Cement manufacturing process

The journey to the creation of the final product that we call "cement" goes through the exploration of limestone deposits to the production of clinker and finally cement. However, there are many intermediate steps involving a lot of machinery and many production techniques.

The figure below helps us to understand the schematics of the cement manufacturing process.

Exploration

The exploration process mainly consists of finding limestone deposits to mine. Before the actual quarrying process can be carried out, there is a lot of planning and organizing that needs to be done. The steps involved are as below:

1. Prospective areas are selected based on how easy and cheap it is to find.

2. The raw material is then tested and sampled to determine the quality. Sampling can be done in any of the following 3 ways: Grab sampling, chip sampling, channel sampling.

3. Verifying the workable reserves for the raw materials.

The geometry of the raw material along with the quality of the deposit plays a vital role in helping to determine the area for selection.

In the case of cement manufacturers like Tansen cement, the cement is made with the highest quality of limestone sourced from the mines situated in Palpa.

Mining

The plans for the mining process is developed according to the overall geology of the materials involved; limestone in this case. Mining is the process by which underground raw materials are excavated and exploited for a variety of use; cement in our case.

The method of removals and machinery usages is dependent on the strength and hardness of soil or rock, the thickness of the layer, distance to be hauled, load-bearing capacity, and susceptibility to weathering.

The limestone is excavated from open cast mines after the process of drilling and blasting and finally unloaded onto the hoppers of limestone crushers. Similarly, the clays are excavated from open cast mines.

Production

A crusher is a device used in the manufacturing process that is designed to reduce large solid chunks of raw material into smaller and more manageable chunks. The limestone and sandstone are passed through these crushers and reduced to about 25 mm in size.

The 8 major components of cement are mixed in the following ratios

• Lime: 60-65%

• Silica: 17-25%

• Alumina: 3-8%

• Magnesia: 1-3%

• Iron oxide: 0.5-6%

• Calcium Sulfate: 0.1-0.5%

• Sulfur Trioxide: 1-3%

• Alkaline: 0-1%

The raw mix is then created in such a way that moisture content in the ground meal is less than 1%. The mix is then taken for the burning and cooling process. The mixture is heated up to 1400? - 1450?This process results in the creation of clinker.

The clinker that is finally produced in the rotary kiln is usually stored for a few days before it is ground in cement grinding mills. It is ground along with the appropriate quantity of gypsum ( about 3-5%) and other additive materials for the production of finely pulverized cement with the desired fineness.

Depending on the market requirements the cement is loaded in bulk. In the case of Nepal, it is generally packed in 50KG bags with the help of conventional rotary packs or electronic packs, loaded on to trucks, and then finally dispatched to the necessary destinations.

Tansen Cement is proud to manufacture the Best Cement in Nepal. Tansen Cement is manufactured by Palpa Cement Industries PVT. LTD., one of the biggest producers of the best OPC cement in Nepal.

Tansen cement is proud to manufacture one of the Best Cement in Nepal