Monitoring Mineralogical Changes – An Effective Tool for Process and Quality Control in Cement Manufacturing Process – A Review

Conventionally, the cement manufacture process is controlled at each unit operation by monitoring the oxide composition of raw mill, kiln feed as well as clinker. The chemical composition although is effective in controlling the cement process, many a times it doesn’t reveal the changes in the process which ultimately could lead to unsteady kiln operation and it also affects the extent of formation of clinker mineral phases,  which would affect the cement quality.

Monitoring the mineralogical changes in a manufacturing process has always been an aspiration in a cement plant. Through the recent innovations and developments in the modern analytical techniques, this aspiration of monitoring the mineralogical changes is a reality, wherein along with the chemical composition, the mineralogical composition and micro-structural changes could be monitored for effective process and quality control at each stages of cement manufacturing process.

Globally substantial work has been carried out on correlating mineralogy and micro-structure of the raw materials and in-process materials viz. raw meal / kiln feed / hot meal and clinker with the quality control and quality assurance at different stages of cement manufacturing process.

The paper discusses effective use of mineralogical monitoring of raw meal / kiln feed, hot meal sample, in process clinker produced for effective process quality control. The paper further discusses application of the concept of mineralogical control of cement grinding process and control of cement additions such as gypsum and blending materials like fly ash and slag in blended cements. The paper finally conclude that monitoring of mineralogy along with the chemical composition of cement could be used for effectively controlling the cement manufacturing process . The paper was presented and published at 11th NCB Int Seminar