Cement, Energy and Environment

At our plant, a Vertical Roller Mill (VRM) is employed for Clinker and Slag grinding, with slag-based cement Production accounting for 85-90% (PSC, CC, and GGBS). The slag is sourced primarily from RINL, and until March 2022, we utilized 100% fresh slag. However, due to a shortage, we began using dump slag with over 18% moisture from April 2022, leading to operational challenges. Abstract Introduction The increased moisture content in dump slag significantly impacted power and coal consumption, causing issues such as transportation belt jams, uneven flow from hoppers, and increased hot air demand for moisture evaporation in the VRM. Imported coal is used to generate hot air, ground in a coal mill, and stored for use in the Hot Air Generator (HAG). Over time, our team observed a rise in specific heat consumption from the previous best of 64.1 kcal/kg of cement, signaling a need for process optimization. To address these issues, we conducted a comprehensive why-why analysis and identified five critical factors for fuel optimization: Dump slag usage to 20-35% and addressing irregular flow from hopper discharges and belt discharge chutes jamming. Reducing coal flow rate variations. Resolving burner nozzle jamming and wear. Enhancing Thermal Efficiency: Process Optimization of Coal Mill and HAG with Dump Slag Utilization B. Ramaswamy GM Operations My Home Industries Private Limited M/s My Home Industries Pvt. Limited. Is located at Mulakalapalli (V), Yellamanchili (M), Anakapalli District in Andhra Pradesh State. At this location, the company has two units for Cement Grinding with an installed capacity of total 2.0 MTPA of cement. The plant is certified with ISO 9001:2015, ISO 18001:2015, and ISO45001:2018 & ISO 50001:2018.. The cement industry is extremely energy-intensive, with energy costs accounting for 50-70% of the total production costs, including both thermal and electrical energy. In the present scenario it is very challenging to optimize the fuel and power used during the continuous operation of the cement plant without hampering production loss. 15