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Cement Additives -
Effective Decarbonation Tools

Suhaila Thien

Head of Technology – Cement Additives

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Contents
n Introduction to Fosroc

n Cement Additives Overview

n Traditional Uses of Cement Additives

n Understanding the Details and Maximizing the Benefits

n Conclusions and Next Steps

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n Fosroc is a world leader in the delivery of tailored Constructive Solutions for

virtually any type of construction project, combining high quality products, expert
technical support, customer service and innovation

n It has operations in 20 countries and has almost 3000 employees

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n Cement Additives
n Basic Grinding Aids
• Mainly concerned with improving mill efficiency and powder fluidity
n Performance Enhancers
• In addition, the benefits of a basic grinding aid, there is an intentional influence
on some of the key cement performance properties such as compressive
strength
n Functional Additives
• These are targeted at specific property such as air entrainment in masonry
cement or the reduction in water soluble chromium levels
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Case Studies – Traditional Use

• Raw meal preparation
• Solid fuel preparation
• Clinker reduction
• Concrete optimization

Case Studies – The Next Level

• Raw meal burnability
• Enhanced cement performance
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Raw Meal Preparation

n Burnability of a raw mix related to its fineness and in
particular the amount of coarse quartz (>45μm) and
calcite (>125μm) that it contains:
• Reduction of 2% in coarse calcite or 1% in coarse quartz will
decrease the clinker free lime by 1% at 1400°C, assuming that
all other parameters remain the same*

n Consequently, cement plants will need to grind the raw

materials finely enough to ensure good combinability
without overgrinding, which wastes energy and reduces
production capacity

n As cement plants are modernised, a raw mill that once

had sufficient capacity may suddenly struggle to meet the
demands of the kiln while maintaining the desired
fineness

n A raw mill that is not able to supply the kiln with feed of
the desired fineness is going to have a significant impact
on production efficiency and cost as well as clinker and
cement quality

*FLSmidth International Cement Seminar, Burnability of Clinker, 2002

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• Location:
Southern Caucasus Region

• Mill type:
Central discharge, design capacity 100 t/hr

• Problem:
Inconsistent feed materials reduced the mill
capacity to 80 t/hr and caused frequent
stoppages, which in turn had an impact on
clinker production

• Solution:
Cemax 360RM at 0.06% w/w dosage

Fresh Feed (t/hr) 90 µm Sieve Residue (%)

Blank Cemax 360RM Blank Cemax 360RM
80.0 87.0 12.1 10.4

200 µm Sieve Residue (%)

Blank Cemax 360RM
1.2 1.2
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Solid Fuel Preparation

n The fineness of coal or petcoke has a significant impact

on the burning process
• Simple rule of thumb states that the 90μm sieve residue
should be around half of the volatile content for fine coal and
<5% for petcoke*

n Given the need for cement plants to optimise fuel costs,

it is not uncommon to see mills that were originally
designed for coal grinding now being used to grind
petcoke

n Consequently, a mill that had sufficient capacity in the

past may now be struggling to meet the needs of the
kiln due to the harder to grind material and higher
fineness requirements

* ‘Holderbank’ Cement Seminar, Process Technology II – Firing Systems, 1999, 261

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• Location: Example 1:
India
Fresh Feed (t/hr)
• Mill type:
Blank Cemax 350CL
Example 1:
FLS ATOX coal mill (27.5) 48.0 57.0
Design capacity 70 t/hr

Example 2:
90 µm Sieve Residue (%)
Closed circuit 2 chamber ball mill Blank Cemax 350CL
Design capacity 40 t/hr 2.0 1.4

• Problem:
Change from coal to petcoke reduced the mill Example 2:
output significantly
Fresh Feed (t/hr)
• Solution:
Blank Cemax 350CL
Cemax 350CL
34.7 40.0

90 µm Sieve Residue (%)

Blank Cemax 350CL
1.1 1.2
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Clinker Reduction
Ordinary Portland cement typically contains up to 95% clinker
(the other 5% being gypsum)

The current average clinker-to-cement ratio over all cement

types in the EU27 is 73.7%*

Clinker can be blended with a range of alternative materials,

including pozzolans, finely ground limestone and waste
materials or industrial by-products, such as pulverised fuel ash
and granulated blast furnace slag

The degree of clinker substitution has an impact on the

properties of cement in terms of setting time, strength
development and durability

Reducing the clinker factor has both environmental (less CO2)

and economic (substitutes are usually less costly) impact

* ‘http://lowcarboneconomy.cembureau.eu/index.php?page=clinker-substitution
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Example 1:

Fresh Feed (t/hr) • Location:

Turkey
Reference New Situation
(81.5% Clinker) (76.5% Clinker) • Target:
118.0 120.0 To replace clinker by additional limestone in a
CEM II/A-LL 42,5 R

Cement Additives and Dosages • Problem:

Avoid the strength loss associated with increasing the
Reference New Situation
limestone content
PSI 106 (750 g/t) CSI 1244 (750 g/t)
• Solution:
CSI 1244 at a dosage of 750 g/ton
Strengths (MPa)
• Annual production:
Age Reference New Situation 600,000 tons
2d 20.7 21.9
• Annual profit:
28d 49.2 48.9
By replacing 5 % clinker with limestone: 360,000 USD
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Example 2:
• Location:
Fresh Feed (t/hr)
Turkey
Reference New Situation
(70% Clinker, 26% (65% Clinker, 31% • Target:
Limestone, 4% Limestone, 4% To replace clinker by additional limestone and
Gypsum) Gypsum) increase mill output
130.0 150.0
• Problem:
Avoid the strength loss associated with increasing the
Cement Additives and Dosages limestone content
Reference New Situation • Solution:
PSI 106 (500 g/t) PAAF (1500 g/t) PAAF at a dosage of 1500 g/ton

• Annual production:
Strengths (MPa) 800,000 tons
Age Reference New Situation
• Annual profit:
2d 28.3 27.2 By replacing 5 % clinker with limestone: 400,000 USD
28d 49.4 50.1 By increasing the mill output: 360,000 USD
Total: 760,000 USD
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Concrete Optimization
The vast majority of cement goes into producing Ready Mix
Concrete

Since Ready Mixed Concrete is not available for placement

immediately after preparation of concrete mix, the workability
of the concrete is a critical parameter

Optimizing the particle size distribution of the cement can

have a significant beneficial impact on the workability of the
produced concrete

Concretes that are workable will:

• Exhibit little internal friction between particles
• Overcome the frictional resistance offered by the surface of
the formwork and reinforcement contained in the concrete
• Be consolidated with minimum compacting effort
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Fresh Feed (t/hr) • Location:

Turkey
Reference New Situation
(CEM I) (CEM I) • Target:
205 246 To increase mill output and improve concrete workability
for a CEM I 42.5

Cement Additives and Dosages • Problem:

Avoid the strength loss associated with reducing the
Reference New Situation cement fineness to achieve reduced water demand
MGA (400 g/t) PAAF (1000 g/t)
• Solution:
PAAF at a dosage of 1000 g/ton
Strength (MPa) and Water Demand
(%) • Annual production:
1,200,000 tons
Parameter Reference New Situation
28d Strength 56.2 58.3 • Annual profit:
By increasing the mill output: 640,000 USD
Water
29.5 29.0 Gained new customers due to improved concrete
Demand
workability
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n What's next?

• By understanding the full system, benefits of cement additives can be maximized!

Source: https://www.cement-plants.com/
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Raw Meal Burnability

n Burnability can be defined as the readiness by which components in the raw meal/ kiln feed react to form the
desired clinker minerals
n Burnability is often measured by determining the amount of unreacted CaO or free lime

n Problems with burnability can lead to:

• High free lime • Dusty or large clinker
• Low cement strength • High NOx or SOx emissions
• Grindability issues • High fuel consumption
n The clinker burning system is complex
and occurs via a series of diverse
mechanisms
n The transformation requires mechanical,
thermal and electrical energy
n The reaction rate is slow in comparison to
homogeneous reactions (i.e. gas or liquid
phase reactions). This leads to the need
for high temperatures, longer reaction
times and finer materials
n The desired hydraulically active clinker
minerals are not all stable at the formation
temperatures and so the hot clinker must
be cooled rapidly
n The quality of the product is determined
by the clinker chemistry , clinker
mineralogy and the clinker microstructure
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Effect of particle size on free lime content at Multiple burnability factors equations presented in the literature:
various temperatures Miller (Cement Plant Operations Handbook)
LSF – 96
SR – 3.0 % Free Lime1400 = 0.31 (%LSF-100) + 2.18 (SR-1.8) + 0.73Q +
AR – 2.2 0.33C + 0.34A

Q = +45µm residue after acid wash (20%HCl) identified by

microscopy as quartz
C = +125µm residue which is soluble in acid (ie coarse limestone)
A = +45µm residue after acid wash identified by microscopy as non-
quartz acid insoluble

FLS Burnability Expression

% CaO1400 = 0.33 (%LSF-95) + 2 (SR-2.3) + 0.83Q+45µm+

0.56C+125µm

Q+45µm = quartz grains larger than 45µm

C+125µm = calcite grains larger than 125µm

Practical implications:

Decrease of:
3 LSF points
0.5 SR points
2% coarse calcite +125µm
1% coarse quartz +45µm

Will decrease clinker free CaO by 1% at 1400ºC

Cement Engineers Handbook, Cement Chemistry – Cement Quality , III Cement Burning Process
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• Location: Chemical Analysis of Kiln Feed Samples

Turkey
XRF – ARL 9900
• Target:
90µm residue 14-15% Parameter Sample 1 Sample 2
Without CGA With Fosroc
• Product: 360RM
Fosroc 360RM SiO2 12.65 12.68

• Mill Capacity: Al2O3 3.25 3.28

Approximately 80 t/hr (ball mill) Fe2O3 2.46 2.49
CaO 42.17 42.58
MgO 1.36 1.60
SO3 0.08 0.11
K2O 0.32 0.32
Na2O 0.11 0.09
LOI 36.60 36.68
SUM 99.00 99.84
LSF 103.33 103.97
SR 2.22 2.20
AR 1.32 1.32
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Particle Size Analysis – Reduction in the Coarse Calcite

No Grinding Aid

XRD analysis of the > 125 µm size fraction

With Fosroc 360RM

Reduced calcite content in

the > 125 µm size fraction
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Estimated burnability index Residual free lime at various burning temperatures

BI Temp. C 1100 1200 1300 1350 1400 1450

Sample 1 without Sample without
CGA 2.24 CGA 37.83 21.88 8.77 4.52 3.07 1.40

Sample 2 with Sample with

Fosroc 360RM 2.06 36.90 21.11 7.25 3.36 1.91 0.95
Fosroc 360RM

Evaluation of the potential cost saving by using Fosroc 360RM

Burnability without Fosroc 360RM 426 kcal/kg
Burnability with Fosroc 360RM 400 kcal/kg
Cost avoidance 6%
Cost for coal 15 USD/tons of clinker
Saving 0.90 USD/tons of clinker
Clinker Production 1,000,000 tons/year
Total Saving 900,000 USD/year
Clinker Factor 1.61
Raw Mix Amount 1,610,000 tons/year
Fosroc RM Grinding Aids 0.55 USD/kg
Dosage 350 grams/ton
Price of Fosroc RM Grinding Aids 0.1925 USD/kg
Cost of Fosroc RM Grinding Aids 309,925 USD/year

Net Saving 590,075 USD/year

Net Saving 2,165,575 TL/year
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Bringing it All Together

Baseline With Cement Additives
Annual Cement Production (T) 1,300,000 1,300,000
Annual Clinker Production (T) 1,000,000 962,000
Annual Raw Meal Production (T) 1,600,000 1,539,200
Clinker Factor 0.77 0.74
Clinker Specific Heat Consumption (GJ/T) 3.10 3.00
Coal Grinding (kWh/T) 20.0 18.0
Raw Meal Grinding (kWh/T) 25.0 22.5
Cement Grinding (kWh/T) 55.0 50.0
Assumptions:
1. Cement production remains fixed, but clinker and raw meal production are adjusted to reflect the lower
clinker factor achieved by using cement additives.
2. The reduction in specific energy consumption for grinding is considered to be 10% when using cement
additives

(T/yr of CO2) Baseline With Cement Saving Potential

Additives
Raw Meal Electrical Energy 12,000 10,390 1,610
Solid Fuel Electrical Energy 620 519 101
Clinker Non-Fuel Emission 594,718 578,489 16,229
Clinker Fuel Emission 205,282 191,111 14,171
Finish Grinding Electrical Energy 21,450 19,500 1,950
Total 834,070 800,009 34,061

Assumptions:
1. The average CO2 emission for the production of electrical energy is 0.3 kg of CO2 per kWh
2. The fuel split in the cement plant is 70% bituminous coal and 30% alternative fuels, which are considered to be zero emission
3. The average heat value of the bituminous coal is 30 MJ/kg and the average CO2 emission is 94,600 kg/TJ
4. The average CO2 emission for clinker production is 800 kg/T and the non-fuel elements is simply the total minus the CO2
emission arising from the combustion of the fuel
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Conclusions

n The use of cement additives across the various stages of the cement
manufacturing process can have a significant impact on the CO2 emission
associated with it.

n Using typical values that we have regularly seen during continuous use of
cement additives in full scale industrial production, it is possible to reduce the
overall CO2 emission by around 4-5%.

n It is important to note that these savings are over and above the financial
savings that are usually attributed to cement additives such as electrical energy
cost and the costs of clinker production.

n Given that the price of CO2 credits in EU Emissions Trading Scheme hit 100
Euro per ton this year, annual savings of over 30,000 tons of CO2 per year not
only help the plant reduce the carbon footprint it could also help to save them
over 3,000,000 Euros in CO2 credits
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