Cement Raw Material Homogenization

Cement Raw Material Homogenization

The Fuller-Random Flow Blender

Prepared By:
Leslie C. Bartholomew
Technical Applications Manager

Prepared For:
Bull, Housser & Tupper

Fuller Bulk Handling

3225 Schoenersville Road
P.O. Box 805
Bethlehem, PA 18006-0805

May 29, 2001

Cement Raw Material Homogenization

Cement Raw Material

Homogenization
By Leslie C. Bartholomew
1.

INTRODUCTION

The challenge facing cement plant operators is to produce a specified quality of product
that meets specifications for quality, and to do so over a long-term at minimum cost.
Cement Raw material product uniformity is extremely important in the production of
finished cement. It is strongly dependent upon the consistency of both feed material and
process conditions. Uniform feed chemical composition, physical characteristics, and
material rate are an essential element in achieving steady process conditions. Thus, feed
uniformity is of vital importance in plant operation.
This paper will show the important role the Fuller-Random Flow Blender plays in the
preparation of the cement raw material in the cement production process. Also, a detailed
description of the blenders operation will be discussed to show why it is a piece of
process equipment and not simply a storage vessel.

2.

RAW MATERIAL BLENDING

The blending of cement raw materials prior to the calcination process has always been a
very important step in the production of the finished product. When combining multiple
raw products to achieve the best chemistry for the making of finished cement, the need to
maintain uniformity is extremely high. If one could only take material from the ground,
grind it and convey it to the burning process, this would make the production of finished
cement much more economical. This is not the case. Todays finished cement is a
mirage of raw products and byproducts of other processes which makes the need for
homogenization even greater.
Chemical uniformity is not the only concern in the preparation of the raw materials.
There are many other reasons for process blending of the raw materials. Some of the
other broad categories are:

particle size distribution uniformity,

temperature uniformity,
moisture uniformity and,
color uniformity.

Cement Raw Material Homogenization

3.

KILN FEED QUALITY AND KILN PERFORMANCE

When we talk about kiln performance, there are a lot of key words that pop up in our
minds, such as:

Production rate vs. max production

Run factor (days per year)
Heat Consumption
Kiln lining life
Cleaning frequency in preheater
Clinker quality

Of course all these factors are interrelated and each one will, by the end of the day, have
an influence on all the others.
Based on experience, the standard chemical variations that can be tolerated in the raw
material feed to a cement kiln have been established:

CaO
LSF
CaCO2
C3S
SM

(Calcium Oxide)
(Lime Saturation Factor)
(Calcium Carbonate)
(Tricalcium silicate)
(Silica Modulus)

< 0.11 %
< 1.0 %
< 0.2 % (titration)
< 3.0 %
< 0.25 %

If we can keep below these standard deviations in the cement raw material, the kiln
operation will normally be trouble-free, and an excellent finished cement quality will
result.

4.

Production Level

It is a well known fact that the maximum production level for a given kiln installation is
strongly influenced by the variations we have in the blended kiln feed. A lot of upset
kiln conditions happen because of a coating fall, which is often caused by a variation in
the blended kiln feed; also, just a variation to a higher CaCO2 can cause a system to run
out of fan capacity.
The graph below shows an example of how the heat consumption in the kiln varies with
the standard deviation of the blended kiln feed product.

Cement Raw Material Homogenization

kcal/kg

Heatconsumption versus standard dev of

Rawmix
900
850
800
750
700
650
1

Standard deviations LSF %

In cement raw materials, the theoretical heat consumption is basically a function of the
chemical composition and contents of carbon.
Basically, a 1 % increase in the standard deviation of CaCO3 will roughly be a 1 %
increase in heat consumption. Unfortunately, when we have an increase in the standard
deviation of the CaCO3 content, we also increase the C3S content in the clinker, which
means an inferior burnability (higher burning temperature) and a dustier clinker, causing
more dust circulation between the kiln and the clinker cooler, causing higher radiation
loss from the kiln as well as higher back end temperatures.

5.

Power Consumption

Plants with high variations in the chemical composition of the blended raw materials, as
discussed above, have a high heat consumption. The amount of exhaust gas is a direct
function of the heat consumption; further, the pressure drop through a kiln system is
proportional to the gas flow to the second power, and consequently the power
consumption of the fan is proportional to the gas flow to the third power. In other words,
a 5% increase in chemical standard deviation will result in a 16% increase in fan power
or a 1 kWh/T (ton) increase.

6.

Lining Life

The kiln lining in the burning zone is also strongly affected by an inhomogeneous kiln
feed product.
The coating in the inlet and outlet transition zones will always be in equilibrium with the
clinker composition. Every time there is a change in clinker composition above a certain
level, we lose the coating in the transition zones, causing excessive wear on the kiln
lining in these locations.

Cement Raw Material Homogenization

7.

Cleaning Work in Preheaters

The harder it is to burn the blended raw material, the more evaporation of the alkalis
takes place which will cause more coating formation and consequently more plugging of
cyclones in the preheater. This creates a need for more cleaning of the equipment.

8.

Quality of Clinker

When the chemical composition of the blended raw material and fuels varies, it is
inevitable that the composition and quality of the clinker varies.
We have examples that have shown that by improving the clinker quality, the Blaine
(fineness) value could be lowered from 4300 Blaine to 3700 Blaine and keep an even
better quality of the finished cement. This corresponds to a reduction in power
consumption of 8.5 kWh/t of finished cement production.

9.

THE FULLER-RANDOM FLOW BLENDER

The Fuller-Random Flow Blender is the final process equipment in the preparation of the
kiln feed prior to the calcination process. The Fuller-Random Flow
blender is physically located in close proximity to the Raw Mill and the
Preheater. All the concerns listed above are affected by how well the
cement raw material is homogenized in the Blender. In the process, the
Fuller-Random Flow blender is the most important step between the
milling process and the calcination process.
The Fuller-Random Flow Blender is a cost-effective gravity blending
system that requires low power consumption and obtains high blending
efficiency. The Fuller-Random Flow Blender (FRF) is designed to
blend dry, pulverized, free flowing materials strictly on a continuous
basis. The blender floor is equipped with aeration pads that are used to
promote material flow to the discharge. This aeration is used to selectively withdraw
material from different sectors about the blender floor.

10.

Operating Principle

The Fuller-Random Flow Blender has a flat bottom with an integral conical
surface and a centrally located material discharge. An inverted cone is located
concentrically above the discharge providing an area of relief so the material can
flow out through the discharge.
Blending is achieved by the interaction of the cement raw material as it is
withdrawn from the blender, as shown in Figure to the right. Like sands through
5

Cement Raw Material Homogenization

an hour glass, the cement raw material is pulled toward a selected outlet point by gravity
bringing material from various levels of the blender. This funnel flow action through the
cement raw material causes a mixture of materials from different time periods throughout
the filling process of the blender. Each time a chemical change/correction is made to the
raw mill, a layer of material is formed within the blender. As material passes through
these layers caused by the gravity movement, particles are sheared from the individual
layers and mingle with other particles as they withdraw from the blender. The secret to
the operation of this type of blender is to produce as many of these funnel type discharge
operations as possible at varying velocities to get the best sampling of cement raw
material about the blender bottom. If a blender with one discharge point was compared
to a blender with thirty (30) discharge points, clearly the blender with the most sample
points will have the greatest blending efficiency.
As stated previously, the blender floor is supplied with fluidization pads providing
approximately 85 % coverage. This area is divided into three (3) concentric areas. Each
of these areas is further divided into twelve (12)
sectors. Thus, 36 sectors are defined, from which
material is pulled on a systematic basis from three(3)
sectors at any given time.
When a sector is selected it is aerated by a dedicated
positive displacement blower, which causes the
material in that sector to flow into its dedicated
opening into a common collection Airslide. The
dedicated blower furnishes the air required to change
the flow characteristic of the material and promotes
flow of the cement raw material. This collection
Airslide conveys the material to the discharge of the
blender. When a sector is not activated there is no airflow to its Airslide air chamber.
Because there is no aeration, there is no flow of material out of that sector. That sector
essentially becomes dead and ceases from contributing material to the discharge until
activated.
Each region contributes 1/3 of the total discharge rate. This is accomplished by having
one, and only one, activated sector in each region at a time. Thus, each region activates
its sectors one at a time on a cycle.
Blending of the cement raw material is achieved by the following primary means:
1.

Each of the three (3) regions has the same discharge flow rate. However, each
region has a different area of flow. This means that each of the three (3) regions
has a different downward flow velocity of material. This time lag induces
blending by combining material from different time periods together to achieve a
homogeneous mixture.

Cement Raw Material Homogenization

2.

When a sector is activated, the column of material above it moves downward

causing the top level of that sector to also move downward, falling below the
level of the adjacent sectors. This allows material to fall into the activated sector
from the adjacent inactivated sectors. This tumbling of the material also occurs
along the full length of the column of material over the aerated sector. This
crossover of material not only occurs from the dead sector to an activated one, but
also from a slower moving (with respect to downward velocity) sector to a faster
one, but to a lesser degree. This crossover of material also causes blending.

The number of discharge points is not the total answer to obtaining good blending results.
The residence time (volume) and the feed correction intervals play an important part in
the effectiveness of the blender operation. The more chemical layers in the blender, the
better the control on kiln feed standard deviation. For effective blending with gravity
systems, there must be a feed period of less than four (4) hours (Feed period is defined as
a sinusoidal wave crossing the control point three times.) and a blender capacity between
eight and twelve hours or a minimum of 90 % of the blenders design volume. Blender
capacities are somewhat flexible depending on the duration of the feed period. With the
proper residence time and chemical feed period with the Fuller-Random Flow Blender,
efficiencies of 7:1 are possible. The blender efficiency is defined as the ratio of the
standard deviation of the raw material feed to the blender with the kiln feed discharge
from the blender.

11.

Comparison with Silos

What distinguishes the Fuller-Random Flow Blender from any other storage silo, tank or
bin?
The Blender is performing process work on a 24 hour basis, as long as the plant is in
operation. Without this process work it would be very difficult to complete the
manufacturing process of cement. A storage silo is a vessel simply used to store materials
while it waits for the next process. Other bins and tanks are used to collect or accumulate
material to stage it for the next event. However, the Fuller-Random Flow Blender is
continuously performing the process of mixing various chemical components of the
cement raw materials to provide a stable chemistry to the kiln feed system.