Portland Cement Manufacturing using Wet/Dry Process

Portland cement is a fine powder, gray or white in color that consists of a mixture of
hydraulic cement materials comprising primarily calcium silicates, aluminates and
aluminoferrites. More than 30 raw materials are known to be used in the manufacture of Portland
cement, and these materials can be divided into four distinct categories: calcareous, siliceous,
argillaceous, and ferrifrous.
The main raw materials used in cement manufacture are limestone and shale. Limestone is
a sedimentary rock consisting almost entirely of, CaCO3, from the shells of mollusks and other
invertebrate animals that lived hundreds of millions of years ago. Shale is also a sedimentary rock;
it is more obviously layered than limestone and is generally easily broken into thin slices or flakes.
Its composition is more variable than that of limestone but the following composition is fairly
typical: 65% silica (SiO2), 12% alumina (Al2O3), 5% iron III oxide (Fe2O3) and variable amounts
of other minerals and organic matter
Gray Portland cement is used for structural applications and is the more common type of
cement produced. White Portland cement has lower iron and manganese contents than gray
Portland cement and is used primarily for decorative purposes. Portland cement manufacturing
plants are part of hydraulic cement manufacturing, which also includes natural, masonry, and
pozzolanic cement.
Portland cement accounts for 95 percent of the hydraulic cement production in the United
States. As shown in the figure, the process can be divided into the following primary components:
raw materials acquisition and handling, kiln feed preparation, pyroprocessing, and finished cement
grinding. Each of these process components is described below. With the primary focus on
pyroprocessing operations, which constitute the core of a portland cement plant.

Four Primary Components of Cement Raw Materials Necessary for Portland

Manufacturing: Cement Manufacture Must Provide the
Following:
1. Raw material acquisition and
handling 1. Calcium
2. Kiln feed preparation 2. Silica
3. Pyro-processing 3. Alumina
4. Finished product grinding 4. Iron
Figure 1: Process flow diagram for Portland cement manufacturing.
 I. Raw Material Acquisition and Handling
The initial production step in Portland cement manufacturing is raw materials acquisition.
Calcium, the element of highest concentration in Portland cement, is obtained from a variety of
calcareous raw materials, including limestone, chalk, marl, sea shells, aragonite, and an impure
limestone known as "natural cement rock". Typically, these raw materials are obtained from open-
face quarries, but underground mines or dredging operations are also used. Raw materials vary
from facility to facility. Some quarries produce relatively pure limestone that requires the use of
additional raw materials to provide the correct chemical blend in the raw mix.

Figure 2: Quarrying and Crushing of Limestone

Limestone rock is the principal raw material, the first step after quarrying in the processes
is the primary crushing. Mountains of rock are fed through crushers capable of handling pieces as
large as an oil drum. The first crushing reduces the rock to a maximum size of about 150 mm. The
rock then goes to secondary crushers or hammer mills for reduction to about 75 mm or smaller.
The raw materials, after crushing, the plant stores the materials before they are homogenized.
II. Kiln Feed Preparation
The second step in Portland cement manufacture is preparing the raw mix, or kiln feed, for
the pyro processing operation. Raw material preparation includes a variety of blending and sizing
operations that are designed to provide a feed with appropriate chemical and physical properties.
The raw material processing operations differ somewhat for wet and dry processes.
A. Dry Process
Raw materials are received with an initial moisture content varying from 1 to more than
50 percent. If the facility uses dry process kilns, this moisture is usually reduced to less than 1
percent before or during grinding. Drying alone can be accomplished in impact dryers, drum
dryers, paddle-equipped rapid dryers, air separators, or autogenous mills.
 Figure 3: Dry Process Blending

However, drying can also be accomplished during grinding in ball-and-tube mills or roller
mills. While thermal energy for drying can be supplied by exhaust gases from separate and widely
used source of heat for drying is the hot exit gases from the pyro processing system. Materials
transport associated with dry raw milling systems can be accomplished by a variety of
mechanisms, including screw conveyors, belt conveyors, drag conveyors, bucket elevators, air
slide conveyors, and pneumatic conveying systems. The dry raw mix is pneumatically blended and
stored in specially constructed silos until it is fed to the pyro processing system.
B. Wet Process
In the wet process, water is added to the raw mill during the grinding of the raw materials
in ball or tube mills, thereby producing a pumpable slurry, or slip, of approximately 65 percent
solids. The slurry is agitated, blended, and stored in various kinds and sizes of cylindrical tanks or
slurry basins until it is fed to the pyro processing system.

Figure 4: Wet Process Blending

In the wet process, the kiln is a very long tube in comparison to dry process, and the slurry
that is easy to blend and homogenize due to the water, is directly being fed into the kiln. Wet
process could be selected as manufacturing technology is when raw materials have natural high
moisture content. The amount of moisture in mineral sometimes can be even more than 12%, as
in case of chalk and in marlstone. The use of wet process is also essential when relatively poor
grade limestone needs to be enriched through the beneficiation process. In this process, water is
required as a process media.
III. Pyro-Processing
The burning process is carried out in the rotary kiln while the raw materials are rotated at
its longitudinal axis. The rotary kiln is made up of steel tubes having the diameter of 2.5-3.0 meter
and the length differs from 90-120meter. The inner side of the kiln is lined with refractory bricks.
The raw mix of dry process of corrected slurry of wet process is injected into the kiln from the
upper end. The kiln is heated with the help of powdered coal or oil or hot gases from the lower end
of the kiln so that the long hot flames is produced. As the kiln position is inclined and it rotates
slowly, the material charged from upper end moves towards lower end at the speed of 15m/hr. In
the upper part, water or moisture in the material is evaporated at 400ºC temp, so this process is
known as Drying Zone.

Figure 5: Pyro-Processing

The central part is calcination zone, the temperature is around 400ºC to 1300ºC, where
decomposition of lime stone and clay takes place. The remaining material is in the form of small
lumps known as nodules after the CO2 is released.

 ~350-650°C→decomposition of clay→SiO2&Al2O3
 ~600°C→decomposition of MgCO3→MgO&CO2 (evaporates)
 ~900°C→decomposition of CaCO3→CaO&CO2 (evaporates)
 ~1250-1280°C→liquid formation & start of compound formation.

The lower part (clinkering zone) have temperature in between 1500-17000ºC where lime
and clay are reacts to yielding calcium aluminates and calcium silicates. This aluminates and
silicates of calcium fuse to gather to form small and hard stones are known as clinkers. The size
of the clinker is varies from 5-10mm.The lower part i.e. clinkering zone has the temperature around
1500-1700ºC. In the region lime and clay reacts to yield calcium aluminates and calcium silicates.
This products of aluminates and silicates of calcium fuses together to form hard and small stones
known as clinkers. The size of the small and hard clinkers varies from 5 to 10mm.
 Reactions during clinkering:

2CaO + SiO2 = Ca2SiO4 (declaim silicate (C2S))

3CaO + SiO2 = Ca3SiO5 (tricalcium silicate (C3S))

3CaO + Al2O3 = Ca3Al2O6 (dicalcium aluminate (C2A))

4CaO + Al2O3 + Fe2O3 = Ca4Al2Fe2O10 (tetracalcium aluminoferrite(C4AF))

The clinker coming from the burning zone are very hot. To bring down the temperature of
clinkers, air is admitted in counter current direction at the base of the rotary kiln. The cooled
clinkers are collected in small trolleys.

IV. Finished Product Grinding

Figure 6: Product Grinding and Storage

The clinker is ground to a very fi ne powder in a ball mill and blended with 5% calcium
sulfate (CaSO4 .2H2O) in the form of gypsum. This operation is achieved by the tumbling action
of many tons of steel balls within a rapidly rotating steel cylinder. The gypsum is added to extend
the setting time of the cement to a level appropriate for practical use. The finished product, now
known as cement, is stored in large silos from where it can be dispatched in bulk or packaged in
paper sacks. In order to prevent premature hydration and carbonation and to maintain its overall
quality stored cement must be kept dry.
Duties of a Chemical Engineer in a Cement Plant
A chemical Engineer’s role in a cement plants spans from the very first units all the way to
packaging. Unlike most industries, the cement manufacturing is completely dominated by
mechanical operations and with only one chemical step. Yet, all these operations fall under the
domain of chemical engineering. Here are some of the duties performed by a chemical engineer in
a cement manufacturing plant.
1. Monitor raw material quality
2. Ensure the proper sizing and mixing of raw materials
3. Ensure proper homogeneity
4. Meet the efficiency of Calcination
5. Particle size separation
6. Recycle undesirable sized particles
7. Controlling of dust in the air
8. Guide and monitor other engineers on-site
With each of these operation, and calcination which is a process, can be designed only by a
chemical engineer, who tackles the mechanics, economics, and technology to run all these units.

References:
 Darrell Leetham, August 8, 2015, the Cement Manufacturing Process. Retrieved from:
https://www.thermofisher.com
 Sabko Industries Group – Cement Plants. Retrieved from: http://www.sabko.com
 AP 42 Section 11.6 Portland Cement Manufacturing
 Poswal.V, (2014). Cement Manufacturing Process Chapter 3.
 Cement Production. Retrieved from: www.sta.ie