REFRATECHNIK CEMENT GMBH

How refractory technologies can reduce costs and CO₂ emissions

All authors

1 Cost breakdown in cement production [6]

2 Price development per ton CO₂ emissions shown in cover picture from January 2014 until May 2020

$3 Torn steel construction due to alkali growth of the refractory lining$

3 Torn steel construction due to alkali growth of the refractory lining

4 Design and functionality of the friction compensator. During the expansion of the green coloured brick ring vertically upwards in the direction of the arrow, the orange coloured brick ring moves horizontally. The horizontal movement pushes out a metal pin (not visible) and the volume expansion inside becomes visible [8]

5 Design and functionality of the radial compensator (left). The radial extension is compensated by convex-concave-bricks with an expansion joint (cross section, right)

6 Thermal scan illustrating the thermal conductivity of lining and kiln shell

$7 Drying and heating-up curves of ED concretes in comparison to cement-containing refractory concretes$

7 Drying and heating-up curves of ED concretes in comparison to cement-containing refractory concretes

8 Set-up for Refra-Training on site

9 The containers are even equipped with an Refra-Rig II

Cement production would be impossible without refractories. However, the potential for saving CO₂ emissions through the selection of refractory material and design aligned to each kiln system is often underestimated. Optimal refractory solutions can extend operating times and prevent unscheduled kiln stops.

1 Introduction

Cement making was and is all about costs. Massive investments to set up production facilities and huge amounts of costs for energy, including expenses for CO₂ emissions, have to be paid back by an economic product. Growing environmental concerns linked to climate change and the depletion of fossil fuel reserves put cement and lime producers additionally in a challenging situation. Besides the main targets of producing high-quality products at low production costs, they must deal with strict environmental regulations worldwide which usually require additional investments and...

TEXT Dr Kathrin Weber, Mineralogist R&D, Dr Nijad Orujov, Technical Sales Manager,
Diego José Blanco Santos, Technical Sales Manager, Carlos Patricio Matus Jara, Technical Sales Manager, Refratechnik Cement GmbH, Göttingen/Germany