CEMENT PRODUCTION

Cement is a kind of powdery material. When properly mixed with water, it will turn into slurry. The
slurry will gradually harden in air and glue together the granular or fibrous materials such as sand and
stone firmly. It is widely used in all aspects of our lives, such as subway construction, bridge
construction, and residential building construction. It is an indispensable part of our city.

The production process of silicate cement (also known as Portland cement) is representative in
cement production. It usually adopts limestone and clay as the main materials. After being crushed,
proportioned, and ground into appropriate granularity, most of the raw materials will be fed
into cement kiln for calcining clinker, and then we usually add an appropriate amount of gypsum
(sometimes mixed with other materials or additives) in the cement grinding process, finally obtaining
the cement products with a qualified fineness. At plants, according to different raw materials
preparation methods, cement manufacturing can be divided into the dry process (including semi-dry
process) and wet process (including semi-wet process).

The Diagram of Cement Manufacturing Process

Wet Process of Cement Manufacturing

The wet process of cement manufacturing refers to grinding raw material into slurry after mixing
with water and then feeding them into the wet process kiln for drying and calcination and finally
forming clinker. The slurry’s water content is usually between 32%-36%. In addition, the raw
material slurry can also be dehydrated into raw material blocks and put into the kiln to calcine
clinker. This method is called the semi-wet process, which still belongs to the cement wet process
production.

Procedures of the Wet Process of Cement Production

The procedures of the wet process are basically the same as the dry process, which can be divided
into three stages: raw materials preparation, clinker calcination, and cement grinding.

In this process, materials also need to undergo quarrying, primary crushing, secondary crushing,
proportioning, and grinding in the raw materials preparation stage of the wet process. The biggest
difference between the two methods is that in the wet process, water is usually required as a process
media added in the raw mix to form slurry. After mixing and blending, the slurry will be stored in the
slurry tank waiting for further processing. While in the dry method cement production line, the raw
mix doesn’t need water.

In the calcination stage, the cement kiln used by the wet process is longer in comparison to the dry
process, and there is no preheater and precalciner in front of the kiln. The temperature in cement kiln
can reach 1400-1500℃, and the slurry in it is heated and dried, finally forming the clinker
compounds, namely Di-calcium Silicate, Tricalcium Silicate, Tri-calcium Aluminate, and Tetra
Calcium Alumino-Ferrite. Clinker is a kind of particle with a variety of sizes and dark green color.
After cooling down in the grate cooler, they will be sent into the grinding mill for the last processing.

In the last stage, clinker will be ground into qualified fineness in grinding mills. During this process,
we usually add some gypsum and other materials into clinker to give the final cement product
different properties and usages. For example, we add gypsum to obtain the ordinary Portland cement
and add gypsum and fly ash to obtain the Pozzolana Portland Cement.

Applications of Wet Process Cement Manufacturing

Wet process cement manufacturing method can be used to produce various types of Portland cement,
such as ordinary Portland cement, white Portland cement, oil well cement, etc. It can help your
cement plant to achieve high quality and high output cement production.

Advantages:

 The wet process of cement production has the characteristics of simple operation, less dust,
and easy conveying. Because the slurry has fluidity, its homogeneity is good and the quality
of the clinker is improved. Also, the energy consumption of raw material grinding in the wet
process is reduced by nearly 30%.
 Additionally, the wet process allows for greater control over the chemical composition of the
cement, which can lead to better performance characteristics.

Disadvantages:

 The heat consumption of the wet process is too high, usually between 5234-6490 J/kg and the
consumption of ball mill vulnerable parts is also large. Compared with other processing
methods, the clinker manufactured by the wet process has a low temperature when it comes
out of the kiln, so this method is not suitable for producing the clinker with a high silica rate
and high aluminum-oxygen rate.
 The process requires a large amount of water, which can be a significant environmental
concern, particularly in areas where water is scarce.
 Additionally, the wet process is typically more expensive than the dry process, due to the
increased energy required to evaporate the excess water in the slurry.

If we consider the quality and rate then the wet process is better and if we
consider fuel consumption and time of the process then the dry process is better.

Difference between dry and wet process in table form:-

Dry process Wet process

1. Mixing of raw material in dry state in 1. Mixing of Raw materials in wash mill
blenders. with 35 to 50% water.

2. Materials exiting the mill are called

2. The dry materials exiting the mill are
“slurry” and have flowability
called “kiln feed”.
characteristics.

3. Fuel consumption is low i.e., 100 kg of 3. Fuel consumption is high i.e., 350 kg
coal per tonne of cement produced of coal per tonne of cement produced

4. Cost of production is less. 4. Cost of production is high

5. Capital cost (Cost of establishment) is

5. Capital cost is high due to blenders.
comparatively less

6. Size of the kiln needed for 6. Size of the kiln needed for
manufacturing of cement is smaller. manufacturing of cement is bigger.

7. Difficult to control mixing of Raw 7. Raw material can be mixed easily, so a

materials, so it is difficult to obtain a better homogeneous material can be
better homogeneous material. obtained