GCP Applied Technologies presented a research paper on improving the quality of cement from vertical roller mills by reducing pre-hydration during the 25th ASEAN Federation of Cement Manufacturers Technical Symposium & Exhibition. The company also showcased two new cement additive ranges – the TAVERO VM grinding aids and OPTEVA HE quality improvers.
Compared with ball mills for cement production, vertical roller mills require a smaller plant footprint and offer greater energy efficiency and narrower cement particle size distribution. Cement produced in vertical roller mills, however, sometimes exhibits lower strengths and longer initial setting times as compared to ball-milled cements made with the same raw materials.
“As more and more cement companies introduce vertical roller mills in their production, it was important for us to deliver solutions that can help optimize cement production and quality,” said Robert AuYeung, Asia Pacific director of marketing, GCP Applied Technologies. “Our research found that using suitable grinding aids and reducing water spray could limit cement pre-hydration and improve cement compressive strength from 1.5 to 3 MPa at all ages tested. Similarly, initial setting time was also shown to have a modest reduction of 15 minutes.”
To enable producers to lead in cement quality, cost efficiency and sustainability, GCP introduced the new additives ranges:
- TAVERO VM grinding aid additives, which help stabilize vertical roller mills during production by reducing water injection requirements and cement pre-hydration. At the same time, they improve cement performance by delivering higher strengths and shorter setting times.
- OPTEVA HE quality improvers are cement additives that provide options for gaining higher early (HE) strength and are particularly effective for challenging cements.
“TAVERO VM additives enable more stable VRM production with less usage of water and potential fuel savings with reduced need to heat the mill. It also enables better cement quality with lower energy consumption and less wear on equipment,” AuYeung said. “OPTEVA HE additives enable greater use of supplementary cementitious materials in place of clinker and increasing use of alternative fuels. This reduces greenhouse gas emissions and also lowers the costs of cement production.”
GCP has more than 80 years of experience producing high-quality grinding aids and performance enhancers. The company’s grinding aids have helped producers improve cement productivity by up to 20 percent without additional production costs. Similarly, GCP’s quality improvers have helped improve mill production by up to 20 percent; early- and long-term compressive strength by up to 30 percent; and helped lower energy consumption by about 25 percent, all without any loss of cement quality.
“Our cement additives and water-reducing concrete admixtures reduce air pollution equivalent to more than 10 million cars annually,” AuYeung said. “Through the use of GCP’s cement additives globally, about 3,000 megawatt hours of electricity are saved daily that’s equal to the daily energy consumption of half a million families.”
The company will continue to expand its comprehensive portfolio of additives for cement production under the OPTEVA and the TAVERO brand with new products rolling out in the future.
“We continue to reinforce our position as the global leader in cement additives by providing innovative solutions to our customers,” said Naren Srinivasan, chief strategy, marketing and development officer. “GCP Applied Technologies offers cement producers a complete portfolio of products and services, enabling them to lead in cement quality, cost efficiency and sustainability.”
