24 HIGHLIGHTS CEMENT – October 2014

INNOVATION

CONTACT JESPER HAVN ERIKSEN

JEHE@FLSMIDTH.COM

FLSmidth
Lumps and blockages in cement silos have long been an issue at
some cement plants. In the 1970s, FLSmidth conducted research
on ball mills and cement storage that revealed the cause to be an

research
unfortunate combination of insufficient gypsum dehydration in
the mill, high silo storage temperature and lengthy storage time.
When stored at high temperatures, the gypsum continues to
dehydrate. The water released from the gypsum prehydrates the

delivers silo-safe
cement in the silo, and lumps begin to form.

In more recent developments, some plants have begun to report

cement
issues in silos storing cement produced in vertical mills. Similar to
the past, these issues are the result of a combination of factors
such as lower degree of gypsum dehydration or high rates of
water injection such that the moisture content of the cement
stored in silos is increased.

A current project examines how to
avoid lumps and blockages in silos
with vertical mill cement.
Real-world research
Close collaboration with cement plants is an important element of
FLSmidth research. It ensures that the complexities of industrial
operations are considered from the outset and that the research
can be applied in practice. Titan Cement is a valuable collaboration
partner in this project. The FLSmidth Research and Process depart-
ments were therefore pleased to be invited to carry out tests at
Titan Zlatna Panega in Bulgaria. The plant produces OPC cement
with 4% limestone and max. 3.5% gypsum using an OK™ Mill 30-4.
 HIGHLIGHTS CEMENT – October 2014 25

The field tests were a critical part of a study that also included labo- WATER CONTENT FROM
ratory tests and special analyses. The results showed that the cement GYPSUM IN CEMENT AS
FUNCTION OF MILL OUTLET
storage stability can be controlled by adjusting the OK Mill tempe-
TEMPERATURE AND WATER
rature and water injection (if water is used). Optimum mill operation INJECTION
depends on specific plant conditions and constraints, including
clinker temperature, availability of hot gas, climatic conditions,
quality of the feed materials (clinker composition, amount of additive Effect of temperature and water
materials such as gypsum, limestone, slag and their water content), injection on gypsum dehydration
legislative requirements, and storage time in the cement silo.
HIGH WATER INJECTION
MEDIUM WATER INJECTION
The OK Mill field tests were performed over several weeks. Com- LOW WATER INJECTION
plete quality analyses were performed on cement product samples
0.7
taken with the mill in operation with different process conditions.
0.6

Water from gypsum %

The mill outlet temperature was varied from 75 to 120 degrees
Celsius and water injection was varied from zero to approximately 0.5
2.3 percent (mass) of the total production in the mill. 0.4

0.3
Mill temperature tests
Within the temperature range of the tests, the effects on gypsum 0.2

dehydration and prehydration were clear. 0.1

Low mill outlet temperature
• Cement produced at low mill temperatures (app. 75-80 degrees
Celsius) had a relatively low level of gypsum dehydration com-
pared to typical mill cement. However, as the cement tempera-
ture is low, the gypsum in the silo does not dehydrate. Thus
making the cement silo-safe. This supports the conventional
rule-of-thumb that cement temperatures below 70 degrees
Celsius are silo-safe for longer periods of time (weeks).
• At low mill temperature excessive water injection should be avoided.
• Vertical Roller Mill (VRM) cement produced with low mill outlet
temperature should not be stored in a silo together with high
temperature cement (>70 degree Celsius).
High mill outlet temperature
• Cement produced at high outlet temperatures (>110 degrees
Celsius) had significantly dehydrated gypsum. As a result, high
temperatures in the silo do not cause problems.
• High mill temperature can produce cement with gypsum dehy-
dration similar to ball mill cement, but water injection must be
low to medium.
The graph illustrating the water content from gypsum in cement
shows the impact of different VRM operating conditions evaluated
in the study on gypsum dehydration.
Water injection tests
The impact of water injection is explained below.
In general water injected on the mill table acts as a grinding aid to
increase production and lower power consumption. Water also helps
reduce mill vibrations, especially with dusty clinker. Ideally, in this
case it is better to study and improve the factors impacting clinker
granulometry rather than use increased water injection rates.
0
60 70 80 90 100 110 120 130
Mill outlet temperature (°C)
• If water injection rates are maintained within recommended safe
ranges, silo-safe cement with good quality can be produced.
• High water injection can cause prehydration, especially at low
mill temperatures, resulting in lower cement strength and an
increase in the total water fed to the cement silo
• Excessively high water injection rates may be problematic even
at high temperatures and should be avoided.
• OK mill operation with no or minimal water injection is best for
producing silo-safe cement
Conclusion
Overall, the study confirms that it is possible for an OK Mill to
produce cement of similar quality to a ball mill and to match the
gypsum dehydration and behaviour in the cement silo. This can be
achieved by ensuring that the proper operating parameters are
used. The plant tests also show that it is possible to produce si-
lo-safe cement over a range of operating parameters that can be
varied according to specific site conditions.
Ongoing research
The results of this study demonstrate the versatility of the OK mill.
Further research is also being conducted to study the effects of
temperature and water injection on power consumption, cement
quality and storage stability. Activities include accelerated storage
testing of cements at the FLSmidth laboratories as well as addi-
tional field studies to investigate especially sensitive cements with
high contents of aluminate, gypsum and alkalis, as well as blend-
ed cements with very wet additives. If your plant is interested in
participating in additional studies, please contact us.