Cement Kiln Chemistry 1.

3 Variability

Cement Kiln Process Chemistry

Module 1. Cement kiln energy efficiency and productivity.
1.3 Variability

Cement companies invest a significant amount of capital and effort

to reduce or minimise the range of variation of their kiln feed.

Characterisation of raw material deposits by geological

surveys and core drilling.

Capture of the core drilling and geological information in

block models of raw materials and quarries

Taking the correct proportions of the different materials

through a common or separate crushers.

Passing the material through a PGNAA analyser to

monitor the composition.
Shale

Limestone
Homogenising the material on a blending bed.

Crusher
PGNAA

Correcting individual oxide compositions with

additives.

Grinding these together into kiln feed in a raw

mill.

Homogenising the material in a blending silo.

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Cement Kiln Chemistry 1.3 Variability

Clinker quality control and minimising variation in quality are a major justification for
these efforts. However, it is difficult to quantify the quality benefits which these efforts
deliver.

The FLS methodology for determining heat of clinker formation provides a method of
quantifying the benefits in terms of kiln thermal energy consumption. In my example
clinker the heat of formation was calculated to be 1735 kJ/kg clinker.

Step 1 – decomposition of raw minerals = 2187 kJ/kg

Step 2 – formation of clinker minerals = -452 kJ/kg
1735 kJ/kg

This is not the thermal energy consumption of a cement kiln. Even the most thermally
efficient, modern cement kilns consume 2900 kJ/kg clinker. The thermal efficiency with
respect to clinker formation using my example would be:
1735/2900 = 59.8%

At least 40% of the thermal energy consumption of a cement kiln is consumed by the
losses from the kiln, in the preheater exhaust, cooler excess air, the hot clinker and the
radiation from the shell of the preheater, kiln and cooler.

Statistical process control (SPC) tells us that variation in the cement manufacturing
process is inevitable. The process involves mixing variable raw materials, firing the kilns
with fuels which themselves exhibit variability, etc. Minimising this variability is the
reason for all the proportioning, blending and on-line analysis investments. Best practice
for kiln feed variability is to reduce the standard deviation of kiln feed LSF to less than
1%.

If in my example the kiln feed LSF was 1% higher then the heat of clinker formation is
calculated to rise by 15 kJ/kg clinker to 1750 kJ/kg clinker.

Step 1 – decomposition of raw minerals = 2200 kJ/kg

Step 2 – formation of clinker minerals = -450 kJ/kg
1750 kJ/kg

As a cement kiln is at best 60% thermally efficient this must be multiplied by 1.67 to
estimate the impact on kiln thermal energy consumption.

1750 * 1.67 = 2926 kJ/kg clinker

I.e. an increase in thermal energy consumption of 26 kJ/kg clinker.

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Cement Kiln Chemistry 1.3 Variability

Returning to the principles of statistical process control this tells us that the results for
kiln feed LSF will be normally distributed about the target over time.

Kiln Feed LSF Target

The “bell-shaped” normal distribution is a
statistical model comprising rigid
characteristics which describe variation:

Mean = Median = Mode

Kiln Feed LSF

Kiln Feed LSF Target

68.26% of results lie within 1 standard
deviation of the mean.

95.46% of results lie within 2 standard

deviations of the mean.

99.73% of results lie within 3 standard

deviations of the mean.

All kiln feed LSF results which lie within 3

σ Feedσ LSF
Kiln standard deviations, σ, either side of the
target are within the normal range of
2σ 2σ
expected variation.
3σ 3σ

Based on our previous calculations a 1% increase in LSF will lead to a rise in thermal
energy consumption of 26 kJ/kg clinker. If the standard deviation is 1% in LSF then the
normal range will be +/-3%, and thermal energy consumption may rise by 78 kJ/kg
clinker at the maximum.

Of course as the kiln feed LSF results are normally distributed the high results will be
balanced by low results. Therefore it might be expected that the kiln thermal energy
consumption will be centred about the mean which corresponds with the target LSF.
However, kiln burning zone temperature, and therefore thermal energy consumption, is
one of a number of examples in cement manufacturing where the minimum is the key
control rather than the target.

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Cement Kiln Chemistry 1.3 Variability

The kiln operators must keep the

burning zone temperature above the
minimum required for C3S
formation.

Thermal energy consumption must

be higher than that which would be
required with no variation in kiln
feed LSF, by an amount equivalent
to the extra energy required when the
LSF is 3 standard deviations above
target.

In my example with a standard deviation of 1% this equates to 78 kJ/kg clinker. Reducing

the cost of that additional energy is the value of the investments made to reduce kiln feed
variability by proportioning, mixing and analysing the raw materials and kiln feed - a
significant on-going manufacturing cost.

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