INTRODUCTION TO FINISH MILLING SECTION MODULE

1) Brief Outline
Limestone
(72-75%)
Clay
(18-21%)

Pyro- Process/
Pre-Heater/
Kiln & Cooler
Grinding

Raw Meal
Iron Ore
(3-5%)
Sand
(1-4%)

Clinker
95%

+ Pozzolanic
Material/ PFA/
Slag/ Limestone
+ Gypsum (5%)
Blended Cement
- PPFA, GGBS, Masonry

+ Gypsum (5%)
OPC
(Ordinary Portland Cement)

There are 4 major materials to produce clinker which are limestone, clay, iron ore and
sand. The 4 materials are added in as proportional and ground to powder in the raw mill
before burn in the pyro-processing system [Preheater, kiln & Cooler].
The output product from the kiln is called Clinker which contains 4 major minerals:
C3S

Tricalcium silicate (Alite)

3CaO.SiO2

C2S

Dicalcium silicate (Belite)

2CaO.SiO2

C3A

Tricalcium aluminate

3CaO.Al2O3

C4AF Tetracalcium aluminoferrite 4CaO.Al2O3.Fe2O3

A) Ordinary Portland Cement (OPC)
OPC is produced from 95% of clinker and 5% of gypsum (according to MS522 standard,
OPC can contain 5% of other pozzolanic materials such as limestone, PFA, volcanic ash
and slag etc which has hydraulic properties).

Prepared by: K.H.Lam

Properties of YTL Perak-Hanjoong Cement

B) Blended Cement (BC)

Blended cement is produce of from clinker, gypsum and pozzolanic materials as additive
in proportion according to standards. The pozzolanic materials are:

Slag
Pulverized Fuel Ash (PFA)
Volcanic ash
Limestone
Silicone dioxide etc.

The advantages of production of blended cements are as below:

Cost saving by reducing the usage of clinker.
More environmental friendly (normally the additives are industrial wasteand
difficult to handle).
Heat of hydration is low.
Higher late strength (>28 days).
The disadvantages of blended cements:
Lower setting time (cause delay in demoulding).
Additives might contain hazardous compounds.
Quantities are of low quality
2) Gypsum
Gypsum (CaSO4.2H2O) is added to grind with clinker in the cement mills to produce
OPC and blended cement. The function of gypsum in the cement is to delay the setting
time of the cement or in other word it allows the mason/ individual to mix before
hardening.
Cement mill ex-mill temperature must be well controlled below 130C, this is because if
the temperature exceeds 130C, CaSO4.2H2O will become CaSO4.1/2H2O which will
become unbalance and will cause false setting to the cement produced.
The addition of gypsum must be in optimal quantity. This is because excessive will cause
very slow setting time and also increase the production cost while too little will cause fast
setting and affect the cement or concrete strength.

Prepared by: K.H.Lam

Properties of YTL Perak-Hanjoong Cement

3) Power Consumption
The control of the power consumption is very important in cement milling. The power
consumption must be well controlled and utilized to produce good quality cement with
minimal production cost.
The calculation of power consumption is the total power consumption per tonnage:
Total Daily Production (TPD)

=Unit/ tonne

Total Device Power Consumption (kWh unit)

4) Costing
The major cost of cement production comes from the kiln firing fuel and the power
consumptions. The combination cost for the both consumption will be about 65% of the
total cost of cement production. Below are the of the break down production cost:
Fuel
=
Power Cost =
Repairs and
Maintenance =
Others
=
(Labour, Materials,
Overhead)

30%
35%

~RM 24/ MT
~RM 27/ MT

20%
15%

~RM 16/ MT
~RM 13/ MT

Total

100%

~RM 84/ MT

*The above figures are examples, for real figures please refer to Production Department

Below are the power consumption details:

Clinker Stage
Finish Mill Stage
Packing Plant
Others

= 55 units
= 44 units
= 7 units
= 9 units

= 48%
= 38%
= 6%
= 8%

Total

= 115 units

=100%

*The above figures are examples, for real figures please refer to Production Department

Prepared by: K.H.Lam

Properties of YTL Perak-Hanjoong Cement