INDUSTRIAL VISIT REPORT

March 2019

DEPARTMENTOF CHEMISTRY
 A VISIT TO MALABAR CEMENT LIMITED

Name: …………………………………....

Reg.No : ……………………………………

Class : ……………………………………

Year : ……………………………………

Dr. P.Rajendran
Head of the department
Department of chemistry

EXAMINERS:

1) ……………………………………………….

2) ………………………………………………..

MALABAR CEMENT LIMITED

 On 16th January 2018 we the students of final year B.Sc.Chemistry made
a visit to Malabar Cements Limited (MCL) Walayar, Palakkad. We were all 20 members
including 5 teachers.

Malabar cements Ltd., a fully owned Govt. of Kerala undertaking is synonymous

with superior quality cements, vouched by customers spread across the state of Kerala. The
company was incorporated in April 1978 and commenced production in April 1984 at its
Walayar plant.
Plant and factory details

The geological survey of India had identified a cement grade limestone

deposit in the Walayar reserve forest way back in 1961-1962 by the geological survey of
India. MCL is the only Portland cement manufacturer in Kerala .The mineral exploration
corporation limited confirmed its efficacy.

Malabar Cements Limited

The company has upgraded the plant with the state-of-the-art technologies through the years.
After the inception and in line with technological developments, company has carried out lot
of modifications in the system for minimizing energy consumption, pollution control
measures, process modifications etc.
Salient features of the plant:

 Limestone reserve of about 10 million tons.

 Modern 110 TPH Closed Circuit Cement Mill.
 Strict quality control system to ensure quality of the product.
 Most modern instrumentation & control system for efficient process engineering.
 Modern dry process manufacturing technology with four-stage suspension pre heater
system.
 Elaborate pollution control system to meet pollution control standards.

We the whole team was warmly welcomed by the factory authorities. Also we were
enthusiastic to observe and understand the working processes of the plant. The whole cement
manufacturing process was explained in detail by the guide provided by the company
authorities.

CEMENT:
 Cement is the name given to any material that sets and hardens on drying and
can bind other materials together.

Ancient Egyptians were the first to use cementing material in construction

work for binding bricks and stones. They used burnt gypsum containing calcium carbonate.
The Greeks and Romans used a mixture of burnt lime, sand and water (called mortar) for
building purposes, and were also acquainted with the use of volcanic ash along with the lime
mortar which they called cementum. The types of cement used got modified through the
centuries and the cement used nowadays for various construction purposes is what is known
as ‘Portland cement’. It was first produced by Joseph Aspidin of England in 1824. Since it
had the same colour as the rocks found in Portland, it was named so.

The Making of Cement:

MCL manufactures cement through the most modern dry process

method based on world-renowned German technology. The major raw materials for the
cement manufacture are the limestone and laterite, which are natural minerals obtained within
the state. The raw materials provide all necessary ingredients of cement like lime, silica,
alumina and iron oxide. The entire manufacturing process is computer controlled from a
central control room and stringent quality control measures including X-ray analyzer are
applied at all stages of production. The state of the art pollution control measures like bag
filters are also being installed. The process generally involves:

1. Raw meal production- grinding and blending

2. Clinker production
3. Cooling and final grinding
4. Packing
 1. Raw meal production

The lime stone obtained from the captive mines is enriched with the higher quality limestone
procured from nearby states as and when required. The
raw mix normally contains 95% limestone and 5% laterite.
The raw materials are crushed to around 20-25mm size
and the proportioned raw materials ground in a ball mill in
dry condition to a very fine powder. The resultant product
is called raw meal and is stored in concrete silos where it
is pneumatically homogenized to get a uniform
product.
LIME STONE

2. Clinker production

Clinker is produced in a rotary kiln, which is a cylindrical steel shell of 65mlength and
diameter 4.2m, lined with refractory bricks. The kiln is inclined at 3% and set rotating at a
speed of 2-22rpm. It is provided with a 4-stage cyclone pre-heater system through which the
homogenized raw meal is fed to the kiln inlet by the means of belt bucket elevators. The kiln
is fired with pulverized coal and maintained at a
temperature of about 1450˚C. In the pre-heater and the
kiln, the raw meal undergoes a series of physical as
well as chemical changes giving rise to the cement
minerals. The resultant product in nodular form
obtained from the kiln is called clinker.
CLINKER

3. Cooling and Final grinding

Clinker is immediately quenched in the clinker cooler to stabilize its properties and stored in
the clinker stockpile. Cement is produced by grinding clinker with 3-5% gypsum in a closed
circuit ball mill to required fineness. Gypsum is added to control the setting properties of
cement. Grinding clinker and gypsum produces
ordinary Portland cement (OPC). Fly ash / Slag at
required proportion is ground along with clinker and
gypsum to produce Portland Pozzolana cement
(PPc) /Portland slag cement (PSC).
GYPSUM

4. Packing

The ground cements are stored in concrete silos and packed in 50kg bags using
electronic packing machines.

CEMENT BAGS PACKING OF CEMENT

CHEMISTRY OF PORTLAND CEMENT:

  Principle: It is manufactured by fusing together lime or limestone with clay at very
high temperatures of the order of 1400-1500˚C in a rotary kiln. At this high
temperature, CaO combines with silica and alumina to give silicates and
aluminosilicates.

 Composition: The raw materials used has approximately the following

composition;
 Calcium Oxide (CaO) 50-60%
 Silica (SiO2) 20-25%
 Alumina (Al2O3) 5-10%
 Ferric Oxide (Fe2O3) 2-4%
 Magnesium Oxide (MgO) 1-2%
 Sulphur trioxide (SO3) 1-2%

Ratio of raw materials commonly used inorder to get the best quality cement is:
% of SiO2 % ofCaO
=2.5 ¿ 4 =1.9 ¿ 2.1
% of Al 2 O3 % of ( Si O2 , Al 2 O3∧Fe2 O3)

 Chemistry Involved:

1. Decomposition of limestone into lime after getting heated to a high temperature: Calcination
CaCO3 CaO + CO2
Calciumcarbonate calcium oxide

2. Lime produced reacts with Silica and Alumina to produce various calcium silicates and
aluminates: Clinkerization (compositions bracketed)
2CaO + SiO2 2CaO.SiO2
Dicalcium silicate (10-20%)
3CaO +SiO2 3CaO.SiO2
Tricalcium silicate (50-70%)
3CaO + Al2O3 3CaO.Al2O3.
Tricalcium aluminate (5-10%)

3CaO.Al2O3 + CaO+Fe2O3 4CaO.Al2O3.Fe2O3 (3-8%)

Tetracalcium aluminoferrite
3. Addition of gypsum increases the setting time and there by improves the strength of the mass
obtained after setting.
3CaO.Al2O3 + 3CaSO4 3CaO.Al2O3.3CaSO4.2H2O
Gypsum Calcium sulphoaluminate

 Setting of cement:

Cement mixed with half its quantity of water is quite plastic and
the plastic mass obtained becomes stiff and hard due to the precipitation of colloidal
gels formed by the hydration and hydrolysis of cement constituents, which is the
process called setting. The constituents lose water and change into interlocking
crystalline products by the rupture of the gel coatings, leading to the hardening of
cement.
The hydration reactions during setting of cement are highly
exothermic. Thus it is necessary to keep cement structures cooled during setting
process. This can be done by sprinkling water or by circulating cold water. Otherwise
there will be uneven expansion, leading to development of cracks.

Types of cements:

 White Portland cement: Cement made from raw materials containing no iron oxide
has white colour and is called white cement. It can be used in making cement paints.
 Waterproof Portland cement: It is made by grinding Portland cement with calcium
stearate.
 Pozzolan cement: Pozzolans are silica-containing materials like volcanic ash or fly-
ash. Pozzolans added to Portland cement used in structures in contact with sea water,
such cements are known as Pozzolan cements.
 Sorel’s cement or magnesium oxychloride cement : It is produced by the exothermic
reaction of an aqueous solution of magnesium chloride on finely divided burnt
magnesia (MgO). It is a good choice for soundproofing application

Conclusion:
 Malabar Cements Limited has decades of experience and a list of prestigious
projects all over Kerala. The visit was a good experience for the members of our team. It was
really informative as we could observe the step by step processes of manufacturing of one of
the most important building materials; Cement. Also we are very much gratified to the
authorities of the industry who guide us and explain the whole processes in detail.