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Manufacture

How is Portland Cement manufactured?

The manufacturing process consists of grinding the raw materials intimately in certain proportions, mixing & burning them in a kiln at a temperature of about 1300-1500⁰C.

At this temperature, the material sinters and partially fuses to form nodular shaped Clinker. The clinker is cooled & ground to fine powder with addition of 3-5% gypsum.

The scheme can be schematically represented as below:-

The process can also be represented by a simple flow diagram as shown below:-

There are mainly two processes viz. “Wet process” & the “Dry process”. In “Wet process” the mixing & grinding of raw material is done in wet condition. In “Dry process” the mixing & grinding of raw material is done in dry condition.

There is also a “Semi-dry process” in which raw materials are ground dry and then mixed with 10-14% of water and then further burnt to clinkering temperature.

The processes of manufacture can also be categorized as "Traditional Process of Manufacture" & "Modern Dry Process of Manufacture".

FAQs

Why is Gypsum added in cement production process?

Why amount of Gypsum to be added to the cement clinker has to be carefully watched?

What happens in the kiln during process of Cement Manufacture?

Which is the more popular process: Wet/Dry? Why?

What is the difference between "Traditional Process of Manufacture" & "Modern Dry Process of Manufacture"

What is the Process of clinker production from raw feed to the final product ( including development of compounds of cement)?