THE CEMENT MANUFACTURING
PROCESS
Prof. Dr Elshafie Ahmed Gad
Faculty of Applied Science
Chemistry Dept.
Portland Cement
Portland cement is made by mixing substances
containing CaCO
3
with substances containing
SiO
2
, Al
2
O
3
, Fe
2
O
3
and heating them to a clinker
which is subsequently ground to powder and
mixed with 2-6 % gypsum
Raw Materials Necessary for
Portland Cement Manufacture
Must Provide the Following
Calcium
Silica
Alumina
Iron
Calcium Iron Silica Alumina Sulfate
Alkali waste
Aragonite
Calcite
Cement-kiln
dust
Cement rock
Chalk
Clay
Fullers earth
Limestone
Marble
Marl
Seashells
Shale
Slag
Blast-furnace
flue dust
Clay
Iron ore
Mill scale
Ore washings
Pyrite cinders
Shale
Calcium silicate
Cement rock
Clay
Fly ash
Fullers earth
Limestone
Loess
Marl
Ore washings
Quartzite
Rice-hull ash
Sand
Sandstone
Shale
Slag
Traprock
Aluminum-ore
refuse
Bauxite
Cement rock
Clay
Copper slag
Fly ash
Fullers earth
Granodiorite
Limestone
Loess
Ore washings
Shale
Slag
Staurolite
Anhydrite
Calcium
sulfate
Gypsum
PRODUCTION STEPS
1) Raw materials are crushed, screemed & stockpiled.
2) Raw materials are mixed with definite proportions to
obtain raw mix. They are mixed either dry (dry mixing)
or by water (wet mixing).
3) Prepared raw mix is fed into the rotary kiln.
4) As the materials pass through the kiln their temperature
is rised upto 1300-1600 C. The process of heating is
named as burning. The output is known as clinker
which is 0.15-5 cm in diameter.
5) Clinker is cooled & stored.
6) Clinker is ground with gypsum (3-6%) to adjust setting
time.
7) Packing & marketting.
Wet process
Dry process
Dry process with preheating tower
Quarry
Grinding
Burning
Grinding,
Storage,
Packing,
Dispatch
THE CEMENT
MANUFACTURING PROCESS
THE CEMENT MANUFACTURING PROCESS
1. BLASTING : The raw materials that are used to manufacture cement (mainly limestone
and clay) are blasted from the quarry.
Quarry face
1. BLASTING 2. TRANSPORT
3. CRUSHING AND TRANSPORTATION : The raw materials, after crushing, are
transported to the plant by conveyor. The plant stores the materials before they are
homogenized.
quarry
3. CRUSHING & TRANSPORTATION
2. TRANSPORT : The raw materials are loaded into a dumper.
crushing
conveyor
dumper
storage at
the plant
loader
THE CEMENT MANUFACTURING PROCESS
1. RAW GRINDING : The raw materials are very finely ground in order to produce the raw mix.
1. RAW GRINDING
Raw grinding and burning
2. BURNING
2. BURNING : The raw mix is preheated before it goes into the kiln, which is heated by a flame that
can be as hot as 2000 C. The raw mix burns at 1500 C producing clinker which, when it leaves the
kiln, is rapidly cooled with air fans. So, the raw mix is burnt to produce clinker : the basic material
needed to make cement.
conveyor
Raw mix
kiln
cooling
preheating
clinker
storage at
the plant
Raw mill
THE CEMENT MANUFACTURING PROCESS
1.GRINDING : The clinker and the gypsum are very finely ground giving a pure cement. Other
secondary additives and cementitious materials can also be added to make a blended cement.
1. GRINDING
Grinding, storage, packing, dispatch
2. STORAGE, PACKING, DISPATCH
2. STORAGE, PACKING, DISPATCH :The cement is stored in silos before being dispatched either
in bulk or in bags to its final destination.
clinker
storage
Gypsum and the secondary additives are added
to the clinker.
silos
dispatch
bags
Finish grinding
Quarry
1. Stone is first reduced to 125 mm (5 in.)
size, then to 20 mm (3/4 in.), and stored.
4 materials 225tph
limestone 88%,
sandstone 5%,
kaolin/clay 5%,
mill scale 2%
Raw mill
2. Raw materials are ground to powder and blended.
Or 2. Raw materials are ground, mixed with water to form
slurry, and blended.
Kiln
3. Burning changes raw mix chemically into cement clinker.
REACTIONS IN THE KILN
~100C free water evaporates.
~150-350C loosely bound water is lost from clay.
~350-650Cdecomposition of claySiO
2
&Al
2
O
3
~600Cdecomposition of MgCO
3
MgO&CO
2
(evaporates)
~900Cdecomposition of CaCO
3
CaO&CO
2
(evaporates)
~1250-1280Cliquid formation & start of compound formation.
~1280Cclinkering begins.
~1400-1500Cclinkering
~100Cclinker leaves the kiln & falls into a cooler.
Sometimes the burning process of raw materials is performed in two stages:
preheating upto 900C & rotary kiln
4. Clinker is ground with gypsum into portland
cement and shipped.
Clinker
Gypsum
Portland cement is composed of four major
oxides (CaO, SiO
2
, Al
2
O
3
, Fe
2
O
3
90%) &
some minor oxides. Minor refers to the
quantity not importance.
Chemical composition of
Ordinary Portland cement
CHEMICAL COMPOSITION OF OP.C.
Oxide Common Name Abbreviation Approx. Amount (%)
CaO Lime C 60-67
SiO
2
Silica S 17-25
Al
2
O
3
Alumina A 3-8
Fe
2
O
3
Iron-oxide F 0.5-6
MgO Magnesia M 0.1-4
Na
2
O Soda N
0.2-1.3
K
2
O Potassa K
SO
3
Sulfuric Anhydride 1-3
CaOlimestone
SiO
2
-Al
2
O
3
Clay
Fe
2
O
3
Impurity in Clays
SO
3
from gypsumnot from the clinker
S
COMPOUND COMPOSITION OF
O.P.C. (OR CLINKER)
Oxides interact with each other in the kiln to
form more complex products (compounds).
Basically, the major compounds of O. P.C. can
be listed as:
Name Chemical Formula Abbreviations
Tri Calcium Silicate 3CaO.SiO
2
C
3
S
Di Calcium Silicate 2CaO.SiO
2
C
2
S
Tri Calcium Aluminate 3CaO.Al
2
O
3
C
3
A
Tetra Calcium Alumino
Ferrite
4CaO.Al
2
O
3
.Fe
2
O
3
C
4
AF
Microscopic Images of Clinker
Alite
Belite
Aluminate
Ferrite
Types of Portland Cement
I Normal
II Moderate sulfate resistance
III High early strength
IV Low heat of hydration
V High sulfate resistance
ASTM C 150 (AASHTO M 85)
ASTM Type & Name
of P.C.
Average Compound
Composition
C
3
S C
2
S C
3
A C
4
AF
Type I - O.P.C. 49 25 12 8 General Purpose
Type II - Modified 46 29 6 12
For Moderate Heat of
Hydration
Type III - High Early
Strength 56 15 12 8
C
3
S&C
3
A increased, C
2
S
decreased
Type IV - Low Heat
P.C. 30 46 5 13 C
2
S increased
Type V - Sulfate
Resistant P.C. 43 36 4 12
Limit on C
3
A5%,
2C
3
A+C
4
AF25%
