CEMENT INDUSTRY TRAINING R&D

Techniques : Raw grinding and Mills May 2009 1 / 12

RAW GRINDING
AND MILLS
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Techniques : Raw grinding and Mills May 2009 2 / 12

RAW GRINDING AND MILLS

CONTENTS
******

1 GENERAL ................................................................................................................3
2 THE GRINDING – THE MILLS.................................................................................4
2.1 The Ball Mill.......................................................................................................4
2.1.1 Principles....................................................................................................4
2.1.2 The mill ......................................................................................................4
2.2 The Vertical Roller Mill ......................................................................................5
2.2.1 Principles....................................................................................................5
2.2.2 The mill ......................................................................................................6
2.3 Horomill ..........................................................................................................8
2.3.1 Principles....................................................................................................8
2.3.2 The mill ......................................................................................................8
3 FUNCTIONS AND ENERGY ....................................................................................9
3.1 The fineness......................................................................................................9
3.1.1 General ......................................................................................................9
3.1.2 Fineness adjustment means ....................................................................10
3.1.3 Grinding energy........................................................................................10
3.2 The grinding-drying function ............................................................................11
3.2.1 Equipment ................................................................................................11
3.2.2 Heat supply ..............................................................................................11
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1 GENERAL

The Raw Mill shop has two functions:

1. To bring the raw materials to a fineness suitable to a quick heating and

efficient reactions between contained chemical compounds during burning
operation. Most often a fineness corresponding to a reject on 90 µm sieve,
lower than 10 to 15 %, is expected.
2. To dry the wet raw materials because sticky materials cannot be efficiently
ground, and wet meal cannot be handled. A final moisture below 1 % is
required.

Generally, these two functions are fulfilled at the same time in the equipment. The
necessary heat for drying is taken from hot gases from the burning line, preheater
exhaust gases, and sometimes clinker cooler exhaust air. An auxiliary hot gas generator
supplies complementary heat if and when necessary.

At the outlet of the grinding equipment, a part of the material is still coarser than
required. This material is then processed by a classifier separating finished product from
coarse particles to be recycled in the grinder. The classifier is an aeraulic equipment
treating gas/particles suspensions.

Finished product is separated from gases in a settling and filtering system.

Therefore the mill shop includes:

• A grinding mill
• A classifier (which is included in the mill casing if it is a vertical mill)
• Ways of handling hot gases and exhaust gases
• Ways of handling coarse materials for recycling
• A filtering unit
• Often, an auxiliary furnace.

SETTLING AND FILTRATION

CLASSIFIER

FINISHED
PRODUCT
RAW MATERIALS

HOT GASES
MILL
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2 THE GRINDING – THE MILLS

The fragmentation of material grains can be obtained through either of two processes:
• shocks and hammering
• high pressure crushing

The first process is carried out in the ball mills (or tube mills), previously the most
commonly used. In the second process, a material bed is processed between a race
and rollers pressed onto it. The second grinding process is more efficient and consumes
about half the energy of the first one. Two kinds of equipment are used for raw grinding:
vertical roller mills and Horomill.

2.1 The Ball Mill

2.1.1 Principles
A ball mill is a horizontal tube partially filled with balls (of steel or corundum). When this
cylinder rotates, the balls are lifted, then fall and knock against each other and break up
the material in circulation in the tube.

During the rotation, two forces are applied to ω²r

mω
each ball:
• its weight F1 = m.g
• a centrifugal force F2 = m.ω².r

The resulting force can be directed either

outside or inside the trajectory. When it is mg
directed inside, the balls leave the lining and fall
down, following a parabolic trajectory.

The critical speed is defined as the rotation

speed of mill such that the balls never fall and
stay on the wall of the mill.

g 42.3
ωC = or N C = with N in rpm
r D
The maximum efficiency of the mill is obtained when rotation speed is 75 % of the
critical speed.

Generally, about 30 % of the mill volume is filled with balls (grinding medium). The size
of these balls is adapted to the material fineness. The mill often has several
compartments. At the inlet side, coarse materials are fed: this compartment contains big
balls. At the outlet side, material has been ground and is fine : this compartment
contains smaller balls.

2.1.2 The mill

A ball mill is a steel tube, with inside linings, where material circulates from one end to
the other end according to ventilation and rotation.
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The tube is equipped with slotted partitions, which divide it in compartments and allow
the material to go through, but not the grinding balls.

The size of balls is proportional to the dimension of particles to be milled. The size of
balls is different in each compartment.

For wet materials, there can be a first drying compartment before the others. This
compartment is equipped with lifters, and contains no balls.

The mill is driven in rotation by motors with reducers. It can be:

• A lateral drive (pinion and girth gear) with a single moto-reducer
• A lateral drive with double control (two pinions)
• A central drive
• A direct drive with ring-shaped motor ; this technology is touchy and is seldom
used.

Previously, the ball mills were supported by bearings under two end trunnions. Now,
most of the mills are supported by slide shoe bearings, allowing larger diameters for
inlet and outlet. This gives a better capacity for ventilation and for drying inside the mill.

Liner

2nd compartment

1st compartment Diaphragm

2.2 The Vertical Roller Mill

2.2.1 Principles
It is the oldest mill known in cement manufacturing, and is similar to ones used for grain
grinding for centuries.

The material is crushed on a table by rollers rolling on a circular track. The roller
pressure on the track is adjusted by means of jacks. Only the table turns.

Hot gases are introduced at the bottom of the table to ensure drying. Most of the
material is carried out of the mill as a suspension in the drying gases. A classifier
included inside the mill shell adjusts the product fineness. Coarse material escaping the
table falls down and is recycled, owing to a bucket elevator.
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The mill must be controlled in order to receive enough heat for drying, enough gas flow
to carry fine materials, in order to obtain correct grain size, and to be stable. The control
parameters of the mill are:
• The material flow, which must be enough to form a stable and plastic bed
• The hot gas temperature
• The gas flow (obtained through recirculation)
• The separator rotation speed

Compared to tube mills, the vertical mills offer advantages such as a reduced floor area,
a reduced grinding energy, and further drying possibilities due to the fact that gas flow is
not limited by the presence of grates. Moreover, the absence of grinding bodies enables
a more silent operation.

However, on the opposite to ball mills, vertical mills are sensitive to abrasive materials
and so, they cannot be used everywhere. They need high ventilation in all cases. They
also may have stability problems with fine raw materials and low moisture because the
materials bed is not plastic enough. In such a case, water spraying may be necessary.

2.2.2 The mill

Various technologies exist among mills, differing by the rollers arrangement:
• Rollers fixed to a frame inside the mill, with 3 rollers (PFEIFFER, FLS Atox),
or two pairs (POLYSIUS Classical)
• Rollers fixed each to a structure outside the mill, generally with 4 rollers
(LOESCHE, POLYSIUS Quadropol, FLS FRM or OK MILL). The largest ones
have 6 rollers.

Gas flow with

finished product

Raw material
inlet
classifier

THE LOESCHE MILL

Hot gas
roller inlet

Rotating table

Motor
Hydraulic shaft
jack Gear box
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The material is introduced through an air tight system and falls down in the centre of the
rotating table. It constitutes a material bed which is crushed and ground when going
under the rollers, which are pressed on the table by the action of hydraulic jacks. These
jacks are connected to pneumatic accumulators thus allowing fluctuations of material
bed thickness.

The ground material is driven by the centrifugal force up to the gas inlet ring from where
it is blown upwards towards the separator. The close contact between the fines and the
hot gases causes the material to dry almost immediately.

Bigger parts escaping the table before they are ground fall down to a conveyor and are
recycled to the feed by means of a bucket elevator.

The coarser particles (according to the classifier rotation speed) are rejected by the
internal circulating load. The finished product goes through the classifier and is driven to
the cyclones (if any) and filter with the gases. The outlet temperature of the gases is
about 100°C enough a temperature to obtain dry material.

The mill is driven by a motor and gear box. The vertical reactions of the table are
supported by hydraulic thrust bearings. An auxiliary control is not necessary in the case
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of the LOESCHE mill, because during start-up rollers can be lifted up thus reducing the
torque. It is necessary in other cases (see above the PFEIFFER mill).

2.3 Horomill

Inlet

Outlet

2.3.1 Principles
The HOROMILL (from FCB) uses the same process principle as the vertical mill, i.e. the
crushing by a roller pressing onto a material bed. But it is a compact system, and needs
almost no ventilation in the mill, thus reducing the total energy needs of the mill shop. It
also has a high stability.

It consists of a cylinder rotating shell in which another cylinder rolls and is pressed by
means of hydraulic jacks.

The main feature of the HOROMILL is that the rotation is over critical speed, and
material is kept on the inner surface of the shell. Therefore the material is pressed
several times under the roller before it leaves the mill. Material is fed at one end, and its
skip movement (and the number of times it is pressed) is controlled with a special
device, which consists of scrapers and a controlling plate.

2.3.2 The mill

The shell bears a grinding track on its inner face. It is supported by 4 slide shoe
bearings, and rotation is ensured by a chain motor-gear box-girth gear. The roller
rotates freely, only following the shell movement.

At the discharge end, material is fed to a bucket elevator and then to a classifier.
Rejects are recycled into the mill.
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Shell grinding track Roller

Scrapers

Shell

Girth gear

Hydraulic jack

Slide shoe bearings

Since this is no air-swept mill, for wet materials, the bucket elevator feeds a part of the
material to a flash dryer feeding the classifier from its bottom part.

3 FUNCTIONS AND ENERGY

3.1 The fineness

3.1.1 General
The raw mix preparation is a very important step in cement manufacture, on which the
performance of the burning and the clinker quality depend.

When materials are naturally homogeneous, like marls for example, it is not necessary
to reach an extreme fineness, nevertheless the biggest grains must only be a few tenths
of millimetres.

On the opposite, when the materials are inhomogeneous, and when they are the result
of the mix of materials of different compositions, we often have to grind more finely in
order to obtain the required reactions during burning.

Consequently in each plant using, the required fineness of the raw meal depends on the
materials used. In most of cases, a 12 % reject at the 90 µm sieve is enough. In very
favourable cases, one can get close to 20 %.

The finer the raw meal, the easier the reactions in the kiln. But the grinding operation is
energy consuming, and it is not economic to increase the fineness beyond what is just
necessary. In addition, very fine materials are more difficult to settle in cyclones
systems, which may decrease the energy efficiency of the preheater.
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Let us note that because materials contained in the raw mix have different hardnesses,
the meal may contain coarse grains (most often silica) making problems for the burning
and for the cement quality. Sometimes, a fineness requirement at the 200 µm sieve is
given (for example, a 1 % maximum).

3.1.2 Fineness adjustment means

Ball mill
The fineness is controlled with a dynamic separator situated in the material circuit.
Rejects are reintroduced into the mill for an extended grinding time.

Double rotator mill

An interesting type of ball mill as far as productivity in raw milling is concerned. The mill
has a peripheral outlet placed in the middle of the tube length.

This type of equipment is mainly designed to avoid reintroduction of already finely milled
meal into first compartment. Raw mix is introduced at one end, and rejects at the other
one.

Another possible use of the birotator is separate grinding of materials having different
hardnesses. In this case, first compartment is used for limestone milling and the second
compartment for sand and pyrite milling.

Vertical mill
The fineness is adjusted in the variable speed separator mounted in the upper part of
the mill, and is the result of both the rotation speed and the gas flowrate.

3.1.3 Grinding energy

Numerous surveys have been carried out on milling. In the case of raw mix and cement,
the necessary energy for grinding a material, is proportional to the produced surface.

This theory basically relies on the following assumption: the useful work is integrally
changed into energy (brought back to surfaces):

W = k ( Sf − Si ) with S, specific surface area (m²/kg)

If we admit that the new, smaller particles have the same shapes as the original
particles initially had (for example, a sphere is changed into another smaller sphere) we
can write:

Di 2 1 1
Si = k ' 3
=k Sf = k '
Di Di Df

1 1
W =K[ − ]
d D
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We call n = D/d the reduction coefficient. The specific energy expressed in relation to
the latter is then:
(n − 1)
W =K
D

This formula is applied to only one size of initial grain. For a complete material, it is
necessary to define a representative value of D. the coefficient K can also only be
known through experience, since each material is different, and the grinding energy
depends on the mineral structure. Practically, tests are realised to determine the energy
needs for each raw mix (such as the FCB test), and laws are established of the form:

k1
W= α or W = β - k2.log (R_90µ)
d 80

The grinding energy is not the only one to be considered in the raw mill shop since
ventilation needs may be significant. The examples hereafter show the importance of
each consumer for the different technologies. But technologies must not be directly
compared because materials are different in the three cases.

EXAMPLES OF CONSUMPTIONS (kWh/t)

Plants and raw materials are different
Ball Mill Vertical Mill Horomill
Mill alone 13 6 7.8
Ventilation 7 9.5 4.3
Total 20 15.5 12.1

3.2 The grinding-drying function

3.2.1 Equipment
Most of the raw mills today are air-swept mills, through which the hot gases flow. In
some cases (ball mill) a part of the mill can be only devoted to material drying.

So, in the same equipment, raw materials and hot gases are introduced, and dry meal
and gases at about 100°C come out.

In some cases such as the trunnion supported ball mill (low ventilation capacity) or the
HOROMILL, drying is achieved in a separate system such as a flash dryer.

3.2.2 Heat supply

In most cases today, the burning line has a cyclone preheater, which exhaust gases
have a temperature of about 300 to 400°C. There is generally enough contained heat to
the drying of raw materials up to a 6 to 8 % moisture.

In most modern kilns though, the heat consumptions are the lowest and the maximum
moisture is not very high. Sometimes, extra heat is obtained by feeding the cyclone
preheater at second stage instead of top stage. Of course, the heat consumption of the
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burning line is then increased, but it is possible to optimise total energy needs according
to the seasonal variation of raw materials moisture.

When the kiln gases are not hot enough to fulfil the drying needs, an auxiliary hot gas
generator must be used in the raw mill shop. This system also allows to produce the
first thousands of tonnes of raw meal to start up the plant when the meal silo is empty
and the kiln is not in operation.

If the plant is equipped with a grate cooler (most of cases), it is also possible to use
some of the hot exhaust air (200 to 300°C) in addition to the kiln gases. Several
alternatives can be thought of depending on the heat needs and plant design.