Reducing Cost of Production in

Cement Plant BY

One of the major factor contributing to the success of an enterprise /

organization is the Cost of Production reduction / optimization. The
route to which demand Operational Excellence, Optimization of
processes, Eliminating / reducing wastage’s, rework, scrap and
establishing ,operating ,optimizing and bench-marking KPI’s & SMART
Targets.

As far as cement plant operations is concerned the Cost of Production

may be divided into following Major Heads A) Raw Materials
Cost B) Fuel Cost C) Power Cost D) Cost of Quality E) Maintenance
Cost F) Packaging Material Cost G) Human Resources
Cost H)Marketing / Sales Department Cost I ) Financial Cost
Out of the above cost heads; will focus primarily on the relevant
technical Cost Heads i.e. A to D .

A) Optimizing Raw Materials Cost:

First step in the optimization of Raw Materials cost is to benchmark and
identify that which of the existing raw materials is most cheaper and
technically viable to be effectively used for cement manufacturing; are
there some alternative or waste raw materials available which can be
used for the production of cement manufacturing process. In case
suitable waste or alternative raw materials are available than mostly the
cost of those raw materials will be less than the typical raw materials
used for cement manufacturing process.

Total cost analysis should be done not only with regard to the cost of
materials (Purchased or Factory Quarried / Mined); but should also
include the impact of that particular raw materials on the individual
process especially with reference to grinding energy requirements and
thermal energy requirements.
a)     In some areas the Limestone contain variable MgO content , so
instead of dumping / land filling the high MgO limestone ; the high MgO
limestone can be reserved for the cement grinding stage as it is not the
combined MgO which causes expansion and is only free crystalline Hard
Burnt MgO which is produced during pyroprocessing which is not good
from quality point of view .However since there is a limit on the total
MgO content in different international standard hence total MgO must
be reasonably low than the max allowed limit as per International
standards.

b)     Some limestone deposits contain high Alkalis; which instead of

dumping / land filling can be balanced by using high Sulfur low cost
fuels (Resulting in decrease of production cost) or by small usage of
gypsum (helps in Pyroprocessing by modifying the liquid phase
properties) during the raw milling stage. In case the limestone is having
high Sulfur it can be balanced of by using high alkali content of the raw
materials; or by slightly using high oxygen during the pyroprocessing .

c)     Raw Materials moisture content not only have impact on heat

consumption but also on the Waste Heat Recovery Generation (if such
plant is installed). More the moisture content in the raw materials more
heat will be required to dry it out and hence high will be the specific heat
consumption for that plant along with low waste power generation. The
design of Preheater stages is often based on the amount of moisture
present in raw materials; with high moisture the number of preheater
stages will be decreased from the conventional five or six stage
preheater. Considering the moisture content in the raw materials;
increase in cyclone stages in preheater will reduce the specific heat
consumption. As a generalization increasing the cyclone stages from 4 to
5 to 6 will result in specific heat saving of 25 K Cal/Kg of Clinker / stage
with the resultant decrease of Preheater Exit gas temperature which
means less heat is available for raw materials drying and waste heat
generation. However, it must be understood that first step should be
specific heat reduction by optimization and any heat left should be used
for WHRPP generation and not the other way that pyroprocessing
should be inefficient and heat should be lost for producing waste heat .
B) Optimizing Fuel Cost
Normally the highest cost as far as integrated cement plant is concerned
is the cost of fuel. Fuel cost can be optimized by analyzing the types of
fuels available which may include the conventional fuel like Coal, Natural
Gas or AGO / LPFO or use of Bio Fuels, Alternative or waste fuels like
Chicken Waste, Bagass, Rice Husk, Carbon Black, TDF, RDF etc and then
selecting the most appropriate and cheaper one. Detail analysis is
required and not just the Rs / KCal value which is often considered as the
sole criteria for fuel selection.

a)     One aspect which needs to be remembered during fuel selection

especially when using solid fuels is the amount of Ash, higher the Ash in
fuel, higher will be the LSF required in Kiln Feed / Raw Meal to get the
desired LSF /C3S in clinker for producing the same strength required in
cement as per the strength class / type of cement produced. High LSF
means high heat consumption or cost of production; since the highest
energy requiring reaction during cement manufacturing process is the
calcination which is elimination or removal of CO2 from raw materials
primarily limestone.

b)     Second critical aspect of fuel selection is the sulfur content; which is

also mostly the limiting factor in fuel selection, higher the sulfur in fuel,
higher the alkalis required to balance it out in order to avoid the
buildup / coatings in the pyroprocessing. Moreover, in cement
standards, there is limit on total SO3 in cement, higher sulfur input from
pyroprocessing means less gypsum can be added to reach that max
level, in case gypsum is cheaper than clinker than high sulfur from fuel
means less addition of gypsum which means high cost of production not
just due to materials price but also since gypsum is much soft in
comparison with clinker and hence resulting in low cement mill output.
For example, pet coke use at high substitution percentage can increase
the clinker SO3 content and thereby increases the cement mill power
consumption.

c)     Another important aspect of fuel selection specially in solid fuels is

the Volatile Matter; less the volatile matter, higher the fineness required
to burn it out meaning higher coal mill power consumption. Example
Coal which is mostly having high volatile matter in comparison with Pet
Coke can be grinded to less finesses without any issue in burning
process however when pet coke is used much higher level of fineness is
required in order to avoid burning process meaning high coal mill
energy consumption.

d)     One more parameter to be considered while evaluating coals /solid

fuels is the hardness; often expressed using Hard Grove Index (HGI)
value. Higher the HGI easier will be the coal to grind; hence less power
consumption and cost saving.

e)     One practical point needs to be understood while using organic /

bio fuels like Chicken Waste / Bagasse etc is that they lose their calorific
value over period of time; hence needs to be consumed on First In First
Out basis (FIFO).

f)      Sometimes additional benefit while using alternative / waste fuels

can be realized for example while using TDF; in addition to calorific
value, iron can be added from the wires inside TDF resulting in laterite or
iron ore saving.

g)     While using any fuel with very high chloride , alkali or sulfur content
(Especially Chloride) a part of hot gas has to be bypassed to prevent
excessive build ups; and bypassing the hot gas means increase of
specific heat consumption and increase of raw meal to clinker factor ;
resulting in high cost of production.

h)     The use of biomass fuels with their higher moisture content and
lower Net/Gross CV ratio results in more heat loss via steam resulting in
heat penalty meaning higher cost of production.

i)       Fuel cost optimization can be done through indirect way i.e. by

optimizing the Raw Meal Parameters (LSF /SM /AM / Presence or
absence of Quartz / Calcite), Physical Properties of Raw Meal (Fineness /
Residue on 90 or 200 Microns), Burning Conditions (Oxidizing /
Reducing), Burner orientation as well as momentum , optimization of
secondary / tertiary air temperatures as well as optimization of cooler
operation.

j) Fuel burning should always be carried out in oxidizing conditions

because burning of fuel in oxidizing conditions ; the maximum fuel
potential is realized. Complete oxidation of carbon produces 94 Kcal /
Mole while incomplete oxidation of carbon produces 53 K Cal / Mole;
indicating more or less just half of the heat potential is realized in the
reducing conditions.

k)       Different types of Mineralizers / Fluxes can be used to reduce the

overall thermal energy requirements like CaF2 / Laterite / Bauxite / Iron
Ore / Gypsum etc.

C) Optimizing Power Cost:

The critical principle in optimizing power cost is by ensuring the suitable
raw materials and production of good quality in process materials like
clinker to ensure minimum grinding energy requirement. Elimination /
Reduction or Replacement of harder to grind materials / abrasive
materials with softer materials will result in grinding energy saving.
Suitable lab trials are required to ensure that which material will use
more energy to grind which can be later on correlated with the field
results in actual industrial use.

a)     For example, as far as Siliceous or Argillaceous materials are

concerned Silica can come from number of raw materials like Clay, Shale,
Slate, Sand Stone, Silica Sand. However, all have different characteristics
like Abrasiveness, Hardness and Combinability behavior inside the kiln;
hence resulting in different raw mill output, kiln operational parameters
as well as power consumption.

b)     Similarly, limestone can have different quality; which needs to be

addressed and utilized on the basis of balancing with argillaceous
materials. Very high purity limestone will be hard to grind as well as
combine in comparison with moderate purity limestone; Marl will be
even more easy to grind as well as combine in the kiln.

c)     Suitable production parameters are needed to be established and

bench marked to ensure that minimum grinding energy is required
during either of the grinding / crushing stages. Reactive clinker produced
as a result of finely grinded raw meal produced within oxidizing
conditions using short high energy intensive flame / high momentum
and then quickly quenched / cooled will produce clinker which will be
easier to grind in the cement milling stage; hence less power
consumption.

d)     Grinding power savings can be realized by using appropriate

additives to replace clinker (Ex Limestone, Pozzolonas, Fly Ash etc) will
result into energy savings and hence reduction of cost of production.

e)     Optimization of Sulphates (Gypsum) will also result in energy saving

during cement milling stages, since gypsum is much easier to grind in
comparison with clinker.

f)      Grinding aids can also be used to minimize the grinding energy

especially during the cement milling stage, however detail cost / benefit
analysis is required to establish tangible benefits.

D) Optimizing Cost of Quality

One of the important but less familiar factor contributing to the cost of
production (Often Hidden) is the Cost of Quality; however, this concept
is less known to the cement fraternity hence require proper
elaboration. Cost of quality (COQ) is defined as a methodology that
allows an organization to determine the extent to which its resources are
used for activities that prevent poor quality, that appraise the quality of
the organization’s products or services, and that result from internal and
external failures.
Cost of Quality is divided into Cost of Good Quality & Cost of Poor
quality. A)Appraisal costs B) Prevention Costs.  C) Internal failure
costs D) External failure costs.  Appraisal and Prevention Cost are
included into Cost of Good Quality while Internal and External Failure
Cost are included in Cost of Poor Quality.
Appraisal costs are associated with measuring and monitoring activities
related to quality. They could include verification, quality audits and
supplier assessment and ratings.
Prevention costs are incurred to prevent or avoid quality problems.
These costs are associated with the design, implementation, and
maintenance of the quality management systems. They include Quality
Planning, Quality Assurance & Training and Development.
Internal and External Failure Costs are bad costs of quality and these
need to be eliminated / reduced. Internal Failure cost include waste
generation, scrap generation, Rework / Rectification of faults. External
Failure Cost include Repairs and Service costs, warranty claims,
Complaints, Returns, Rejections & deratings / recycling of product.
Production of good quality products conforming to the requirements of
customers / standard requirements with minimum waste, rework and
customer complaints at the economically and commercially viable cost is
the ideal target of the cement plant QA / QC ,R & D and Production
Department.

Focusing and investing more into Appraisal and Prevention cost

will eliminate or reduce the non-value adding processes which lead
to Internal / External Failures hence reducing the bad cost of
quality / cost of production.—–See the previous article of
undersigned indicating how to practically focus on this
subject.

Summary and Conclusion :

Cement Plant cost of production can be reduced / optimized by carefully
studying the Raw Materials & Fuels available and than selecting and
using the best among the available options ; in addition to Raw Materials
and Fuel identifying the Process KPI’s and than Operating and optimizing
those KPI’s will result into cost savings.