Use of Yellow Shale from Mines for Improved

Kiln feed burnability & Improved Clinker Quality-

A Case study

Author & Co-authors: Yashpal Singh / Sujay S

Organization: JK Cement Works, Muddapur, Bagalkot, India

JK Cement Works, Muddapur

 Synopsis
 Organization Details
Use of yellow Shale  Process Flow
from Mines for  Investigative Study Approach
 Methodology (Sample Selection, Raw Mix
improved kiln feed
Design)
burnability &  Burnability & Sinterability Test
 Lime Combining Ability
Improved clinker
 Lab Trial Observation
quality – A Case  Plant Scale (Trial, Production &

study Observation)
 Conclusion
Organization Details

J.K. Cement Ltd. is a part of Industrial

conglomerate JK Organization. The group entered
the cement manufacturing business in 1975.

Currently holding 16 MTPA Grey cement and 1.2

MTPA White cement.

JK Cement Muddapur having Capacity of 2.20

MTPA Clinkerisation & 3.50 MTPA Finished
3.5 MTPA Cement Grinding

J K Cement Muddapur is certified with ISO

14001, ISO 9001, ISO 45001 & ISO 50001:2018
Greenco Platinum rated Plant ,Great Place to
work certified company
 Process Flow & Major Equipment Specification
• Our Mines has received 5 star rating, consecutive 2 years from Ministry of Mines

Mining & Raw Mill AFR & Kiln & Cement Packing
Crushing & Coal Mill SNCR Cooler Mill Plant

01 02 03 04 05 06

Raw Mill
Solid AFR Mill-01
Mines VRM- FLS
Schecnk ,20 TPH Kiln FL Smidth
Muddapur ATOX- 52.5 540
Liquid AFR FL Smidth Ball Mill 4.6 Ǿ Packers
161.87Hectare Halki TPH
PH1 2-4 KLPH ILC- 4.75ǾX74 140 TPH OPC Total- 4 No’s
124.24Hectare Coal Mill
Shredder 5500 TPD Mill-02
Crusher VRM- FLS
Weima Calciner FL Smidth FLS Ventomatic
Make- L&T 900 TPH ATOX- 25.0
20 TPH Low NOx Ball Mill 4.6 Ǿ 12 Spout Double
LS Stacker 50 TPH SA Coal
SNCR ILC- 8.5ǾX52 140 TPH OPC Discharge
Make-FLS Coal Stacker
KHD System MT. Mill-03 180 TPH
1000 TPH Make- FLS
25% Aqueous Cooler- FLS Gebr. Pfeiffer
LS Reclaimer 130 TPH
ammonia solution Cross bar 4X6 VRM- MPS 5600
Make FLS700 TPH Coal Reclaimer
138.8 M2 160 TPH Slag
Make FLS 100 TPH

4
 Investigative Study Approach

LIME STONE-
1

BURNABILITY TEAM WORK ROOT CAUSE ANALYSIS DECISION

Transformation of Raw Mix
to clinker depends on kiln
feed burnability; Generally
in our case it is moderate to
poor. Observed excellent in
some cases.
Burnability ∝ 1 1
F Cao
Team excursion done to
evaluate the reason for
excellency in burnability of
some Lime Stone Piles.
RCA done and got the cause;
LS Piles which shows
burnability improvement
contains yellow shale, which
supports in lowering down
the fusion temperature,
accelerate the C3S formation
& decrease in free lime.
To analyze the mineralogical
composition of different
yellow shales , free Silica
and fusion temperature to
identify the suitable shale.
 Methodology (Sample Selection)
Our captive mines has different types of
Shale. The elemental composition of LOI SiO2 Al2O3 Fe2O3 CaO MgO Free Silica
various shale from mines were assessed (%) (%) (%) (%) (%) (%) (%)
by XRF and determination of free silica ADDITIVE
FE RICH
by wet analysis. And Fusion Temperature PITW MR/S1
21.51 30.78 5.46 2.83 33.11 1.49 26.59
Light yellow

DMP MR/S1
Light yellow with 24.91 28.06 7.18 3.77 32.04 2.27 22.54
reddish bands

DMP MR/S2
10.69 38.74 10.14 18.79 17.31 3.18 11.87
Yellow

DMP SL/S1
26.43 18.25 5.24 3.75 38.22 2.35 16.25
Black with Mud

DMP SL/S3
23.68 34.7 7.61 4.44 29.06 2.67 18.53
Black with Mud
Yellow Shale DMP MR/S2 has lower
fusion temperature.
 Methodology (Excursion)
More yellow shale samples were collected from pit DMP MR/S2 to identify the range fusion temperature in
yellow shale .
LIME STONE- Fusion
Description SiO2 Al2O3 Fe2O3 CaO MgO
1 K2O Na2O SO3
Temperature

Yellow Shale-1 42.25 7.90 20.15 12.84 2.31 0.07 0.07 0.03 1150°C

Yellow Shale-2 40.58 8.31 5.31 21.27 2.71 1.08 0.04 0.06 1150°C

Yellow Shale-3 38.74 10.14 18.79 17.31 3.18 0.10 0.05 0.03 900°C

Yellow Shale-4 34.87 7.82 6.87 23.17 3.33 1.05 0.07 0.00 1200°C

Yellow Shale-5 41.82 10.58 18.79 19.19 3.22 0.13 0.08 0.05 1000°C

Yellow Shale-6 46.91 9.23 15.18 19.84 2.98 0.30 0.09 0.05 950°C

The yellow shale contains low free silica & high Fe2O3 % has lowest fusion temperature and the fusion
temperature varied between 900 to 1200°C.
The yellow Shale-3 was selected for further burnability studies with designed Raw Mix.
 Methodology (Raw Mix Design)
Raw mix design with & without Yellow shale :
Raw Material Proportion (%) Chemical Composition
Description LIME STONE-
Iron Yellow SiO2 Al2O3 1 Fe2O3 CaO ADDITIVEMgO
Limestone LSF SIM ALM
Additives Shale (%) (%) (%) (%) FE RICH (%)
Raw Mix
98.4 1.8 -- 13.09 3.15 2.80 41.28 2.82 97.80 2.20 1.12
Control
Raw Mix +
97.7 1.3 1.00 13.23 3.20 2.68 41.44 2.82 97.38 2.25 1.20
Yellow Shale

** Prepared incorporating the fuel ash corresponding to the ash absorption in the Plant

Test specimen
preparation for
Burnability

Weighing Paste Palletization Specimen

Preparation (@ 500 kg/cm2) 25.4 mm x 12.5 mm)
 Burnability Test & Sinterability
Assessment of Sinterability
Burnability Test Raw Mix (Control) Raw Mix + Yellow Shale
3.00

Expansion %
LIME STONE-
1 0.00 ADDITIVE
FE RICH
800 900 1000 1100 1200 1300 1400 1500
-3.00

Srinkage %
-6.00

-9.00
Temperature (Deg C)
-12.00

Inferences drawn from graph

Pellets fired on Temperature
9000C, 10000C, 11000C, 12000C,
13000C, 13500C, 14000C,
14500C
for a retention time of 20
minutes.
• Sintering; Indicated by Shrinkage & Expansion %
Fired Pellet
• De-carbonation; Indicated by initial Expansion.
• Solid - Solid reactions; Indicated by gradual shrinkage
• Liquid formation; Indicated by steep shrinkage pattern
• Slope Steepness; Indicates raw mix reactivity eventually to
liquid formation.
Thus raw Mix with Yellow shale is indicative of improved
Sinterability and would reflect in improved kiln conditions
 Lime Combining Ability
The fired pellets of both the Raw Mixes at each temperature were analyzed for free Lime by conventional wet
method.
LIME STONE-
1 ADDITIVE
FE RICH

Lime combining ability = 100*(CaO –

F.CaO)/CaO

The Raw Mix with Shale shows improved burnability .

 Lab Trial Observation
 There is no appreciable difference in calcination characteristic of both Raw Mixes.
 The Expansion / Shrinkage curve indicates that % expansion up to 1000 0C is more in
Raw Mix with Yellow shale indicating higher rates of solid-solid reaction forming
the lime aluminates & silicates.
 Higher Shrinkage characterizes higher liquid formation.
 The lime compatibility of the raw mix with yellow shale is comparatively more;
indicating improved burnability.
 The extent of C3S and C2S formation at the sintering temperature above 13000C is
Lab more in yellow shale raw mix.
Trial
 The burnability (BC) of the Raw mix was calculated with the following formula: -
BC=3.75(fCaO, 1350o C + fCaO, 1400o C +fCaO, 1450o C) / (fCaO, 1350o C) 1/4 .

The burnability value of Raw Mix Control (without yellow shale) - 21.77
The burnability value of Raw Mix with yellow shale - 12.92
Lower values of BC correspond to a higher burnability of the Raw Mix.
 Plant Scale Trial
Pilot Scale Clinkers produced with the two Raw Mixes and The produced clinker was ground to Lab ground
OPC, maintaining SO3 content of 2.4% at Blaine’s fineness of 320 M 2/kg.
Chemical Composition of Pilot Scale Clinkers and physical properties of Resultant OPC
LIME STONE-
1
Chemical Composition Physical Parameter

Content (%)
Raw Mix Strength (Mpa)

F.CaO (%)
Fe2 O3 (%)

C4AF (%)
Al2 O3 (%)

(M2/Kg)
CaO (%)

C3A (%)
SiO2 (%)

C3S (%)

C2S (%)
LOI (%)

Description

Blaine
Liquid
ALM
SIM
LSF

01 03 07 28
Day Days Days Days

Control 20.31 4.95 4.30 62.42 0.42 95.29 2.20 1.15 45.67 25.78 5.84 13.08 2.44 28.05 320 28.6 33.6 37.2 48.3

With Yellow 20.42 5.03 4.10 62.66 0.37 95.26 2.24 1.23 50.06 22.77 6.41 12.46 1.35 27.86 323 30.1 35.4 39.7 50.6
Shale

LS Pile w/o Yellow Shale LS Pile with Yellow Shale

 Plant Scale Production
Quality of produced clinker by using both raw mixes is given.
Chemical Composition Physical Parameter
Day LIME STONE- Strength (Mpa) Kiln
Average CaO C3S F.CaO Blaine
1 Through
Quality LSF Put
(%) (%) (%) (M2/Kg) 01 Day 03 Days 07 Days 28 Days

Day-1 62.37 94.98 47.66 2.26 323 28.9 33.9 37.8 48.9 7,041
B
E Day-2 62.29 95.55 46.71 2.37 311 28.1 33.3 37.4 48.6 7,029
F Day-3 62.23 95.37 48.63 2.11 318 28.5 33.7 37.8 48.1 6,936
O Day-4 62.34 95.69 47.53 2.51 308 28.2 33.1 37.1 47.9 6,929
R Day-5 62.18 95.16 49.11 1.97 321 28.6 33.8 37.5 48.4 6,804
E
Average 62.28 95.35 47.93 2.24 316 28.5 33.6 37.5 48.4 6,948
A Day-1 62.33 94.88 50.12 1.63 317 30.3 35.7 39.6 50.6 7,078
F Day-2 62.24 94.79 50.31 1.49 324 30.6 35.1 39.2 51.1 7,015
T Day-3 62.27 95.18 49.72 1.82 314 30.1 34.8 38.9 50.4 7,079
E
Day-4 62.39 95.36 50.76 1.62 311 30.9 35.6 39.9 51.3 7,087
R
Day-5 62.12 94.79 51.28 1.42 328 31.2 35.6 38.8 50.9 7,013
Average 62.27 95.00 50.44 1.60 319 30.6 35.4 39.3 50.9 7,054
 Observation on Plant Scale Production

 The Trials with use of yellow shale, indicated a very stable burning conditions of
the kilns with much lower and consistent free lime in clinker with marginally
higher kiln throughputs

 The produced clinker showed higher 1 Day strength with 28 Day >50MPa. This
has its benefits in Clinker factor of the blended Cement products

Plant  As can be seen that it is a high-MgO clinker, the Trial clinkers showed very much
scale improved performance in Soundness test (LC, AC).
usage  Earlier without use of shale the kiln performance was very sensitive and invariable
the team had to increase the clinker Fe2O3 so as to have stable burning condition.
With use of shale use of Ferruginous corrective was reduced.

 Subsequently the Mines have created a buffer stock of the Yellow shale and it has
been in use regularly. Able to use overburden of mines which contributes towards
conservation of natural resources.
 Conclusion
The judicious data analysis has helped in identifying the beneficial
component from the mines.

 The yellow shale had lower fusion temperature than the conventional
clinker liquid formation temperature
 Enhancing the C3S formation reactions.
 Improving the Kiln feed burnability and pyro processing performance.
 Result in improving clinker quality and also result in achieving lower
clinker factor in Blended Cement Products.
In many locations in the country , such low fusion temperature shales/
materials from mines if used in larger percentages could result in heavy
coating in kilns and have productivity issues, a proper diagnostic study by
the Plant Teams along with the Mines Team to assess the suitable usage
levels of such materials could assist in improving productivity of many
Plants.