Step by step guide for cement manufacturing

Cement manufacturing involves several stages. It is not as complex as it looks but for a newcomer, before starting a cement industry, he must know about the cement manufacturing process. There are various types of cement, but Portland cement is the most prevalent form of cement that is often used.

Though a lot goes into the production of Portland Cement, the process of cement manufacturing can be divided into six categories. They are Limestone Mining, Limestone Crushing, Limestone Grinding, Pre-Heating/Pre-Calciner Clinkerization, Cement Grinding, and Cement Packing. Cement is manufactured through the dry process, semi-dry process, and wet process. However, in this article, we will give you an insight into the various stages.

1. Limestone Mining

The first process involves the mining of raw materials that are needed to create the cement. The limestone is extracted from the earth through eco-friendly blasting technology. It is the first step of cement production which is later transported to the cement production plant.

2. Limestone Crushing

The actual process of cement production begins once the raw materials reach the cement manufacturing plant. The limestone is crushed to the required Raw Mill feed size through high-tech crushers. In this stage, the particles less than 50mm and greater than 10mm are passed to the secondary vibrating screening equipment.

3. Limestone Grinding

The job of grinding is done by the Vertical Roller Mill that quickly grinds limestone rocks into powder of evenly sized particles. Popular Cement companies like Wonder Cement, Shah Cement, Shree Cement, and Ramco use these Vertical Roller Mill. The smallest particles travel through a separator and into the mill compartment at the top, while the heaviest particles return to the table for further grinding after passing through a separator.

4. Pre-Calciner Clinkerization

Extreme heat is applied in this stage. Preheating, sintering, and calcination are the core of clinker production. It causes a series of chemical processes to form new compounds known as 'clinker minerals'. The burning zone is typically between 1400 and 1450 degrees Celsius, and a typical stay in the kiln lasts around 15 minutes. The kiln process involves the temperature-dependent breakdown of the raw material minerals, followed by a recombination of the freed free reactive oxides to generate clinker minerals, the most significant of which are C3S (Alite), C2S (Belite), C3A, and C4AF. Clinker produced in the rotary kiln is placed in the clinker silo after being cooled in the Polytrack cooler from 1450 degrees Celsius to around 110 degrees Celsius.

5. Cement Grinding

Clinker and gypsum are all extracted from the clinker silo and fed to the cement mill, where it is mixed with up to 5% of gypsum and additives. Many factories use a cement crusher to obtain a scheduled size. The mixture is further sent for final grinding and then stored in concrete silos.

6. Cement Packaging

Now the cement production process is finished, it is then packed and sent for usage. Here, packing must be done with care to ensure that the product is delivered to the consumer in the proper condition and amount with no wastage.

From blasting the limestone to packaging the product, every step of cement manufacturing should be carried out with the utmost attention to detail. Following all the procedures patiently and carefully will reward individuals/ investors with more satisfactory results.

Wonder Cement is India’s leading and one of the fastest growing cement manufacturers and suppliers operating in almost every part of India including Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Haryana, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Uttarakhand