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1.0 INTRODUCTION
INTRODUCTION TO INDUSTRIAL PROCESS
Industrial processes are procedures that involve either chemical or
mechanical steps to assist a manufacturer / producer in the manufacture/
production of items; these are usually carried out in large or very large scale.
Industrial processes are the key component of heavy industry. Some
industrial processes make the production of different non-common material
(physical substance) very much cheaper in price therefore changing it into a
commodity. It therefore makes the process economically convenient to
manufacture materials on a large scale for the society.
Most industrial processes end in desired output(s)/product(s) and byproducts as many of these are hazardous/ dangerous and are difficult to
handle toxic.
The industrial process that would be discussed in this report is cement
making/ processing.

1.1 INTRODUCTION TO CEMENT PRODUCTION

HISTORICAL BACKGROUND
The word cement commonly refers to a powdered material which usually
develops strong adhesive qualities when it is combined with water. These
materials are more properly known as hydraulic cements. Gypsum plaster,
common lime, hydraulic limes, natural pozzolana, and Portland cements are
the more common hydraulic cements, with Portland cement being the most
important in construction.
The Egyptians were the first to invent cement. Cement was later reinvented
by the Greeks and the Babylonians who made their mortar out of lime.
Later, the Romans manufactured cement from pozzolana, the pozzolana is
an ash found in all of the volcanic areas of Italy, by mixing the ash with lime.
Cement is a fine grey coloured powder which, when mixed with water
always forms a thick paste. When the paste is mixed with sand and gravel
and allowed to dry it is called concrete.
About ninety-nine percent of cement consumed today is the Portland
cement. This name is not a brand name. This name was given to the cement
by Joseph Aspdin of Leeds, England who received a patent for his product in
the year 1824. The concrete made from the cement looked like the colour of
the natural limestone quarried on the Isle of Portland in the English Channel.
The balance of cement consumed today consists of masonry cement, which
consist of fifty percent Portland cement and fifty percent ground lime rock.

In 1871 The United States manufactured its first cement by David Saylor of
Coplay, Pennsylvania.
Two types of raw materials come together to form cement:

Lime-containing materials, such as limestone, marble, oyster shells, marl,

chalk, etc.

Clay and clay-like materials, such as shale, slag from blast furnaces,
bauxite, iron ore, silica, sand, etc.

It takes approximately 3,400 lbs. of raw materials to make one ton (2,000
lbs.) of Portland cement. The mixture of materials is finely ground in a raw
mill. The product of the raw mix is burned in a rotary kiln at temperatures of
about 4482 degrees Celsius to form clinker. The clinker nodules are then
ground with about 3 % gypsum to produce cement with a fineness typically
of less than 90 micrometres.
PRODUCTION PROCESSES
The production of cement takes place with several steps:

Quarrying of limestone and shale

Dredging the ocean floor for shells

Digging for clay and marl

Grinding

Blending of components

Fine grinding

Burning

Finish grinding

Packaging and/or shipping

QUARRYING, DREDGING, AND DIGGING

Quarrying of limestone and shale is accomplished by using environmentally
accepted explosives to blast the rocks from the ground. After the blasting
has occurred, huge power shovels are used to load dump trucks or small
railroad cars are used to transport them to the cement plant, which is
usually not far.
To obtain the shells the ocean floor is always dredged, while clay and marl
are dug out of the ground with power shovels. All of the raw materials are
then transported to the plant.
GRINDING
After the raw materials have been transported to the plant, the limestone
and shale which have been blasted out of the quarry would then be crushed
into smaller pieces. Some of the pieces, when blasted out, are quite large.
These pieces are then placed into primary crushers which would help reduce
them to the size of a softball. Then the pieces are carried by the use
conveyors to the secondary crushers which then crush the rocks into
fragments that are usually not larger than 3/4 inch across.
BLENDING
After the rock is crushed, a plant chemist usually analyses the rock and raw
materials in other to help determine their mineral content. The chemists

would also help to determine the proportions of each raw the material to be
utilized in order to obtain a uniform cement product. The various raw
materials are then mixed in the right proportions and then prepared for fine
grinding.
FINE GRINDING
When the raw materials have been blended, they must be ground into a fine
powder. This is usually done by one of these two methods:

Wet process, or

Dry process

The wet process of fine grinding is known as the oldest process, this has
been used in Europe prior to the production of cement in the United States.
This process is used more often when clay and marl, which are very moist,
are included in the composition of the cement. In the wet process, the
blended raw materials are moved into ball or tube mills which are cylindrical
rotating drums which contain steel balls. These steel balls help to grind the
raw materials into smaller fragments of up to 200 of an inch. As the grinding
commences, water is added until slurry (thin mud) is formed, the slurry is
stored in open tanks where additional mixing is done. Some of the water
may be removed from the slurry before burning commences, or the slurry
may be sent to the kiln as it is and the water evaporated during the burning.
This dry process of fine grinding is done with a similar set of ball or tube
mills; however, water is not added during the process of grinding. The dry
materials are stored in silos where additional mixing and blending may be
done.

BURNING
Burning the blended materials is the key in the process of making cement.
The wet or dry mix is then transferred into the kiln, which is one of the
largest pieces of moving machinery in the industry. It is generally has a
diameter of twelve feet or more and a length of 500 feet or more, made of
steel and lined with firebrick. It revolves on large roller bearings and is
gradually slanted with the intake end higher than the output end.
As the kiln revolves, the materials roll and slide downward for a period of
four hours. In the burning zone, the heat can reach 3,000 degrees
Fahrenheit; the materials become incandescent and there would be change
in colour from purple to violet to orange. Here, the gases are driven from
the raw materials, which actually change the properties of the raw
materials. What emerges is clinker which is round, marble-sized, glasshard balls which are harder than the quarried rock. The clinker is then
transferred into a cooler where it is allowed cool for the purpose of storage.
FINISH GRINDING
The cooled clinker is mixed with a small amount of gypsum, this usually
helps to regulate the setting time when the cement is mixed with other
materials and becomes concrete. Here again there are primary and
secondary grinders. The primary grinders leave the clinker, ground to the
fineness of sand, and the secondary grinders leave the clinker ground to the
fineness of flour and is the final product that would be marketed.

PACKAGING/SHIPPING
The final product is shipped either in bulk (ships, barges, tanker trucks,
railroad cars, etc.) or in strong paper bags which are filled by machine. In the
United States, a bag of Portland cement usually contains 94 pounds of
cement, and a barrel weighs four times that amount, or 376 pounds. In
Canada, a bag weighs 87 1/2 pounds and a barrel weighs 350 pounds.
Masonry cement bags contain only seventy pounds of cement.
When cement is shipped, the shipping documents may include sack
weights. This must be verified by the auditor since only the cement is
taxable. Sack weights are always excluded.
FLOW CHARTS OF MANUFACTURING PROCESS
The following pages contain flowcharts of the manufacturing process of
Portland cement. The first chart represents the process in approximately
ninety percent of the plants currently in operation. The second chart
represents the process being used in approximately ten percent of the
plants currently in operations. However, the second process is the one being
used for virtually all new cement plants. (W.O.S.G, 2005)

FIG 1. TYPICAL MANUFACTURING PROCESSING FLOW CHART (W.O.S.G,

2005)

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FIG 2. NEWER MANUFACTURING PROCESS FLOW CHART (W.O.S.G, 2005)

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2.0 ENERGY FROM FUEL TRANSFERRED TO STEEL MAKING

There are several forms of energy from the fuel that is been transferred to
the cement making process. One of which will be discussed. This form is;
Blast furnace
2.1 BLAST FURNACE
A blast furnace is a vertical shaft furnace which produces liquid metals by
the reaction of a flow of air introduced under pressure into the bottom of
the furnace with a mixture of metallic ore, coke, and flux fed into the
top. Blast-furnaces are also used for the production of pig iron from iron ore
for subsequent processing into steel and in the processing of lead, copper,
and other metals. By the help of the current of air under pressure rapid
combustion is always maintained. (Blast furnace, 2014)
GROUND-GRANULATED BLAST-FURNACE SLAG (GGBS OR GGBFS)
Ground-granulated

blast-furnace

slag (GGBS or GGBFS)

is

gotten

by

quenching molten iron slag which is a by-product of iron and steel-making

from the blast furnace in water or steam to form/ produce a glassy, it is this
granular product that is then dried and ground into a fine powder.
2.2 HEAT TRANSFER THROUGH THE BLAST FURNACE
The chemical composition of a slag varies considerably depending on the
composition of the raw materials to be used in the process of cement
production. Silicate and aluminate impurities from the ore and coke are
added in the blast furnace with a flux which helps in the reduction of
viscosity of the slag. In the case of producing pig iron the flux will consist
mostly of a mixture of limestone and forsterite or in other cases consist of

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dolomite. In the blast furnace the slag will float on top of the iron and it is
decanted for separation. A process where cooling is slow the slag melts
results in an unreactive crystalline material consisting of an assemblage of
Ca-Al-Mg silicates. To obtain a good slag reactivity or hydraulicity, the slag
melt will need to be cooled rapidly or quenched below 800 C to help
prevent the crystallization of merwinite and melilite. To cool and fragment
the slag a process known as the granulation process can be applied; in this
process the molten slag is subjected to jet streams of water or air under
pressure. Alternatively, in the palletisation process the liquid slag is partially
cooled with water and subsequently projected into the air by a rotating
drum. To obtain a suitable reaction, the obtained fragments are ground to
reach the same fineness as Portland cement.
The main components of blast furnace slag are CaO (30-50%), SiO2 (28-38%),
Al2O3 (8-24%), and MgO (1-18%). In general increasing the CaO content of the
slag will result in raised slag basicity and an increase in compressive
strength. The MgO and Al2O3 content show the same trend up to
respectively 10-12% and 14%, beyond which no further improvement can be
reached. Several compositional ratios have been used to correlate slag
composition with hydraulic activity; the latter being mostly expressed as the
binder compressive strength.
The glass content of slags suitable for blending with Portland cement varies
from 90-100% and this also depends on the cooling method and the
temperature at which cooling starts. The glass structure of the quenched
glass largely depends on the proportions of network-forming elements such
as Si and Al over network-modifiers such as Ca, Mg and to a lesser extent Al.
an Increasing amount of network-modifiers will lead to high degree of
network depolymerization and reactivity.

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Common crystalline constituents of blast-furnace slags

are merwinite and melilite. Other minor components which can form during
progressive crystallization are belite,
monticellite,rankinite, wollastonite and forsterite. Minor amounts of
reduced sulphur are commonly encountered as oldhamite

TABLE 1. PHYSICAL PROPERTIES OF A BLAST FURNACE SLAG (BLAST

FURNACE SLAG, 2014)

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TABLE 2. TYPICAL CHEMICAL PROPERTIES OF A BLAST FURNACE

SLAG (BLAST FURNACE SLAG, 2014)

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FIG 3. PROCESS OF CEMENT MANUFACTURING (CEMENT PRODUCTION, 2009)

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FIG 4. COMPARISON OF PORTLAND CEMENT AND BLAST-FURNACE

SLAG CEMENT (JISF, 2014)

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FIG 5. TOP GAS RECYCLING BLAST FURNACE

(GLOBALCCSINSTITUTE, 2014)

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FIG 6. A CEMENT PLANT (CEMENT KILN, 2007)

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FIG 7. A GENERAL ROTARY KILN LAYOUT (CEMENT KILN, 2007)

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FIG 8. A PAIR OF KILNS WITH SATELLITE COOLERS IN ASHAKA, NIGERIA

SYSY (CEMENT KILN, 2007)

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FIG 9. A UNIT OF CEMENT CLINKER GRINDING PLANT (ZENITH, 2014)

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FIG 10. CAPACITY OF CEMENT (CEMENT CAPACITY, 2010)

3.0 THE CEMENT INDUSTRY MARKET

In 2010, the world production of hydraulic cement was 3,300 million tonnes.
The top three manufacturers of cement in 2010 were China with 1,800 India

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with 220 and USA with 63.5 million tonnes respectively, a combined total of
over half the world total by the world's three most populated states.
For the world capacity to produce cement in 2010, the case was the same
with the top three states (China, India, and USA) accounting for a capacity
just under half the world total capacity.
Over 2011 and 2012, global usage continued to increase rising to about
3585Mt in 2011 and 3736Mt in 2012, while the annual growth rates eased to
8.3% and 4.2% respectively.
China, representing a growing share of worlds cement consumption,
continued to be the main engine of global growth. By 2012, Chinese demand
had a record of 2160 Mt, which represented 58% of the worlds consumption.
Annual growth rates, which reached 16% in 2010, appear to have softened,
slowing to 56% over 2011 and 2012, as Chinas economy targeted a more
sustainable growth rate.
Outside of China, worldwide consumption went up by about 4.4% to 1462 Mt
in 2010, 5% to 1535 Mt in 2011, and finally 2.7% to 1576 Mt in 2012.
Iran is now the 3rd largest cement manufacturer in the world and has grown
its output by over 10% from 2008 to 2011. Due to the climbing energy costs in
Pakistan and other major cement-producing countries, Iran is in a unique
position as a trading partner, utilizing its own surplus petroleum to power
clinker plants. Now a top producer in the Middle-East, Iran is further
increasing its dominant position in local and international markets.
The performance in North America and Europe over the 20102012 periods
contrasted strikingly with that of China, as the global financial crisis
developed into a sovereign debt crisis for many countries in this region and
recession. Cement consumption/ usage levels for this region fell by about

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1.9% in 2010 to 445 Mt, recovered by 4.9% in 2011, and then dipped again by
1.1% in 2012.
The performance in the rest of the world, which includes many emerging
economies in Asia, Africa and Latin America and representing some 1020 Mt
cement demand in 2010, was positive and more than counter balanced the
declines in North America and Europe. Annual consumption growth was
recorded at about 7.4% in 2010, moderating to 5.1% and 4.3% in 2011 and 2012,
respectively.
As at year-end 2012, the global cement industry consisted of 5673 cement
production facilities, which included both integrated and grinding, of which
3900 were located in China and 1773 in the rest of the world.
Total cement capacity worldwide was recorded at 5245 Mt in 2012, with
2950 Mt located in China and 2295Mt in the rest of the world (Cement, 2014)

METHODS OF ENERGY EFFICIENCY AND EMISSION REDUCTION IN CEMENT

MAKING.
4.1 ENERGY EFFICIENCY REDUCTION IN CEMENT MAKING

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EFFICIENCY IN CEMENT MAKING

The cost of energy as part of the total production costs in the cement
industry is of great significance, warranting attention for energy efficiency
to improve the bottom line. Historically, energy intensity has dropped,
although more recently energy intensity shows to stability with the gains.
The primary fuels in this sector are Coal and coke currently, supplanting the
dominance of the natural gas in the 1970s. Most recently, there was a slight
increase in the use of waste fuels, including tires. Between 1970 and 1999,
Primary physical energy intensity for cement production went down by
about 1% per year from 7.3 MBtu per short ton to 5.3 MBtu per short ton.
Carbon dioxide intensity due to fuel consumption and raw material
calcination also went down by about 16% from 609 lb. C per ton of cement
(0.31 tC per tonne) to 510 lb. C per ton cement (0.26 tC per tonne).
Despite the historic progress, there is still adequate room for energy
efficiency improvement. The relatively high share of wet-process plants (25%
of clinker production in 1999 in the U.S.) suggests the occurrence of a
considerable potential, when measured to other industrialized economies.
Over 40 energy efficient technologies and measures and estimated energy
savings, carbon dioxide savings.
The substantial potential for the energy efficiency improvement exists in the
cement industry and in individual plants. A section of this potential will be
achieved as part of (natural) modernization and expansion of existing
facilities, as well as construction of new plants in some regions. Still, a very
large potential to improve energy management practices still exists.
(Climate vision, 2014)

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RECYCLED CONTENT
Cement is produced by heating common materials typically crushed
limestone, clay, iron ore and sand to temperatures of about 2700F
(temperature of molten iron). To achieve these high temperatures it is
required to have large volumes of fuels, mainly coal, petroleum coke and
natural gas, waste materials are usually of high energy value and thus be
used as fuel. Common waste such as spent solvents, printing inks, paint
residues and cleaning fluids often are often pointed out as hazardous
because they are flammable and have high fuel value. These and some other
high energy waste like used motor oil and scrap tyres cannot be disposed of
in landfills. However they can be safely burned to destruction by using them
as fuel in cement kiln while reducing the need to use fossil fuels. The
chemistry of cement making enables the kiln ideal for waste destruction.in
this case, energy is not only recovered but many waste also contain
essential materials used for the production of cement.
The cement industry has greatly grown its use of waste materials to fuel the
cement kiln. It also depends currently on the burning of waste materials to
satisfy about 10% of these energy requirements. Cement plants also burns
many industrial waste like sludge from the petroleum industry and
agricultural waste like almond shells.
Cement manufacturers also include non-hazardous by-products generated
from other industries in the raw ingredients used for the manufacturing of
new cement. By-products like fly-ash which is gotten from the production of
electricity, mill scale from steel making and foundry sand from metal
casting. This practice does not only recycle waste but also helps to reduce

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the amount of raw materials taken from quarries. Cement producers even
re-use cement kiln dust a primary by-product of cement production by
recycling it back to the kiln as an ingredient for new cement. (Concrete
thinker, 2014)
EFFICIENCY TO REDUCE ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT
Portland cement is produced by heating limestone or chalk with clay in a
rotary kiln to at a high temperature say about 1450C to produce hard
nodules of clinker which are then ground with a little amount of gypsum in a
ball mill. The firing process makes use of significant fuel, usually coal or
petroleum coke. Reduced fuel use is a fundamental objective of the cement
industry. The major environmental concerns of cement manufacture are
outlined in the Table 3.0.
The manufacturers have taken steps to minimise the impacts by:
Reducing primary raw material needs by increasing the use of byproducts from other industries, along with dust suppression measures
and landscaping after quarrying.
Use of waste products as alternative fuels (oil, solvents, and tyres)
along with greater emissions control and investment in more efficient
plant (heat exchangers, pre-heaters, insulation). Reducing cement
clinker by replacing during the grinding process with cementitious
materials from by-products from other industries e.g. pfa, ggbs
Use of grinding aids to reduce clinker milling time and improved
equipment efficiency.

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Overnight deliveries, increased rail use, fuel efficient vehicles,

reduction of empty truck movements by making use of returned
concrete loads instead of dumping on site.

STAGES IN THE CEMENT MAKING

PROCESS

MAJOR ENVIRONMENTAL CONCERNS

1) Quarrying and processing raw

Scarring of landscape, transport

material

produces dust and noise

2) Burning raw material to make

Carbon dioxide emission from heating

cement clinker

limestone and burning fuel

Gas emissions, such as nitrogen and
sulphur oxides
High energy use
Dust

3) Grinding clinker

Electrical energy

4) Delivery to mixing plant, precast

works, builders merchants

Fuel, noise and traffic

TABLE 3. ENVIRONMENTAL CONCERNS OF PRODUCING CEMENT

(CONCRETE, 2014)

RECOMMENDATIONS/CONCLUSIONS

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I recommend a world-wide cement emission regulation because next to

water, concrete is the second most consumed substance on planet earth. I
also would like investors to encourage research that would help in the
processing of green cement; environmentally friendly both in processing
and consuming.

REFERENCES

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http://www.jisf.or.jp/en/activity/warm/commit/slag.html

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http://www.globalccsinstitute.com/publications/global-status-ccs2012/online/48286

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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/cement_kiln

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Zenith, 2014 retrieved on 23 March 2014, from

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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cement

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