The production of cement clinker is an energy consuming process. At about 50% of the energy is associated with grinding and milling of the raw meal, that normally is in the range 100% <200 μm with 90% <90 μm. Question: is it possible to use coarser components of the raw meal without reducing the clinker quality. With synthetic raw meals of various grain sizes the clinker formation was studied at static (1100 - 1450°C) and dynamic conditions (heating microscope). A routine to adjust the grain size of the components for industrial raw meals is developed. The fine fraction <90 μm should mainly contain the siliceous and argileous components, whereas the calcitic component can be milled separately to a grain size between 200-500 μm, resulting in lower energy consumption for milling. Considering the technical and economical realizability the relation fine/coarse should be roughly 1:1. The energy for milling can be reduced significantly, that in addition leads to the preservation of natural energy resources.
Cement production; energy saving; electron microprobe; heating microscopy