As the global demand for cement increases, new cement plant projects are designed to larger production capacities. Alongside this requirement for higher output potential is the need to produce cement more efficiently, using less electrical and thermal energy. This is particularly true in the area of grinding, which accounts for a substantial share of plant power demand. By Alexander Peters and Dr Olaf Hagemeier, thyssenkrupp Industrial Solutions AG, Germany.
Population growth and urbanisation have led to an increasing demand for building materials and in parallel, there is a growing need for higher-capacity and more efficient cement plants. In terms of cement grinding, this has led to the development of more energy-efficient equipment such as the high-pressure grinding roll (HPGR). However, as a result of process technology limits for interparticle comminution, the compact design of the HPGR reached the machine limits in terms of cost-effective engineering and grinding capacity hit its ceiling.
