1. INTRODUCTION....................................................................................................................

2. BALL MILL OPERATING IN CLOSED CIRCUIT WITH A HIGH EFFICIENCY

SEPARATOR...............................................................................................................................

3. ROLLER PRESSES.................................................................................................................

4. ROLLER PRESS OPERATING AS PREGRINDER FOR A BALL MILL...........................

5. ROLLER PRESS OPERATING AS SEMI-FINISH GRINDER BEFORE A BALL MILL..

5.1 ADJUSTMENT OF THE PARTICLE SIZE DISTRIBUTION OF THE FINAL PRODUCT......................
6. FINISH GRINDING WITH A ROLLER PRESS OPERATING IN CLOSED CIRCUIT
WITH A SEPARATOR................................................................................................................

7. CEMENT GRINDING IN A VERTICAL ROLLER MILL....................................................

7.1 ENERGY CONSUMPTION.......................................................................................................
8. COMPARISON OF THE DIFFERENT MILL SYSTEMS.....................................................

9. FINAL REMARKS..................................................................................................................

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1. INTRODUCTION
Until around 10 years ago cement grinding almost exclusively took place in ball mills
operating in closed circuit with a separator, or for older installations even in open circuit.
However, during the last decade new technologies for cement grinding have been introduced.

As a result of the introduction of these new technologies, like for instance, the high pressure
roller presses and the vertical roller mills for cement grinding, numerous possibilities for a
layout of a modern cement grinding plant can now be taken into consideration when
designing the installation.

In the following, a review on some of these different cement grinding systems will be given,
and a comparison of their respective merits will be made.

The grinding systems to be evaluated, covering most of the cases seen in practice, will be the
following:

· Conventional closed circuit system with a ball mill and a high efficiency separator.
· Pregrinding with a roller press and subsequent finish grinding in a ball mill.
· Semi-finish grinding with a roller press operating in closed circuit with a separator
and finish grinding in a ball mill.
· Finish grinding with a roller press operating in closed circuit with a separator.
· Finish grinding in a vertical roller mill.

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2. BALL MILL OPERATING IN CLOSED CIRCUIT WITH A HIGH
EFFICIENCY SEPARATOR
This system, as shown in principle in Enclosure No. 1, may not be considered to represent the
latest technology. The system, however, has for decades been the most common cement
grinding system in the industry, and development has currently taken place in order to reduce
the cost for operation as well as investment.

In particular the following have been subjects for attention and current development:

· The separator, which in new installations always will be of the high efficiency type. An
example of such a high efficiency separator, the FLS SEPAX separator, is shown in
Enclosure No. 2.
· The intermediate diaphragm, being of modern design, should admit for using optimum
grinding media sizes in the fine grinding compartment. Further the diaphragm should
have provision for adjustable transport capacity suitable for the specific application, and
finally, the diaphragm should have a long lifetime. An example of a diaphragm that
fulfils these requirements is the newly redesigned FLS STANEX diaphragm shown in
Enclosure No. 3.
· The mill proper is today designed to operate with an adequate air flow at a minimum
differential pressure. An example of a modern ball mill for cement grinding, the FLS UMS
mill shown in Enclosure No. 4.

As mentioned previously, this conventional system may not represent the latest technology.
However, it is a very reliable system, easy to operate, and provides adequate cement quality
characteristics. Further, the investment cost per produced ton of cement for a cement grinding
plant of this conventional type will usually be somewhat lower than for the more modern
cement grinding installations described in the following.

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3. ROLLER PRESSES
In the mid-eighties the roller press was introduced to the cement industry. It has since been
used in different process applications which enable a large reduction in specific energy
consumption. The various process applications will be described and evaluated in the
following, but first a presentation of a modern roller press of the latest generation will be
made.

Since the first roller presses were taken into operation in the cement industry around ten years
ago, many cement manufacturers have been, and some still are, reluctant to include a roller
press in their projects for cement grinding plants. This is in spite of the energy saving which
can be obtained. The reason for this being a rather poor reliability of many of the roller
presses of the first generation.

A number of mechanical problems were encountered. These were problems relating to roller
bearings, hydraulic cylinders, and the drive arrangement including the transmission gears.
However, the most serious and persistent problem was the low durability of the wear resistant
roller surfaces.

The first roller presses had an 8 - 10 mm thick welded hardfacing with hardness between 50
and 60 Rockwell C. In clinker pressing this means a typical surface life of 4000 - 10000
hours, provided the wear progresses evenly. However, lower surface life may result from
certain types of clinker and slag causing high wear. Further, if metallic objects enter the
machine, very high local pressure may act on the surface and generate cracks or peeling off.

To address these problems, various solutions have been tested. A higher degree of hardness
was not the best solution, because the brittleness of the surface increased, resulting in higher
probability of crack formation.

Since many cement manufacturers have requested a wear surface that will last a long time
without repairs, other solutions such as bandages, studs, and wear segments have been
developed.

A few years ago it was decided within the F.L.Smidth - Fuller Engineering Group to develop
a new generation of roller presses based on the experience from the previous years of
operation.

This new roller press, the HRP (Hydraulic Roller Press), is designed in a way that permits the
choice between two different solutions regarding roller surfaces.

1. A conventional welded roller surface made according to the latest developments within
welding technology.
Repair and maintenance welding takes place with the rollers remaining in the machine,
according to special procedures depending on the choice of welding materials and the wear
rate, which is experienced in each individual case.

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2. A detachable cast iron wear surface consisting of wear segments that are fixed to the
roller body by clamps. (Enclosure No. 5). Each roller is protected by typically 6 - 12
segments. The segments come in various sizes depending on the size of the roller and weigh
up to 1450 kg.

The machine is designed so that segments can be replaced without removing the roller.

The segments allow a greater depth of wear than is possible with the welded surface, so a
longer service period between change of wear surface is obtained. Depending on the
application, the life of the segments ranges between 12000 and 20000 hours, two to three
times that of a traditional welded surface.

The use of clamped on segments means that the rollers have a relatively high diameter/width
ratio to allow space for the clamps. The HRP Roller Press has a diameter/width ratio of 1.8 to
2.7, the smallest machine having the largest ratio.

The rollers have amply sized spherical roller bearings designed for oil lubrication. The use of
oil instead of grease allows better control of the lubrication. The oil is filtered and cooled (or
heated, if necessary) before entering the bearings, to ensure the best possible lubricating
conditions.

If processing hot clinker, the rollers may have to be provided with a water cooling bore to
attain optimum conditions for the bearings.

Due to these design features, the estimated, L10, life of the bearings ranges from 50000 to
70000 hours.

The drive system comprises two shaft-mounted planetary gear boxes interconnected by a
new, patented, sturdy and rigid torque arm system. This drive system will ensure minimum
vibrations and torque variations during operation. (Enclosure No. 6).

The roller assemblies are mounted in a sturdy frame consisting of a U-shaped section and an
L-shaped section. The L-shaped section is fixed to the other section by heavy pins that can
easily be removed when opening the frame. The rollers can then be pulled out for
maintenance.

In short, the HRP Roller Press meets the cement manufacturers requirements due to its main
features:

· Replaceable wear segments or repairable welded surfaces.

· Sturdy and reliable mechanical design.
· Easy access and maintenance.

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4. ROLLER PRESS OPERATING AS PREGRINDER FOR A BALL
MILL
A simplified flow diagram for this system is shown in Enclosure No. 7. This system is
typically preferred for upgrading of existing ball mills.

The system comprises a roller press module and a ball mill, usually operating in closed circuit
with a high efficiency separator.

The roller press will usually be arranged for recycling of pressed material (flakes) to the
press. For this purpose a special overflow box is installed below the press. The principle of
this overflow box appears from Enclosure No. 8.

The bottom of the overflow box is a short conveyor belt for extraction of roller press product
to the ball mill. The overflow material, which in any case will be the least efficiently pressed
material, will be recycled to the press for repeated pressing.

A roller press operating as a pregrinder for a ball mill must always be designed for a
throughput capacity somewhat larger than the expected output capacity of the grinding
system. The feed rate to the ball mill may then be adjusted either by varying the speed of the
rollers or by varying the flake recycling rate. Usually the latter will be the preferred mode of
operation. In this case the full capacity of the press may always be utilised, and a constant
speed AC-motor will be adequate.

The energy saving, which can be obtained by installing a roller press as a pregrinder before a
ball mill, is dependent on various clinker characteristics, such as porosity and chemical and
mineralogical composition. However, energy consumption and savings, as indicated in
Enclosure No. 9, can be considered typical.

The curves in the diagram illustrate that with a circulation factor over the roller press of 1.5 -
2, corresponding to a specific energy consumption of around 4 kWh/t for the press, the total
saving of energy will be about 4 kWh/t. Larger recycling rates and correspondingly larger
energy consumption of the press will not - in general, result in any significant additional
saving in the plant’s total specific energy consumption. Further, a large flake recycling rate
will call for a larger press, not just because of the required larger throughput capacity, but
also because the circumferential velocity of the rollers will have to be reduced when the flake
recycling rate is increased. This in order to maintain a stable operation without severe
vibrations and torque variations.

So, most roller presses in pregrinding mode operate with a circulation factor of 1.5 to 2 since
higher recirculation would be unreasonably costly, and impair the stability of the operation of
the press.

From the diagram in Enclosure No. 9 it further appears, that when the press is operating with
the typical 4 kWh/t, the specific energy consumption of the ball mill will be 8 - 9 kWh/t
lower than for a ball mill operating in conventional closed circuit mode. It means that if a
roller press is installed as a pregrinder before an existing conventional ball mill, an increase
of the capacity of 30 - 35 % should be obtainable.

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5. ROLLER PRESS OPERATING AS SEMI-FINISH GRINDER
BEFORE A BALL MILL
As mentioned above, the utilisation of the energy consumed and the stability of the operation
are both impaired when the material recirculation is increased over a pregrinding roller press.
The reason is that a larger amount of fine material is recycled to the press. In order to
overcome these problems, it is necessary to install a separator after the press so that only the
coarser particles are recycled, and the finer particles are passed to final product or to a ball
mill for finish grinding.

An interesting example of this system is shown in EnclosureNo. 10. The separator shown in
this diagram is a two-stage SEPAX separator developed particularly for this application. The
features of this new type of separator appear from Enclosure No. 11.

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The separator consists of two modules:

· A bottom module with built-in disagglomerator and high cut-size separator for coarse
separation, i.e. a grit separator.
· A top module with low cut-size separator for fine separation.

The product from the roller press, which mainly consists of agglomerates (flakes) of finer
particles, is disagglomerated in the bottom module, and the coarser part of the material is
rejected by the grit separator and recycled to the roller press. The finer particles are carried
upwards to the top separator where the final separation takes place after mixing with the mill
discharge material.

This separator system in the roller press/ball mill configuration as shown in Enclosure No. 10
offers the following advantages:

· Disagglomeration, dispersion, and separation take place in one unit, resulting in a simple
layout with only one fan.
· Coarse reject from the grit separator ensures high roller press performance.
· The processing in the top separator of the fines from the grit separator prevents over-
grinding in the ball mill.
· The reject from the top separator is suitable for grinding with small grinding media (in a
one-compartment ball mill), which ensures optimum ball mill performance.

The two-stage separation principle results not only in optimum operational conditions for the
mill and the roller press, but also for the separating system itself. The coarse separation and
the final separation are two separate processes, but carried out with a common air flow, which
further is rather low since the high efficiency top separator is only loaded with a minor
fraction of the roller press product.

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F.L.Smidth Co. and Fuller Company have sold a number of cement grinding plants of this
concept. Some of those plants are in operation grinding different types of cement. Typical
performance figures from two of these plants can be given as follows:

Plant A B

Output, t/h 114 144 207

Cement quality OPC OPC OPC
Blaine, m2/kg 336 396 338
Roller Press, kWh/t 9.9 12.6 8.6
Ball Mill, kWh/t 12.7 21.4 15.0
Total, kWh/t 29.3 42.4 29.0
Exp. CCG, kWh/t 36 47 37

Notes to the table:

The total specific energy consumption (Total kWh/t) includes roller press, ball mill,
separators, and separator fans.

Exp. CCG, kWh/t is the expected specific energy consumption for a conventional closed
circuit mill system grinding clinker of average grindability to the given Blaine value.

5.1 Adjustment of the Particle Size Distribution of the Final Product

As the final product from the top separator consists of a mix of fines from the roller press and
fines from the ball mill, the two-stage SEPAX separator can be used for adjustment of the
particle size distribution for the cement. When running the top separator at a higher cut-size
(low rotor speed) a higher proportion of the particles ground in the roller press is passed
directly to the fines. Consequently, a smaller amount of rejected particles is sent to the ball
mill resulting in a correspondingly higher fineness of the material from the ball mill. As the
final product now consists of a mix of relatively coarse and relatively fine particle fractions,
the result is a flatter particle size distribution.

A systematic scan of the circulating factor for the ball mill has been carried out for OPC
cement at a Blaine value of 300 m2/kg. The results are given in Enclosure No. 12. As the
circulation factor for the ball mill is decreased (right to left) at decreasing rotor speed, the
sieve residue on the 32 m Alpine sieve is increased from 12.6 % to 15.0 % and 17.4 %
respectively. As seen, the result for water demand to normal consistency is a decrease from
30.5 % to 29.0 % and 28.5 % respectively. At even lower ball mill circulating factor the
water demand could have been reduced further.

It is thus demonstrated, that a semi-finish grinding system with a two-stage separator makes it
quite easy to adjust the particle size distribution to suit the demands of the cement users.

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6. FINISH GRINDING WITH A ROLLER PRESS OPERATING IN
CLOSED CIRCUIT WITH A SEPARATOR
In a mill system with the roller press operating as a pregrinder, the press will consume around
15 % of the energy used for grinding. In a semi-finish system the corresponding number is 30
- 40 %. In a finish grinding system 100 % of the grinding takes place in the roller press.

Enclosure No. 13 shows a grinding system with a roller press arranged for finish grinding
operating in closed circuit with a two-stage SEPAX separator.

In a finish grinding system, grinding to a Blaine value of 300 - 400 m2/kg, the circulation
factor will be in the range of 6 - 10, which is considerably higher than for the systems
described previously. Further, the fineness of the disagglomerated roller press product fed to
the separator is rather coarse, often with 40 - 50 % of the particles larger than 0.5 mm, and
these coarse particles have turned out to be extremely abrasive.

Obviously, these high circulation factors and the coarse and very abrasive particles in the
separator feed puts the separator under a heavy load. This is a case where the two-stage
SEPAX separator, shown in the version for finish grinding in Enclosure No. 14, will prove its
ability.

The feed from the roller press is fed to the built-in disagglomerator of the low speed vertical
impact type at the top of the grit separator. (Enclosure No. 15). The grit separator is
extensively wear protected, and since it is a grit separator, it can operate with a rather high
material to air ratio of approx. 4 kg material/m3 of air. In the grit separator, the coarse and
most abrasive particles will be rejected and recycled to the roller press. Hence, the top
separator, which must operate with a high speed for fine separation, is relieved from the load
of that part of the roller press product. So, the top separator will operate under optimum
conditions.

Further, since the two separation processes take place in series, but with a common air flow,
this will be lower than for any conventional one-stage separation system.

So far, there are only a few cement grinding plants of this type in operation, so typical
performance figures from industrial operation are somewhat scanty. However, based on semi-
industrial tests typical expected performance figures for a medium size installation can be
given as follows:

Production, t/h: 70
Cement quality: OPC
Blaine, m3/kg: 320
Roller Press, kWh/t 16.8
Separator + fan, kWh/t: 6.2
Total, kWh/t 23.5

As far as energy consumption is concerned, the finish grinding roller press system appears to
be quite attractive. However, the system seems to have a couple of drawbacks compared to
the other more conventional systems described previously:

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A roller press operating in finish grinding mode producing an OPC cement with a Blaine
value of around 320 m2/kg will typically operate with a circulation factor of 7 - 8. This will
require roller presses with a correspondingly high throughput capacity. With the roller presses
available on the market today, the max. capacity of a finish grinding installation must be
considered to be less than 150 t/h.

The quality of a cement produced in a finish grinding roller press system may not be inferior
to the quality of a cement produced in a conventional closed circuit grinding system, but, due
to the more narrow particle size distribution and the lower temperature in the grinding circuit,
it may very well be different from the cement quality the cement users are familiar with.

7. CEMENT GRINDING IN A VERTICAL ROLLER MILL

For decades vertical roller mills have been used for grinding of cement raw materials, and it
is very well known, that for this application the vertical roller mill is much more efficient
than a ball mill. Hence, it became evident also to develop the vertical roller mill for cement
grinding.

This development started more than 15 years ago, mostly by Japanese machinery
manufacturers, and so far Onoda-Kobe has been the most successful with the OK-Mill. Today
several OK-Mills are in operation with capacities of more than 3000 kW and producing up to
around 165 t/h.

A typical flow diagram for a cement grinding installation with an OK-Mill is shown in
Enclosure No. 16. The mill proper is shown in Enclosure No. 17.

The manufacturing and marketing of the OK-Mill is now licensed to F.L.Smidth and Fuller.

It is characteristic for vertical roller mills that the energy input to the material per overrolling
is small, for which reason a large number of passes are required to obtain the necessary
specific energy input to the material. This leads to a very high internal material circulation
factor, in the order of 15 - 25.

High circulation factors invariably lead to steep particle size distribution curves, if the
separation process is efficient. It has therefore been necessary to adapt special measures to
decrease the slope of the particle size distribution curve, in order to get a water to cement
ratio in concrete which is not higher than what applies to ball mill ground cement. The above
mentioned process requirement has been addressed in the design of the OK-Mill.

The grinding track has an upwards curved shape which ensures a certain minimum amount of
material under the rollers. The grinding table is further at the periphery equipped with an
adjustable dam ring which permits alteration of the thickness of the grinding bed within
certain limits. By using a higher dam ring, the material will receive more than one over-
rolling before leaving the grinding table, resulting in a lower circulation factor via the
separator and thus a flatter grain size distribution curve.

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Another way to influence the grain size distribution is to alter the grinding pressure. The
higher the pressure, the higher the energy input per over-rolling, and the lower the circulation
factor, and consequently the lower the inclination of the particle size distribution curve.

Further, the grain size distribution curve can be influenced by altering the airflow through the
mill. Less mill ventilation will flatten the grain size distribution curve.

By these measures, it is possible to obtain particle size distribution curves similar to those
obtained in a conventional system with a ball mill operating in closed circuit with a high
efficiency separator. Enclosure No. 18.

The strength development of cement as well as the water demand in concrete is influenced by
the degree of de-watering of the gypsum. As the vertical roller mill is much more energy
efficient than a ball mill, the amount of grinding heat is less, and it becomes more difficult to
obtain the required de-watering of the gypsum. However, in a mill circuit with a vertical
roller mill, the mill vent air can be recycled to the mill in order to keep the grinding heat in
the mill, and in this way obtain the best possible degree of de-watering of the gypsum.

7.1 Energy Consumption

For a cement grinding plant designed for a capacity of 150 t/h of OPC cement with a Blaine
value of 320 m2/kg, the following typical specific energy consumption can be expected:

Vertical roller mill, kWh/t: 19.0

Separator, kWh/t: 0.3
Fan, kWh/t: 6.0
Total, kWh/t 25.3

For vertical roller mills grinding cement raw materials, the wear rate is sometimes quite high,
resulting in service life for the wear parts of less than one year. One might expect, that clinker
would be even worse. However, from several years of practical operation it appears, that the
wear rate when grinding Portland cement is remarkably low, resulting in a service life of
about 1 - 2 years for the table and two years for the rollers. The capacity of the mill does not
deteriorate during this period.

8. COMPARISON OF THE DIFFERENT MILL SYSTEMS

When comparing different grinding systems, some of the most interesting figures to look into
are, of coarse, the investment costs and the energy consumption.

The following table indicates relative figures for total energy consumption as well as
estimated investment costs on a turn-key basis. The conventional system with a ball mill
operating in closed circuit with a high efficiency separator is chosen as the base-line (100 %).

The systems numbered 1 to 5 in the table are the following:

System No 1:

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 Conventional system with a ball mill operating in closed circuit with a high efficiency
separator.

System No. 2:
Roller press as pregrinder and ball mill with high efficiency separator.

System No. 3:
Semi-finish grinding with roller press, two-stage separator and ball mill.

System No. 4:
Finish grinding with roller press and two-stage separator.’

System No. 5:
Finish grinding in vertical roller mill.

System No. Energy Consumption Investment on T-K Basis

1 100 100
2 88 117
3 78 129
4 69 115
5 75 124

The indicated relative costs of investment on a turn-key basis may vary somewhat, since these
figures are influenced by local conditions such as, the degree of local manufacture and cost
for erection and civil construction.

Comments on the different grinding systems can be given as follows:

The conventional system with a simple ball mill and a separator has the highest energy
consumption, but offers the lowest investment cost. The system has proven its reliability over
decades. It is easy to operate. This system can be offered for capacities of up to 200 t/h of
OPC cement.

The system with a roller press operating as a pregrinder before a ball mill has a lower energy
consumption, but at a higher cost of investment. Due to the initial problems with the first
generation of roller presses this system has, so far, had a lower reliability than the simple
closed circuit system. However, with the new generation of roller presses an improved
performance can be expected. A grinding installation of this type can be offered for capacities
of more than 250 t/h of OPC cement.

The semi-finish system with roller press, two-stage separator and ball mill has an even lower
energy consumption, but at a higher cost. The reliability can be expected to be similar to the
reliability of the system with the roller press operating as a pregrinder. The max. capacity of a
system of this type may be in the range of 300 - 350 t/h of OPC cement.

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The finish grinding system with a roller press and a two-stage separator has the lowest energy
consumption of all, and an investment cost which is not too excessive. This technology,
however, is still rather new and unproven. The quality of the cement may be somewhat
different from the qualities the cement users so far have been used to, and the max. capacity
of this type of system, with the sizes of roller presses actually available, will hardly be larger
than around 150 t/h.

The vertical roller mill system has an energy consumption as for the semi-finish system, and
the investment cost is around the same. During several years of operation the reliability of the
system has appeared to be high. However, the max. capacity of this system, with the sizes of
roller mills available today, is around 160 t/h of OPC cement. It may be argued, that the real
scope of ability of the vertical roller mill for cement grinding will be a situation when wet
additives like limestone, puzzolana or slag are to be interground with the clinker.

9. FINAL REMARKS
In the above, five different grinding systems have been described and evaluated in order to
give an outline of the technologies actually available for cement grinding.

The five systems each have their respective merits. For some of the systems the investment is
lower than for others. Some of the systems have a lower energy consumption than others.
Some represent a more well proven technology than others. Some of the systems may be
designed for a very high output capacity, while other systems have a lower maximum
capacity.

It is not possible generally and definitely to conclude which of the systems is the best. It will
depend on a number of conditions, which may apply specifically for an actual project, like for
instance cost of energy per kWh, required output capacity, experience of mill operators, type
of cement to be produced, budget available, and many more.

The decision on the type of cement grinding plant to be included in a new project, will thus
depend on an evaluation of the conditions applying for the specific project.

The above is intended to provide a survey of the possibilities, which might be taken into
consideration when preparing a project for a new cement grinding installation.

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