Table of Content

INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................................... 1
1. EFFECTS OF A GRINDING AID ON A CEMENT MILL ....................................... 1
2. WHERE AND HOW TO ADD THE GRINDING AID, IN THE GRINDING
CIRCUIT ............................................................................................................................. 4
3. PROCEDURES FOR A TEST OF USING A GRINDING AID ................................ 5
4. PRACTICAL EXAMPLES ......................................................................................... 8
 APPLICATION OF GRINDING
AIDS

INTRODUCTION

T he use of grinding aid in cement, becomes useful for cement factory when some of
the effects that the grinding aid causes, becomes some kind of a saving . This is
what is called " economy of use " .
This economy transformed into values becomes the balance between the cost of the
additive, and the saving caused by the advantageous effects made by the additive itself.

1. EFFECTS OF A GRINDING AID ON A CEMENT MILL

The machine called " Ball Mill " is a machine dissipater of energy ; in fact of energy
furnished to make it work, the machine gives back under form of useful work, not more
than 7- 8 % ; the rest is lost into heat caused by dry friction.
It is also known that the cement with the progress of its finesse becomes always less fluid
to the point that particles, already finished, agglomerate re- establishing by agglomeration
bigger particle.
This re-agglomeration of particles does not take place only between finished particles,
but also between grounded particles over bigger ones, and also between grounded
particles over parts of the machine, like balls liner plates, ducts and so on, reducing the
efficiency.
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A good grinding aid must be able to reduce to the maximum this agglomeration as much
as possible; it must be said then that: the main effect of a good grinding aid is that to
fluidity and to keep sliding cement, clean and efficient balls, liner plates and every single
part of the entire grinding circuit.
This relation will limit itself to consider only this fluidificant effect of grinding aid,
omitting other effects that exists any way, and illustrating what has been done and what
can be done for better utilizing it, and transform these effects into a yield of exercise, the
highest the possible.
Grinding aid does not affect only mills; rather the whole grinding circuit meaning with
this a complete plant, a closed circuit, such including in full: mill, proper elevator,
separator and filter, well dimensioned and connected among themselves.
In such circuit, depending on the kinds of cement that it is wished to produces, exist some
levels represented by values that indicate:
Q = Ton/h output per hour
µ = S.S Blaines
M.R.T = Mill retention time
C.L = Circulating load
E.F = Efficiency of the separator
W = km2 / h Work of the mill.

All these values are in strict relation among them; they are typical of every circuit, and of
every kind of clinker.
When we add grinding aid, the sliding velocity of the cement is modified, and it is
noticeable the M.R.T lowering; contemporary the E.F increases, and C.L decreases since
the separator now receives and works on real big particles and not any more on fake
particles, agglomeration of finished particles.
Again the density of mixing of air and cement usually sucked up by filter, increasing the
quantity of dust, represented by finished particles that before under form re-agglomerate
were going to the separator, that now go into the filter.
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In many grinding circuits a very little care is given to the air current that runs through the
mill, climbs up to the filter, while it is taken a lot care of the circuit of the real cement
dust.
A good using of grinding aid requests to consider the air circuit, because it is by the air
that is possible to exalt to the greatest the effect of de-agglomeration of the additive.
Passing from a normal steady state without any grinding aid, to one with grinding aid, it
shall be noticed beside a lowering of the M.R.T, always, an increase of the quantity of the
cement that will enter into the filter.
From this establishing it is born the idea of facilitate this phenomenon, since the quality
of the cement arriving to the filter, is almost always better than that produced by the
separator; it has in fact higher S.S Blaines.
It has been thought to increase the quantity of the air running through the mill and rising
then to the filter.
In a mill in which the increase of quantity of the air that went through the mill, were
carried out in progressive stages, from an initial ratio of air cement, Nm3/kg, of 0.65 to
0.80 and then to 1.06, it is been obtained after the necessary adjustment of the grinding
bodies percent compositions, and of the separator trim, an increase of the hour
production, at the same S.S Blaines, that was not in percent proportional, to the
percentage increases of the air quantity.
It can be said that only at the beginning of a ratio of 1m3 of air per kg. of cement
produced, the benefit under form of increase in production, has become sensible; for
example from 45 ton/h to 62 ton/h.
In another case passing from a ratio air-cement of 0.25m3/kg to 0.40 m3/kg, the increase
of production obtained was of 23 %.
It must be observed that such a ratio air/cement can not be considered as absolute values,
but it would be necessary to make clear formula that would keep count of the loss that
take place inside every mill, and of the velocity of the air caused by the diameter of the
exit and enter mouth of the compound mill.
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2. WHERE AND HOW TO ADD THE GRINDING AID, IN THE

GRINDING CIRCUIT
The adding of a grinding aid to a mill circuit depends on some factors that must be kept
in mind, like the temperature of the clinker and its granulometry.
The ideal adding that should be done to the clinker and in such a way to permit to clinker
itself to well absorb the grinding aid, before going to the mill; the additive would be
made fall on the furthest possible point from the entrance in the mill.
Also, not always the clinker is cold enough, therefore an excellent solution is that to add
grinding aid to the clinker at the same time of a certain quantity of water, that can reach
up to an amount equal about to five times of that of the additive.
Such a dose, once determined, must be maintained constant, therefore the use of metric
piston pumps operated by engines at c/c colligated to the dosage balance of the clinker,
represents the best of the solutions.
This system guarantees the absolute Constance of the dosage, since every variation of the
capacity of the clinker balance, is followed by one identical variation of the dosage of the
additive.
Tests of adding of the grinding aid in other points, like for example on the reject of the
separator, present sometimes some inconveniences, like the reduction of certain effects,
surface-actives, of the additive in phase of hydration of the cement, so that it is always
been done the least possible to add the additive on the clinker.
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3. PROCEDURES FOR A TEST OF USING A GRINDING AID

It is fundamental that the grinding circuit, in which it is wished to carry out some tests, is
in its best condition of efficiency and production level.
An idea of his degree of efficiency, it is furnished to us by the specific consumption like
the KWH necessary to grind one ton of cement.
Values excessively high of absorption are already sign of some sort of anomaly that must
research and possibly eliminated.
Supposing of finding ourselves in front of a functioning circuit at an excellent level, it
occurs first of all make sure that the additive doesn’t have any negative effect on the
mechanical strength of the cement.
Such device is carried out in a laboratory, adding the correct dose of additive to the water
of mixture of some little tests, and then in other tests, adding 3-5 times superior dose of
additive.
A good additive should already furnish some resistance increases only with the adding
the water of the mixture.
It occurs then to measure the M.R.T. of the mill during normal work, (without additive,)
and determine the metric curve of grinding.
A M.R.T. naturally low and or an excessively high permeability of the grinding body
loads, prejudge every possibility to obtain excellent results with grinding aid; it's the case
of certain slag cement and puzzolanic cements, where the grinding aid doesn't have any
effect.
In the case instead of an excessive permeability of the grinding bodies, it is necessary to
modify the composition of the percentage of the balls, moving the lumes towards the
small balls, so to increase therefore the M.R.T., mostly in the second compartment room.
Afterwards there will be a detailed study of all the circuit with drawing, periodically
every 3-4 hours, small representative samples of cement at different points of the circuit,
to be able to calculate the circulating load, the efficiency of the separator and the quantity
of materials that goes to the filter.
For the determinations it is necessary to withdraw samples in the following points of the
circuit:
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Mill exit; Filter; Finished separator; Reject of separator; Finished cement including the
filter; if present the reject of preseparator.
It must be registered the most possible number of data given by instruments available on
the installation.
When all these data demonstrate homogeneity and Constance of the running, it can start
the additivation of the grinding aid, maintaining the manual command or constant
alimentation, and not in automatic.
An additive will be more efficient, when the initial trouble that will be produced on a
stable level circuit, will be bigger.
Always supposing a mill of excellent level, it will be possible to observe immediately the
following phenomena:
a) Increase of sound level in I room.
b) Lowering sound level in II room.
c) After other 5 minutes then a) and b), increase of the elevator absorption, that
rapidly disappears, and then decreases to a lower level.
d) Immediate increase of the quantity of the reject, and its quick decrease, sometime
until its disappearance.
The difference between the two levels of absorption of the elevator, in manual command,
or rather constant alimentation, would represent the "empty" space that the additive
produces in consequence of its fluidificant effect.
The amount of this difference depends at this point, only on the value of "Pack Set" of the
cement to refine.
Putting back the running of the mill in automatic command, this difference of absorption
of the elevator is transformed automatically, in the greatest production Ton/h.
Very often in this phase, it is noticeable a lowering of the S.S. Blaines, that will have to
be taken back to their normal values with a simple intervention of the trim of the
separator.
Usually even considering a vast quality of clinker, there will be increases between five
and ten percent.
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When the new level of running will be reached after 10 days of work, it will have to be
determined on a graph the new grinding metric curve that will be called metric curve with
additive.
The confrontation with the preceding statement, will reveal the necessity to reduce the
permeability in the II room, so to re-increase the M.R.T., if it is possible to the 70-80%
of the M.R.T. preceding the additivation.
It has been described in large scale the necessary procedure that occurs to follow a
traditional additivation of a grinding circuit of cement.
Such procedure is not for sure the best feasible today, but it remains fundamental to be
able to value if there are good possibilities of success conditions, to make some
modifications to the term of grinding circuit, that will permit to exploit to the highest
effect of additivation.
In few words the modifications consist in:
1) Increase of the ratio air/cement to a minimum of 1.1 m3/kg.
2) Installation of a "preseparator" or static cyclone with paddles, on the air circuit,
between mill exit and dust collector.
3) Giving the exact size of the air pipeline, between the mill and the filter, so to
maintain the air speed not less at 20-25 mt./sec.
4) New trim of the separator.
5) New composition of grinding bodies in both rooms.
To summarize it is necessary to remembers that adopting the grinding with a high ratio
air/cement, the circuit is not anymore a traditional closed circuit, but it becomes a hybrid
circuit, where about 50% of total production of the circuit, comes out directly from the
filter.
A such amount of production that comes out directly from the filter, modifies so much
the granulometric composition of the circulating load material, that both, the separator
and the ball load, must be considered in a new different manner, outside of any traditional
evaluation.
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4. PRACTICAL EXAMPLES
In 1972 it was tried to add an installation very new; such a plant had not yet reached the
guarantee performances, and its characteristics were the following:
Polysius mill with two rooms; diameter mt. 3,270; total length mt. 9,430. 1st room length
mt. 3,250; 2nd room length mt. 6,180.
Dust collector of m2t. 314. with ventilator of mt3/h 29.500. (90' c. 450.mm.) Kwatth.
Engine 1.200.; production Ton/h. 45. with 3.100. S.S. Blaines.
Air/cement coefficient 0,655. mt3/kg.; work km2/h. 13,95.
"FORLANE A./2" was added the on the clinker balance at a dose of 0,3x1.000 from the
moment of the additivation, it was noticed that the characteristic discharge of the elevator
had permitted an increase of production up to 9%.
Such increase, during 2 – 3 days time, had the tendency to disappear and it was not
possible to maintain it.
Examinations made in the circuit, revealed an obstruction and a filling up of the dust
collector.
Therefore it was thought to apply in parallel a dust collector of increased filtering area of
25%.
The additive was put again and it was noticed that the increase of production became of
about 10 – 11%, and it was possible to maintain it for some months then slowly, the
necks of the dust collector started again to become obstructed; meanwhile it was
increased the filtering area up to mt2 608 with 68,000. m3/h of air.
With such ventilation the production increased up to 65-68 Ton/h, but even if the
diaphragm of the separator would close, the S.S. Blaines remained low, and it was not
possible to make them rise to acceptable values.
It was provided meanwhile, to install a preseparator and to apply to the separator the
100% of its selecting paddles; with this modification it was possible to make rise again
the S.S. Blaines to normal values even if, a little of the exceptional production increase
precedent obtained, had to be renounced.
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The M.R.T. because of the effect of the additive and because of the increase of the air
draught, had decreased to less than 3 minutes; meanwhile gradually, the load of the
grinding bodies, was modified in the II room, arriving up to a composition having the
75% of balls, of the diameter smallest possible, permitted by the opening of the
diaphragm.
The specific consumption of this installation would change then from Kwatth 26,66 Ton
to 20,5 Kwatth/ton.
The table that follows are reports all the relative values of the modifications done, and the
obtained results.

BEFORE AFTER
MODIFICATIONS MODIFICATIONS
DUST COLLECTOR m2 314 m2 608
VENTILATOR mt3/h 29.500 mt3/h 68.000 (90°C. – 450 mm)
PRODUCTION Ton/h 45 Ton/h 64
S.S. BLAINES cm.2/gr. 3.100 cm.2/gr. 2.900
WORK km2/h 13,95 km2/h 18,5
KWATTH ENGINE 1.200 KWATTH 1.300
SURFACE mt2/q.le 0,69 mt2/q.le 0,95
COEFFICIENT
AIR/CEMENT m3/kg. 0,655 m3/kg. 1,06
COEFFICIENT