Understand Cement Production

Module 3 A GTZ-Holcim Public Private Partnership managed by FHNW

Version Date v2.0 10.07.2009 Contact e-mail theodor.lang@solnet.ch

Introduction
The use of waste derived "alternative" raw materials and fuels can contribute greatly to resources conservation in the industry and to the implementation of an efficient waste management system in a national economy. The cement industry in particular, due to its nearly global presence and its process-inherent advantages, lends itself optimally for co-processing such materials. The training module on hand therefore provides a short introduction to the basics of cement chemistry, cement process technology and to those special process characteristics which render the cement kiln option rather unique in this application.

Learning Targets
Stakeholders from the public sector have a basic knowledge of cement production (chemically, process-technologically and environmentally). They also have the basic knowledge to understand and discuss the environmental behaviour of a modern cement kiln system

Content
1 Cement is made from raw materials

slide 3 This slide introduces the term of "cement raw materials" in a wider sense. Basically, raw materials can be subdivided in raw materials for clinker production and raw materials for cement production (from clinker and...). Corrective materials are required to adjust the composition of a materials mix for the target values.

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Examples of raw materials

slides 4, 5 For all "raw materials" there are natural and alternative (waste derived) options. A few examples are given with pictures.

Raw materials naturally include also minor and trace elements

slide 7 The classical cement chemistry distinguishes main, minor and trace elements contributing to raw mix, clinker or cement composition. Composition ranges are given, particularly also of trace elements (or heavy metals) which demonstrate that heavy metals are a natural part of minerals and thus also of cement.

To turn raw materials into clinker, they need to undergo several treatments

slides 8, 9 These slides describe the process steps up to "clinker manufactured", in particular the main process steps taking place within the kiln system.

Cement making today: the process flow sheet

slide 10 Explains the standard cement making process technology of today, i.e. a process including a precalciner kiln and roller mills for raw materials and cement grinding as well as mainly bag filter technology for process dedusting. Other (historic but still in use) processes are described in the annexes.

Clinker production today: the kiln flow sheet

slide 11 Provides a closer look at the main equipment of any cement process, the kiln system, and introduces the respective terminology.

Firing a cement kiln: feeding continuous streams of uniform quality combustible materials

slide 12 This slide explains the desired main characteristics of conventional and alternative fuels and demonstrates that each and any fuel, prior to use (= co-processing) has to

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undergo a preparation process (= pre-processing) to make it optimally fit for combustion.

Fuel feed point in cement kiln systems

slide 13 Gives the only applicable feed points for fuels to a cement kiln system.

Cement and concrete production

slide 14 Provides a block diagram of clinker, cement and concrete manufacturing together with approximate material flow data to provide an impression of those important material flows linked to cement and concrete.

10 No. 1: high to very high system temperatures

slide 16 Shows the gas and material temperature profiles in the kiln system. Of particular importance are the gas temperatures in the main flame of around 2000C, in the precalciner of between 850 and 1100C, of around 100C at the system exit, the respective retention times and the oxidising atmosphere in the kiln system. The material temperatures match the gas temperatures in the preheater/precalciner and reach 1450c in the rotary kiln sintering zone. This to be put in relation with the fact that even the most refractory organic compound cannot stand temperatures a little bit exceeding 800C, that the European Waste Incineration Directive requires a minimum temperature of 850C for waste and of 1200C for hazardous waste incineration.

11 No. 2: process inherent multi-stage fluidized bed gas cleaning technology

slide 17 Some minor and trace elements are evaporated (volatilized) in the hot kiln and travel with the kiln gases back to the cyclone preheater. There, they are recondensed (and solidified), attached to the pulverized raw meal and brought back to the rotary kiln. Finally, they leave the kiln or cement production system with clinker and cement and are (with the exception of part of the Hg) not emitted to the environment.

12 No. 3: huge retention capacity for SO2 and Cl

slide 18 Any sulphur, imported to the high temperature part of the kiln system, will be incorporated in the product (clinker and cement) and not emitted due to gypsum A GTZ-Holcim Public Private Partnership managed by FHNW v2.0, 10.07.2009 3 of 9

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formation in the calcining stage. All SO2 emission stem from volatile sulphur compounds in the raw materials roasted off during preheating.

13 No. 4: atmospheric emissions largely given by roasting off of volatile raw material components
slide 19 This slide clearly demonstrates that all emissions of a cement kiln system are from volatilizable (by heat) components in the raw materials (with the exception of NOx which comes from the high temperature combustion of natural and alternative fuels. The need of regulating emissions from modern cement kilns is therefore independent of the type of fuels used.

14 No. 5: all mineral input turned into product

slide 20 All main, minor (and trace) elements imported with alternative materials become (like e.g. coal ash) part of the raw materials and contribute to the final product. There is no requirement for ash landfilling.

15 No. 6: all trace elements (heavy metals) safely embedded in final product
slides 21, 22 Also heavy metals are safely embedded in clinker, cement and concrete and do not leach out of the concrete, i.e. do not travel back to the living environment. Concrete could therefore be used (abused?!!) as a final storage for heavy metals. This is detrimental to the interest of the cement industry which aims to preserve the recyclability of concrete.

16 No. 7: high thermal efficiency of process

slide 23 Modern cement kilns have reached a high level of thermal efficiency. Thus also alternative fuels can be burnt with in most cases considerably higher thermal utilization factors than in other incinerating or co-incinerating industries.

17 No. 8: reduction of country CO2 emissions through alternative fuels (AF) utilization
slide 24

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Waste derived/alternative fuels often are biomass fuels or include biomass components and thus contribute to the reduction of CO2 emissions thus assisting effectively national efforts to reduce CO2 emissions.

18 Historic cement making processes (still in use)

slides 27 to 29 These slides exhibit the flow-sheets of two historic but locally still in use processes: the wet process and the semi-dry process. Further process types (mainly of local importance) are listed in slide 29 for sake of completeness.

19 Emissions
slides 30 to 34 Rough information on effects, characteristics, historic cases and origin from within the cement industry of various air pollutants are given as a short introduction to the issue.

20 Measuring emissions from a cement kiln

slide 35 Gives a short summary on the Holcim Emissions Monitoring and Reporting scheme. All Holcim cement factories are expected to use alternative fuels and raw materials and thus to implement continuous emission measuring equipment for dust, SO2, NO2 and VOCs and to measure other emission components at least once per year.

21 Air quality
slides 37 to 40 Basically, a country defines its air quality (or immission) target values (e.g. as proposed by WHO) and measures them continuously with an air quality observation network (measuring stations). If the target values are not achieved, air emission limit values are set by the authorities for different types of emitters and for the various emission components. The authorities also define the emission measuring and evaluation methods. If after some years (e.g. 10) the air quality targets are reached, the emission limit values can remain as they were. If not, they are tightened according to requirements and in agreement with the stakeholders.

FAQ
Q: What requirements do conventional and alternative cement raw materials and fuels need to fulfill to make them suitable for cement production?
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FAQ
A: Alternative raw materials and alternative fuel ashes must chemically fit into the existing raw mix, i.e. not change its composition (and thus the quality characteristics of the product) intolerably. The contents of the raw materials of volatilizable components (pyritic sulfur, organics, mercury, etc.) should not cause the exhaust gases to exceed emission limit values or, in the case of alternative materials, to greatly exceed the baseline emissions, i.e. the emissions without alternative materials. Alternative fuels should be low in chlorines and close to nil in mercury. All materials (and all respective handling and process equipment) must comply with the applicable OH&S standards (special focus on hazardous, alternative fuels). All materials should not impair the kiln operational stability and its availability.

Q: Are heavy metal emissions a problem in the cement industry? Which factors are responsible for changes in heavy metal emissions from cement kiln stacks?
A: With the exception of a few isolated mercury cases (if compared with the European WID limits), there are no problems known with heavy metal emissions from modern cement kilns. Chromium inputs should be kept low for health reasons in the application of the final product (concrete). Heavy metals are natural components of raw materials and fuels. Those volatilized in the kiln system from the fuels and raw materials are trapped (adsorbed) by the pulverized raw materials in the preheater / precalciner / raw mill system and fed back to the process via the kiln dedusting equipment. 80% of the heavy metal analyses of clean gas dusts remain below detection limits. Heavy metal emission changes are mainly due to dedusting efficiency changes.

Q: In what respect do historic-but still in use cement production processes differ from the today's standard process (process technology, energy consumption, environmental friendliness)?
A: Some processes use wet raw materials preparation or dry preparation with subsequent water based raw meal granulation. All these processes are thermally less efficient. Also, none of their preheater solutions can match the cyclone preheater / precalciner with regard to retention capacity for emission components. The today's standard cement production technology is clearly best available technology (BAT).

Q: What is to be understood by adequate pre-processing of fuels? Why is it so important?

A: Cement kilns need to operate with an oxidizing kiln atmosphere but for lowest possible thermal exhaust gas losses the oxygen content should be as low as possible. This requires fuels which can be metered reliably and exactly. This again requires A GTZ-Holcim Public Private Partnership managed by FHNW v2.0, 10.07.2009 6 of 9

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FAQ
adequate fuel preparation whereby also water and ash content issues are of importance. The higher the share of a fuel type in the total fuel mix, the better the preparation (pre-processing) needs to be.

Q: Are there other advantages of the use of cement kilns for co-processing selected waste streams than those mentioned? By the way, what are the disadvantages?
A: One important aspect has not been mentioned: It is the economic advantage of using already existing equipment for dealing with a new task. Disadvantages? Close to none, in our perception. Some people fear, however, that a cement kiln solution for selected waste streams would not be BAT, would be operated irresponsibly / unprofessionally by the cement plant operator or would delay total solutions for all waste streams.

Q: Hard to believe that emissions will not change to the worse, even if everything is done correctly. Are there cases where AFR use had to be stopped for any reasons or where permits where denied at all or not renewed?
A: Yes, a few such cases are known. They usually result from the opposition of people living in the vicinity of cement plants with a poor environmental record (dirty stacks, buildings, roads) and corresponding poor communication behavior.

Q: Why are some people against waste incineration in general and against co-processing in particular?
A: Wastes are raw materials, but in the wrong place and often also not in the right form. They should preferably be reused again as raw materials (see "waste hierarchy"). So, some people accept incineration only as a last link in the waste management chain and require priority implementation of the upstream links first. They perceive coincineration as a door opener to direct incineration thus bypassing the desired waste hierarchy.

Q: Sometimes the term of "bypass technology" is found together with coprocessing/co-incineration/co-firing. What is this all about?
A: In the cement industry two types of bypass systems are distinguished: the kiln bypass and the "DOM-dust-to-cement-mill" bypass. The kiln bypass system guides part of the rotary kiln dust and gases to a quench and dedusting system. Aim is, for operational reasons, to limit chlorine and sulfur circulation in the kiln system to non disturbing levels. The extracted dust is enriched in mainly chlorines and sulfur and is added to the A GTZ-Holcim Public Private Partnership managed by FHNW v2.0, 10.07.2009 7 of 9

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FAQ
cement mill (final product) or landfilled. The DOM-dust bypass (as the name implies) extracts the "direct operation mode" dust from the main dedusting equipment and feeds it to the cement mill. Aim is to limit the enrichment of volatile elements (mainly heavy metals and organics) in the fine dust fraction (for reasons of potential emissions and of OH&S issues).

Q: How can alternative fuels utilization contribute to CO2 reduction of the industry or a country?
A: Some alternative fuels are renewable alternative fuels, i.e. their carbon content originates from the CO2 in the atmosphere (biomass as e.g. waste wood, rice husks, nut shells, animal meal, etc.). In addition, presently also CO2 and other greenhouse gases from waste disposal and incineration are not counted in national CO2 balances. Therefore, using biomass and waste derived alternative fuels, contributes to (calculated) low emission numbers.

Q: If cement kiln emission "do not change" when using AFR, why do authorities often regulate emissions together with the issuing of a respective permit?
A: There are countries with a still poorly developed environmental legislation. Authorities may then want to profit from the opportunity to correct such shortcomings (at least partially). Also, they may belive that emission increases would inevitably accompany an alternative fuels co-processing scheme or they may feel public pressure from stakeholders to play an active role. Finally also the cement plant operator may wish to have to stick to emission limit values in order to demonstrate compliance with responsible and efficient lawmaking.

References & further information

Holcim Cement Manufacturing Course Holcim Course on Environment Holcim-GTZ Guidelines on Co-Processing Waste Materials in Cement Production Other Holcim internal documents

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