INDUSTRY SECTORS – CEMENT

(NOTE: This chapter has to be expanded, updated and edited.. A more detailed version will
follow in the final Toolkit which will cover the information relevant to the headings listed
below)

SECTOR DESCRIPTION....................................................................................................................................................1
PROCESS FLOW..................................................................................................................................................................1
MAJOR PROCESS EQUIPMENTS ................................................................................................................................5
ENERGY EFFICIENCY OPPORTUNITIES ............................................................................................................... 10
REFERENCES .................................................................................................................................................................... 16

Sector Description
§ This section briefly describes the Industry Sector and gives a short introduction to the main
features about the sector

Cement and CO2

The global cement industry contributes around 20% of all man- made CO2 emissions and is
consequently responsible for around 10% of man- made global warming (Global cement
technology magazine). The energy consumption by the cement industry is estimated at about
2% of the global primary energy consumption, or almost 5% of the total global industrial
energy consumption. Cement production increases at about 3%/year at the moment. This rate
is set to increase as developing nations rapidly become richer, and spends proportionately
more on cement- intensive infrastructure.

There are two sources of CO2 emissions from the cement plant. One by virtue of the energy it
uses and secondly the evolution of CO2 as a by-product in the calcination process. The
cement plant releases one tonne of CO2 for every tonne of cement produced, half of it from
the fuel it uses and the other half from calcinations process.

Process Flow
§ This section includes the description of each step and the main inputs and outputs

The basic process of Cement production as shown in fig. 8.2.1 involves

1. Acquisition of raw materials

2. Preparation of the raw materials for pyroprocessing
3. Pyroprocessing of the raw materials to form Portland cement clinker, and,

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 4. Grinding the clinker to Portland Cement

High grade Exit gas to raw mill

Limestone
limestone or abatement
quarry
Raw Mill
Stage 1

Stage 2

Stage 3
Crusher Iron Alumina Stage 4
Ore Raw meal blending
Limestone Precalciner
and storage silos
stockyard
Gypsum and Upto 60% Fuel in Fuel in
other constituents Rotary Kiln
Cement silos
Grate cooler
Cement Mill
To clinker
storage

Clinker Bag Loading

storage Bagging M/cs

Fig. 7.2.1
Description of production processes

Mining: Limestone, the key raw

material is mined in the quarries with
compressed air drilling and subsequently
blasting with explosives. The mined
limestone is transported through
dumpers or ropeways to the plant.
Surface mining is gradually gaining
ground because of its eco friendliness.

Crushing: The limestone as mined is fed to a primary and

secondary crusher where the size is reduced to 25 mm. Of
late even a tertiary crusher is used to further reduce the
inlet size to the mill. The crushed limestone is stored in the
stockpile through stacker conveyors. The crushed
limestone, bauxite and ferrite are stored in feed hoppers
from where they are fed to the raw mill via a weigh feeders in
the required proportion.

Raw Materials Preparation:.

Roller mills for grinding raw
materials and separators or
classifiers for separating ground
particles are the two key energy-
consuming pieces of equipment at
this process stage. For dry-process
cement making, the raw materials
need to be ground into a flowable
powder before entering the kiln.

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Generally ball mills and vertical roller mills are used.

Coal Milling: In plants using coal, coal mills are part of

the system to provide dried pulverized coal to kiln and
precalciner. The raw coal from stock yard is crushed in a
hammer crusher and fed to the coal mill. The coal mill
can be an air swept ball mill or vertical roller mill
where the coal particles are collected in the bag filter
through a grit seperator. The required size is 80 % on
90µ and less than 2% on 212µ . Hot air generated in a
coal fired furnace or hot air from clinker cooler/preheater exhaust is used in the drying of coal
in the mill.

Pyro processing: The function of

the kiln in the cement industry is
to first convert CaCO3 into
CaO and then react Silica,
Aluminum Oxide, Ferric Oxide,
and Calcium Oxide with the
free lime to form clinker
compounds: C3S, C2S, C3A,
and C4AF.. The raw material
mix enters the kiln at the
elevated end, and the combustion
fuels generally are introduced
into the lower end of the kiln in a countercurrent manner. The materials are continuously and
slowly moved to the lower end by rotation of the kiln. Pulverized coal, gas, pet coke or Oil are
the fuels generally used. This system transforms the raw mix into clinkers, which are gray,
glass-hard, spherically shaped nodules that range from 0.32 to 5.1 centimeters (cm) in
diameter. The chemical reactions and physical processes that constitute the transformation are
quite complex, but they can be viewed conceptually as the following sequential events:

1. Evaporation of uncombined water from raw materials as material temperature increases to

100 OC
2. Dehydration as the material temperature increases from 100OC to approximately 430 OC
to form oxides of silicon, aluminum, and iron;
3. Calcination, during which carbon dioxide (CO2 ) is evolved, between 900OC and
982 OC to form CaO; and
4. Reaction of the oxides in the burning zone of the
rotary kiln to form cement clinker at
temperatures of approximately 1510O C

Pre heater and Pre calciner: Preheaters are

cyclones are arranged vertically, in series, and are
supported by a structure known as the preheater
tower. Hot exhaust gases from the rotary kiln pass
counter currently through the downward- moving
raw materials in the preheater vessels. Compared

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with the simple rotary kiln, the heat transfer rate is significantly increased, the degree of heat
utilization is more complete, and the process time is markedly reduced owing to the intimate
contact of the solid particles with the hot gases. The improved heat transfer allows the length
of the rotary kiln to be reduced or in other words for the existing kiln if retrofitted, increases
the production. .

Additional thermal efficiencies and productivity gains have been achieved by diverting some
fuel to a calciner vessel at the base of the preheater tower. This system is called the
preheater/precalciner process. While a substantial amount of fuel is used in the precalciner, at
least 40 percent of the thermal energy is required in the rotary kiln. Upto 95 % of the raw
meal gets calcined before entering the kiln. Calciner systems sometimes use lower-quality
fuels (e.g., less-volatile matter) as a means of improving process economics.

From pre-heater and pre-calciner, 60 % of flue gases travel towards raw mill and 40 % to
conditioning tower where water injection is used to condition the gases. These gases are
ultimately passed through electrostatic precipitator (ESP) for the maximum removal of
particulate matters.

Clinker Cooler: The hot clinker is

cooled from 1100OC to 90OC in the
grate cooler with a series of fans.
The cooler has two tasks: to recover
as much heat (upto 30% of kiln
system heat) as possible from hot
(1450OC) clinker so as to return it to
the process; and to reduce the
clinker temperature to a level
suitable for the equipment
downstream. The hot air from
recuperation zone is used for main
burning air (second ary air) and
precalciner fuel (tertiary air). The
remaining air is sent to the stack through multiclones or ESP. Once clinker leaves the kiln it
must be cooled rapidly to ensure the maximum yield for the compound that contributes to the
hardening properties of cement. The main cooling technologies are the reciprocating grate
cooler and the tube or planetary cooler.

Finish Milling: In this final process step, the cooled clinker is mixed with additives to make
cement and ground using the mill technologies described above. These materials are then sent
through mills which perform the remaining grinding. The grinding process occurs in a closed
system with an air separator that divides the cement particles according to size. Material that
has not been completely
ground is sent through the
system again.

Finish milling is the grinding

of clinker to produce a fine
grey powder. Gypsum

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(CaSO4 ) is blended with the ground clinker, along with other materials, to produce finished
cement. Gypsum controls the rate of hydration of the cement in the cement-setting process
The cement thus produced is collected in the bagfilter and taken to cement silos through a
vertical pneumatic pump.. The energy used for cement grinding depends on the type of
materials added to the clinker and on the desired fineness of the final product. Cement
fineness is generally measured in a unit called Blaine, which has the dimensions of cm 2 /g
and gives the total surface area of material per gram of cement. Higher Blaine indicates more
finely ground cement, which requires more energy to produce. Portland cement commonly
has a Blaine of 3000-3500 cm 2 /g.

Major Process equipments

§ This section includes a general description of the equipments used in different processes
(available and used) and comparing the energy efficiency of these

Energy flows:
The cement making process is highly energy intensive accounting for nearly 40 – 50 % of the
production costs. This provides ample opportunities for reducing energy consumption as
many of the cement plants in developing countries consume much more than the the best
achieved figures in developed countries.

Electrical Energy:
The energy flows in a typical cement plant is given in the figure 8.2.2 below. The major
electrical energy consumption areas are mill drives, fans and conveying systems.

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 Energy Flows

Diesel Limestone Mining

for loaders, dozers
and compressors

Diesel for dumpers and trucks/

Electrical energy for ropeway
Transport

Electrical Energy
for crushers
Crushing

Bauxite, Ferrite
Electrical Energy for
Mill drive and fans
Raw Milling
Heat Energy from
kiln off gases
Electrical Energy
for mill drive and fans
Heat Energy from
fuel input
Pre calcination

Coal Milling
Electrical Energy for
Kiln drive, fans and ESP
Pyro Processing
Heat Energy from Heat Energy from
fuel input fuel input/waste heat
from clinker cooler
Electrical Energy
for fans, drive and Clinker Cooling
clinker breaker
Gypsum

Electrical Energy for

Mill drive and fans Cement Grinding

Packing & Dispatch

Fig. 8.2.2

About 30% of electric power is consumed for finish grinding, and a little under 30% each is
consumed by the clinker burning process. Raw mill circuit is another major consumer
accounting for 24 % of the energy. The raw mill circuit and finish grinding process mainly
consumes electric power for the mill, and the clinker burning process mainly for the fan.
Typical distribution of electrical energy is provided in the table below for a cement plant
operating at 75 kWh per tonne of cement.
Electrical energy distribution
Section / Equipment Electrical energy consumption % Energy
(kWh / ton of cement) Consumption

Mines, crusher & stacking 1.5 2

Reclaimer, Raw meal grinding & transport 18.0 24

Kiln feed, kiln & cooler 22.0 29.3

Coal mill 5.0 6.7

Cement grinding & transport 23.0 30.7

Packing 1.5 2

Lighting, pumps & services 4.0 5.3

Total 75.0 100

Thermal Energy:

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Thermal energy accounts for almost half the energy costs incurred in cement manufacture. A
variety of fuels such as coal, pet coke, gas and oil in addition to unconventional fuels such as
used tires, incinerable hazardous wastes, agro residues etc are used in the cement plant. The
major use of thermal energy is in the kiln and precalciner. In plants using coal, an external
coal or oil fired furnace is used for generation of hot air required for coal mills. The number
of stages in the pre-heater system has a major bearing on the thermal energy consumption of
the kiln as shown in the table below.

Specific heat consumption in various kiln systems

Kiln process Heat consumption (kcal per kg

clinker)
Wet process with internals 1400-1500
Long dry process with internals 1100
1-stage cyclone preheater 1000
2-stage cyclone preheater 900
4-stage cyclone preheater 800
4-stage cyclone preheater plus calciner 750
5- stage preheater plus calciner plus high efficiency cooler 720
6-stage preheater plus calciner plus high efficiency cooler less than 700

Material and Energy balance

Material and energy balance in a cement plant

The cement process involves gas, liquid and solid flows with heat and mass transfer,
combustion of fuel, reactions of clinker compounds and undesired chemical reactions that
include sulphur, chlorine, and Alkalies. It is important to understand these processes to
optimize the operation of the cement kiln, diagnose operational problems, increase
production, improve energy consumption, lower emissions, and increase refractory life.. A
typical balance is shown in the figure 8.2.3.

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 Fig 8.2.3
Mass balance for production of 1 Kg cement
Based on figure from Austrian BAT proposal 1996, Cembureau

Instruments required:

Conducting a material and energy balance would require apart from various parameters
available in the control panel, measurement of flows, dust concentrations and electrical
energy consumptions. The following instruments are suggested as minumum requirements;

No Parameter Purpose Instrument

1 Velocity To calculate gas flows Pitot tube with manometer
2 Static To measure pressure drops
pressure across various equipment such
as cyclones, bag filters, ESPs,
Mills etc
3 Dust To calculate powder loading, High vacuum sampler
concentration collection efficiency, material
losses etc.
4 Surface To calculate radiation losses Infra red thermometer
temperature
5 Power To calculate specific electrical Portable power analyser
energy consumption

Points to consider:

The plant has to be under stabilized condition so that the measurements taken are
representative of normal operating conditions. The number of measurements to be taken
depends upon the repeatability of the data. Since the temperature, pressure and flow rate are
always variable during operation, a little skill and patience are required to keep the error up a

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minimum. Since it becomes necessary to set up a measuring point at a place different from
the usual working place, consultation shall be held with a relevant party in advance taking the
safety of work into consideration, and the measurement shall be made in cooperation with
that party. Necessary sampling points if not available have to be provided.

What do we get out of it ?

Raw Mill Example

This example illustrates how a material and energy balance is to be carried out for a raw mill.
Under stable operating conditions the following were measured:

− Mill throughput by weigh feeder at the mill inlet

− Velocity measurements at various points for calculating flow
− Static pressures at various operating points
− Energy measurements by a portable power analyzer which directly measures kW
− Fan operating speed by tachometer

The fig. 8.2.4 represents the balance carried out for the raw mill circuit

Raw Mill circuit The

following
were the
outcomes
Kiln gases
290OC of the
69122 m 3 /hr balance
Bag filter To Raw
Grit
Separator Cyclone
meal Silo
− T
Grit rejects
h
Feed e
Raw Mill r
e
70 TPH
Dilution
DC fan
air CA fan DC fan
Efficiency – 44 %
i
s
CA fan Efficiency – 52 % 1,83,115 m3/hr @ Air
85,000 m3 /hr @
120O C 125OC Roots blower Lift h
165 mmWC pump
550 mmWC
140 kW
3600 m3/hr u
200 kW 5000 mmWC
1000 RPM 750 RPM 75 kW g
Fig. 8.2.4
e
leakage between mill outlet and CA fan inlet
− CA and DC fans are not operating in the best efficiency points resulting in poor
efficiencies (Efficiencies upto 80 % is possible by impeller change or fan
replacement)
− Air infiltration is observed in the bag house

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Necessary rectification and retrofitting can bring about a 20 % reduction in energy
consumption per ton of raw meal.

Samples of formats for undertaking material and energy balance are given in the next few
pages. However it would be desirable for each plant to make its own formats depending on
the depth of the balance and the nature of the plant.

Energy Efficiency Opportunities

§ This section includes practical tips, CPEE options checklists etc

Option to reduce CO2 .Reduction in CO2 emissions from the cement plant involves a two
pronged strategy.

1. By improving energy efficiency

2. By promotion of blended cements which can decrease the clinker percentage in
cement, thus reducing the process CO2 emissions

CP-EE in cement plants, starts from the software including operation control and process
control, then extends into the field of hardware including equipment improvement and
process improvement. Generally, CP-EE measures can be classified into the following three
steps:

Raw material process Clinker burning process Finish process

1) Management of
1) Prevention of stoppages
fineness
1) Selection of raw material due to failure
2) Management of
2) Management of fineness 2) Selection of fuel
First step optimum grinding
3) Management of optimum 3) Prevention of leak
media
grinding media

1) Use of industrial waste

1) Use of industrial waste material
(fly ash)
2) Replacement of fan rotor
3) Improvement of temperature
Second step
and pressure control system
4) Improvement of mixing &
homogenizing system
1) From wet process to dry
process
2) From ball and tube mills to
roller mill
Third step
1) Installation of
material (waste tires)
closed circuit dynamic
2) Recovery of preheater
separator)
exhaust gas
2) Installation of feed
3) Recovery of cooler
control system
exhaust gas (drying of raw
material and generation of
electricity)
4) Replacement of cooler
dust collector from
multiclone to E.P.
1) From wet process to dry
process
2) Conversion of fuel (from
existing to cheaper
alternatives)
3)From SP to NSP
4)Use of industrial waste
(slag and pozzolana)

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 5)From planetary and under
coolers to grate cooler

Capacity Utilisation

High capacity utilisation is very essential for achieving energy efficiency. This brings down
the fixed energy loss component of the specific energy consumption. Survey of excellent
energy efficient companies show that 80% of the companies attribute capacity utilisation as
one of the foremost reason for a major drop in specific energy consumption. Atleast 90%
capacity utilisation is to be ensured for achieving low specific energy consumption. Also
achieving high capacity utilization is under the control of plant personnel. Hence the first and
foremost step for an aspiring energy efficient unit should be on increasing capacity utilisation
and reduce the specific energy consumption.

Fine Tuning of Equipment

This is another opportunity for saving energy. On achieving high capacity utilisation, the fine
tuning of equipment should be taken up by the energy efficient plants. Various energy audit
studies reveal that ‘Fine-tuning’, if efficiently done can yield 3 to 10% of energy saving. The
greatest incentive for resorting to fine tuning is that it requires only marginal investment.

Technology Upgradation

But quantum jumps in energy saving can be achieved only by application of new
technologies/upgradation of existing technology. A list of energy efficient technologies are
given in Chapter 8.2.6.

CP-EE in a cement plant

10%-20% of electrical energy reduction has been achieved in a
cement plant by:
Raw meal mix design change
Elimination of run-on equipment
Finish Mill Optimization
Avoidance of air supply leakage
Installation of more efficient fan motors
Employees ’ Awareness
Power monitoring and targeting
Process Replacement Measures

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Energy Efficient technologies:

Technique Description Emission reduction/ energy

improvement
Process Control and Automated computer control may Typically 2.5-5%
Management Systems help to optimise the combustion
process and conditions
Raw Meal Homogenising Use of gravity-type homogenising Reduction power use (1.4-4 kWh/t
Systems silos clinker)
Conversion from Wet to Complex operation, leaving only Estimated at 2.2 GJ/t (increase of
Dry Process the structural parts intact power by about 10 kWh/t)
Conversion from dry to Four or five stage preheating Depending on original process. In
multi-stage preheater kiln reduces heat losses, and sometimes one example reduction from 3.9 to
reduces pressure drop 3.4 GJ/t
Conversion from dry to Increase of capacity, and lowering Depending on original process.
precalciner kiln specific fuel consumption Estimated at 12% (0.44 GJ/t)
Conversion from Cooler to Large capacity and efficient heat Reduction of 0.1-0.3 GJ/t (increase in
Grate Cooler recovery. power by 3 kWh/t)
Optimisation of Heat Heat recovery improved by Estimated at 0.5 GJ/t in the US, and
Recovery in Clinker reduction of excess air volume, 0.2 GJ/t in India
Cooler control of clinker bed depth and
new grates.
High efficiency Motors Variable speed drives, improved Estimated power savings ranging
and Drives control strategies and high- from 3 to 8%.
efficiency motors
Adjustable Speed Drives Reducing throttling and coupling Estimated at 10 kWh/t cement
losses by replacing fixed speed AC
motors
Efficient Grinding High-pressure mills (like the Estimated at 16-19 kWh/t (40-50%)
Technologies Horomill) has improved grinding
characteristics
High-efficiency Classifiers Material stays longer in the Estimated at 1.7-2.3 kWh/t cement
separator, leading to sharper (8%)
separation, thus reducing
overgrinding
Fluidised bed Kiln Rotary kiln replaced by stationary Fuel use of 2.9 to 3.35 GJ/t clinker
kiln leading to lower capital costs, (also lower NOx emissions)
wider variety of fuel use and lower
energy use
Advance Comminution Non-mechanical ‘milling’ Expected (theoretical) savings are
Technologies technologies as ultrasound. Not large
commercially available in coming
decades
Mineral Polymers Mineral polymers are made from Preliminary estimates suggests 5 to
alumino-silicates leaving calcium 10 times lower energy use and
oxide as the binding agent. emissions

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Case studies

MADRAS CEMEMTS LIMITED, INDIA

The plant achieved savings equivelent to 16.5% of the total energy cost by achieving the
bench marking figures for the cement industry.

Specific Electrical Energy Consumption : 69 Kwh/tonne of Cement Specific

Thermal Energy Consumption : 705 Kcal/kg Clinker

The major measures implemented during last three years include:

1 Installed new generation of MMD Crusher for limestone crushing. Power

consumption is 60% less than the conventio nal crusher.
2. Utlisation of hot gas to Raw mill and Coal mill from Kiln exit gas thereby saving
160 Kcal/ Kg. Clinker.
3. Effective utilization of hot gases from cooler to Cement mill. This is equivalent to
saving of 55 Kcal/ Kg clinker.
4. Up-gradation of Kiln and Cooler capacity improvement from 2350 to 3000 TPD by
modifying the top of cyclone diameter and introducing CIS/CFG system to cooler for
higher heat recuperation. This has saved 1.2 kWh/T of cement and 10 Kcal /Kg cl.
5. Up-gradation of Raw mill capacity from 180 TPH to 220 TPH by modifying the
classifier. This has saved about 2 Kwh / Tonne of cement.
6. Optimization of Cement mill with changes in the mill internals. This has saved about
4 Kwh/ Tonne of cement.
7. Installed Fuzzy Logic Software System for better process stability and increased
throughput
8. Installed Variable Frequency Drive (VFD) for cooler fans to save electrical energy.
9. Saved energy by optimizing process cooling water pump capacity.
10. Optimized DG Set operating voltage and frequency to 6.4 KV and 48 Hz
11. Optimized pressure setting of identified air compressor.
12. Replaced conventional chokes with energy efficient electronic chokes in fluorescent
lamps and filament indication lamps in control pane ls with LED lamps.
14. Reduced voltage drop in pump house MCC feeder by shifting capacitor bank from SS
to center.

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SONADIH CEMENT PLANT, INDIA

The plant incorporates the latest state-of-the-art technology comprising 5-stage preheater with
in- line precalciner and vertical roller mills for raw material and coal grinding. The cement
grinding system consists of a ball mill attached to roller press and hybrid classifier. The plant
employs the latest concepts in instrumentation, and is fully automatic with centralized
process control and operations equipment.

1. A wide range of measures as below have been adopted:

2. Proper raw mix composition for easy grindability and better burnability

3. Optimization of coal mix

4. Monitoring of process parameters and false air leakage, and optimization of process
parameters

5. Replacement of table liner and roller tyres of raw mills and coal mill at optimum wear

6. Elimination of dampers from DC drive fans

7. Use of variable speed control fan and belt drives by v/f, slip power recovery system
(SPRS) thyristor control devices for energy conservation.

8. Replacement of refractory at optimum wear to avoid radiation losses

9. Uninterrupted power supply to plant by running main grid and DG power grid in auto
parallel control

10. Burning waste oil emulsions in the kiln

Through these measure, the plant has been able to achieve specific power consumption of
63.5 kWh/ per tonne of clinker and a specific heat consumption of 730 kcal/kg of clinker

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GHG linkages

In the cement production process, carbon dioxide emissions can be grouped as “energy-
related”, referring to emissions that result from the combustion of fossil fuel, and “process-
related”, referring to the emissions from the decomposition of calcium carbonate. Studies
have shown that one ton of carbon dioxide gas is released into the atmosphere for every ton
of Portland cement which is made anywhere in the world. The only exceptions are so-called
'blended cements', using such ingredients as coal fly ash, where the CO2 emissions are
slightly suppressed, by a maximum of 10%-15%. Cement, (Portland cement), results from the
calcination of limestone (calcium carbonate) at very high temperatures of approximately
1450-1500 C, and silico-aluminous material according to the reaction

5CaCO3 + 2SiO 2 --> (3CaO,SiO 2 ) + (2CaO,SiO 2 ) + 5CO2

this means that the manufacture of 1 metric tonne of cement generates 1 metric tonne of
CO2 greenhouse gas.

Evaluating Carbon Dioxide Emissions due to energy savings

Evaluating Carbon Dioxide Emissions due to cement blending

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 The

efficiency scenario leads to energy savings at each step which can then be translated into
annual carbon reductions – a total of 22 kilotonnes of carbon or 10.4 kg C per tonne of
cement.

In the cement blending scenario there are no energy savings from efficiency improvements,
but because the clinker-to-cement ratio is benchmarked at 0.95, total cement output of 3.1 Mt
leads to an expected clinker production of 2.95 Mt. Since the plant operates with a 0.65
clinker-to-cement ratio, 0.95 Mt of clinker are “avoided”, saving 2,950 TJ of fossil fuels, or
62 kilotonnes C if fuel oil is used in the kiln 10 . Also, since 165 kg C per tonne are generated
through calcination, an additional 152 kilotonnes of carbon emissions are avoided. The
blending project avoids 214 kilotonnes of carbon emissions, or nearly 70 kg C per tonne of
cement. This is almost 10 times the total amount avoided by the efficiency project or 7 times
when taken on a per tonne of cement
basis.
This example demonstrates that blending cement can lead to significant carbon emission
reductions. These savings can be much larger than those that energy efficiency projects may
attain.

References

1.Natio nal Productivity Council- Energy Audit reports in Cement Industries.

2.Reports of Lawrence Berkley Laboratory
3. Web Sites: India Cements Ltd, Australian Cement Institute

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