
RMeal pelletisation
Slurry grinding with wash mills
and ball mills
Slurry blending and storage
Slurry homogenisation
Slurry filtration with filter presses
Filter cake storage
Filter cake nodulisation
Clinker Burning Long kiln, internal slurry, pellets or
nodules drying equipment
Separate external slurry, pellets,
nodules or filter cake drying
equipment
RMeal preheating
RMeal calcination
RMeal clinkerisation
Clinker cooling
Clinker storage
Process detail identification *) 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
Cement Grinding Cement grinding in ball mills,
roller presses, vertical mills, etc.
Cement storage
Cement Dispatch Bulk loading, bagging, palletising,
dispatch on rail, road and
waterways

Process Detail Identification *)

1. 4 stage cyclone preheater kilns, 4 to 6 stage precalciner kilns
2. Long dry kilns, 1 and 2 stage cyclone preheater kilns
3. Grate preheater (Lepol) kilns
4. Long pellet kilns with internal cross systems
5. Cyclone preheater and precalciner kilns with external dryers
6. Grate preheater (Lepol) kilns
7. 2 stage precalciner kilns with external slurry dryers
8. Long wet kilns with chain systems