Beruflich Dokumente
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CEMENT MANUFACTURING
INTRODUCTION powder composed of lime in chemical com-
bination with silica, alumina and iron oxide. It
In today’s building and construction indus- is manufactured by fusing a proportioned
try, concrete is arguably the most important mixture of limestone or chalk (which provide
and most widely used of all modern con- the lime component) with clay or shale
struction materials. The bulk of the world’s (which provide the silica and alumina com-
cement production is consumed in the mak- ponents) and iron oxide components.
ing of concrete for construction projects. The Cement manufacture consists of the fol-
production of cement is closely linked to the lowing major processes:
level of construction activity which, in turn, is • Crushing the raw material rock (after
influenced by economic growth and infra- quarrying)
structure provision and development. • Proportioning, mixing and “raw
Basically, cement is an adhesive material milling” (or grinding) of the raw mate-
capable of bonding together fragments of rials to form the “raw mix”
solid materials into a compact whole. Some • Burning (calcination) of the raw mix,
cements are capable of hardening in water or “kiln feed,” in a rotary kiln to form
to give a stable solid product and are known “clinker”
as hydraulic cements. The cement produced • Grinding of the clinker with a small
in the greatest volume, and almost univer- amount of gypsum to produce
sally used in today’s construction industry is cement
a special type of hydraulic cement known as • Bagging or loading the cement for
Portland cement. bulk delivery
Portland cement is a finely divided gray The two processes used to manufacture
LUBRICATION
cement are the wet process and the dry are conveyed using an air slide to the top of
process, and refer primarily to the method a preheating tower where the mix is heated
employed to prepare the kiln feed. Wet to approximately 1,000°C before passing
process plants have almost 50% higher into a rotary kiln for conversion into clinker.
energy consumption compared to dry In some cement plants, additional opera-
process plants. Wet plants are gradually tions are performed on the dry raw material
being replaced by dry process plants as new or slurry between the raw milling and clink-
capacity is required. ering stages, where the process becomes
In the wet process, raw materials are known as a semi-wet or semi-dry process.
ground with water, which produces a slurry. Figure 2 describes the four different
This slurry is pumped into the back-end of a processes used to manufacture cement.
rotary kiln and, as it passes through to the The semi-dry process is only used if the kiln
hot end of the kiln, the water dries off. With technology requires dry powder feed to be
increasing heat, chemical changes occur formed into small nodules. The requirement
and, finally, fusion of the mixture occurs to for lubricants is vital in order to maintain
produce clinker. equipment life, although the range of lubri-
For the dry process, mixed raw materials cants used is limited to high quality gear oils,
are ground to a fine powder in a raw mill and greases, and synthetics.
PRIMARY
CRUSHER SECONDARY
CRUSHER RAW MATERIAL
STORAGE
Rock mined from a quarry is crushed in either one or two stages,
then stored with other raw materials to await further processing. TO PROPORTIONING AND GRINDING
BLENDING AND
STORAGE SILOS
DUST
COLLECTOR
TO PREHEATER
AND KILN
GRINDING
LIMESTONE SHALE IRON ORE SAND MILL
RAW MILL
After analysis, the raw materials are proportioned, ground to fine powder, PUMP
and blended. Some cement plants add water to the materials during grinding,
then blend and store it as slurry.
DUST
CLINKER GYPSUM COLLECTOR STORAGE SILOS
KILN
CLINKER COOLER
BAGGING
GRINDING MILL
CEMENT BULK RAIL FACILITY
PUMP TRUCK CAR
Once cooled, the clinker is grounded with small amounts of gypsum, and is now
portland cement-ready to be bagged or shipped in bulk.
2
LUBRICATION
DRY INGREDIENTS
DRY PROCESS:
PREHEATER OR
PRECLAIMER
SHORT KILN
Because of the large scale of cement stones, metal, wood, sand and other high sil-
manufacturing facilities and the significant ica material.
amounts of capital invested in plant and Jaw, gyratory, and hammer crushers are
equipment, correct and effective lubrication the principal type of crusher used in crushing
is a high priority to keep plants running unin- operations. Some operations utilize com-
terrupted. Therefore, it is necessary to bined crushers and dryers that use exit
review the major processing stages used to gases from the kiln, or clinker cooler, to dry
produce cement, and the various types of wet raw material during crushing.
plant and equipment utilized. Because of the dusty and severe operat-
ing conditions, attention should be given to
CRUSHING
3
LUBRICATION
DRY PROCESS
4
LUBRICATION
5
LUBRICATION
The raw meal falls by gravity through each and heat, and the high cost of downtime
interconnected cyclone. As it does, hot should lubrication fail on this part of the kiln.
exhaust gases from the kiln pass through the
cyclone and heat the raw meal to approxi- CLINKER COOLING
mately 800°C-900°C. From the bottom
cyclone, the hot, partially calcined feed There are several types of clinker coolers
enters the rotary kiln for calcination and for- used, the main ones are the reciprocating
mation into clinker. grate cooler and the planetary cooler.
Airslides and cyclones in the pre-heater
system will require regular inspection of oil RECIPROCATING GRATE COOLER
levels in the discharge valve motor gear
cases, as well as inspection and re-lubrica- Clinker is cooled by blowing cold air
tion of rotary valve, fan, and electric motor through reciprocating grate plates which
bearings. The recommended lubricants for move the hot clinker through the cooler.
these applications are a mild EP gear oil or a Heated air from above the grate is then used
multipurpose EP grease. as secondary combustion air for the kiln.
Pre-calciner systems utilize a second
burner to carry out calcination in a separate PLANETARY COOLER
vessel attached to the base of the pre-heater
cyclone string. A portion of the rotary kiln fuel Hot clinker passes from the kiln into a
feed is fed to the pre-calciner, where 95% of series of satellite cooling tubes attached to
the calcination stage occurs, with only the the outside of the kiln. Cooling air is drawn
actual clinkering stage occurring in the rotary through these tubes and is then used for
kiln. combustion.
Because of the high temperatures encoun-
ROTARY KILN tered in clinker coolers, frequent re-lubrica-
tion and inspection intervals are often set for
The rotary kiln is the largest piece of equip- waste air and cooling fan bearings, convey-
ment in any cement plant. As the kiln rotates, or bearings and chain drive units. In addi-
raw meal is fed into the cooler upper end of tion, oil levels for drag conveyor gearboxes
the kiln, and travels countercurrent to the hot and undergrate gear motors should be mon-
exhaust gases toward the firing end of the itored and adjusted on a regular basis. A
kiln, where it is discharged onto the clinker mineral oil-based EP lubricant or a com-
cooler at the discharge end. Cooling fans pounded worm gear lubricant is typically rec-
are also positioned along the outside of the ommended for these applications.
kiln toward the discharge end, to facilitate
additional cooling of the clinker.
Correct lubrication of the kiln is critical in
any cement plant, particularly the lubrication
of kiln trunnion bearings, thrust rollers and
slides, kiln drive pinion gearings and gear-
boxes, and the kiln girth gear and pinion.
Residual type lubricants have been used in
the past for girth gear lubrication. Specialized
greases, such as synthetic-based products,
applied through automatic dispensing and
metering equipment are now often requested
by kiln maintenance engineers for the kiln
girth gear and pinion, due to the intense load Figure 7 - Planetary Cooler
6
LUBRICATION
7
LUBRICATION
the plates, from which it is removed and sub- of delivery trucks for transporting cement in
sequently returned for processing. bulk.
Lubrication of dust collectors and electro- Conveyors and elevators are used exten-
static precipitators is straightforward, in that sively throughout the cement plant for trans-
fan bearings, gearboxes, and rotary valve ferring, for example, coal for kiln firing, raw
and discharge screw bearings will require material feed for crushers and grinding mills,
regular inspection and re-lubrication with finely ground raw meal, clinker, and the fin-
either a multipurpose EP grease or an EP ished cement.
gear oil lubricant.
Figure 10 - Conveyors