CALCINED CLAYS
ementos Avettaneda appeared on the with a lower CO, footprint.
fVArgentine construction market in 1919. Figure l shows three
At that time it operated under the name of welI differentiated stages
Sociedad An6nima Calera Avettaneda and overthe course ofthe
was exclusivety a lime producer. company's history:
In 1935 the company stafted cement . tow-substitution
production with an initialcapacity of cements (initiat stage)
60,000tpa. After severaI expansions and the . cements with added
launch of a variety of product ranges, today Iimestone (intermediate
it is an important ptayer in the domestic stage)
marketwith a capacity of over4.4Mta. . composite cements
Nowadays, Cementos Avella neda (current stage).
belongs to Cementos Molins SA (Spain) and Figure 2 shows a
Votorantim Cimentos SA (Brazit). diagram of cement
Over its more than 100-year history, iomponents (clinker +
ceftain vatues have been maintained. gypsum, [imestone and
These include emptoyees'sense of cementitidus materials). lt
belonging, continuous innovation, product indicates the areas of the
quatity, a commitment to safety, society manufactured cements,
and the environment, and a high level as wetl as the graduaI
of concern for sustainabilitv across all movement towards major
operations. substitutions. This increase
In this way, the products manufactured has resutted in a reduction
by Cementos Avellaneda have evolved to of the clinker/cement ratio.
make them increasingty sustainable and When Cementos Avellaneda decided to start producing composite cements
at its Otavarrfa works, the addition of
cementitious materials, (eg, naturaI
pozzotana, ar^tificiat pozzotana, slag,
,1e18_start Low-suBsflTUTtoN cEMENTs
lime fty ash, etc) were required. Foltowing a
production 1936 -First kiln (Lepol)
techn icat-economic feasibitity study, the
' 1957 -Second kiln (Humbotdt)
company decided to opt for an artificial
pozzolana produced by calcining clay
availabte in the factory area.
I
Sourcing clay materials r
I
The clays forthis project are sourced from
CEMENTS WITH ADDED LIMESTONE
1996 - Market launch
the geological strata located above the t
CPF Cement [imestone strata. The main types of clays
.2009 - New verticaI cement mill
| .2011 - Kiln 3 exnansion found are heterotithic clays, btack shales
COMPOSITE CEMENTS and red pelites.
The clays availabte in the localdeposits
were evaluated using ctassic testing,
including Loss on lgnition (LOl), XRF, XRD,
quartz, humidity and granulometry. The
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CALCINED CLAYS
I Low-addition cements
with-added
2 Cemen[s wrth-added ortoo
limestone
3 Composrte cements
i- ---
.\: -- -:ti -- - -)': ---
i.-' --
i/7
yO
.too
10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90
Clinker + gypsum
optimal calcination parameters were
determined by using thermo-gravimetric
and thermo-differential analysis.
Once the tests had been evaluated,
. simpte design
it was determined that to achieve the carry out this process industria[ty.
SeveraI processes were evaluated, the
. well-known process
transformation of the availabte ctays, they
most significant of which were catcination
. atlows a wide range of feeding sizes
shoutd be catcined at 800-850'C.
in a kitn and flash calcination of suspended
. great flexibility for different moisture
materia[. of input materia[.
Process selection
Knowing the required calcination The company opted for catcination In a
temperature and the minimum time, it kitn'given the fottowi n g adva nta ges: Equipment
. low capex instatlation After evaluating severaI options, the
was necessary to design the instatlation to
decision was taken to restart the KH D
Humbotdt Wedag kitn (Q3.15 x 40m) that
,
CALCINED CLAYS
grinding of the pozzolana erection and electricaljobs were
and separate grinding. contracted bythe cement producerto local
Separate grinding is carried suppliers.
out by an existing mill. Once the construction pnase was
completed, equipment commissioning was
Automation and undertaken by Cementos Avellaneda,s own
control system personne[.
The kitn's electrical '!
installation was A milestone project
implemented again as a The project was executed in 2016 and the
fu[[ automation and contror clay calcination facilities commissioned
system using the latest in2077. This allowed the [aunch of a new
availabte technologies. product in 2018, CpC Compound porttand
Cement. lt is the first product in Argentina
Services to use an artificiaI pozzolana made with
As the line's services had calcined clays, [imestone fiiler, ctinker,
either been dismantled, gypsum and additives. The new cemenr
were obsolete or in very type has the following benefits:
poor condition, they had . reduced fossilfuel consumotion
was constructed in 1958 and had been out to be reptaced. Work included a new . lower CO, emissions
of operation since 2000. compressed air network and blower room, . fewer non-renewable resources
The project assigned a new task to cooling water network and a new natural required such as limestone
many plant assets that were out of service, gas line. . uses clays available in good quantities
keeping them operational and valued.
from the producer's quarry
Otherwise, it would have been necessary Engineering, equipment & . in turn, this new development
to dismantle and demotish out-of-service execution improves product quality since it
facilities to guarantee safety conditions for Engineering was developed by Cementos maintains strength values, providing
workers. Avellaneda itself, contracting to locaI greater durability in concrete.
companies and equipment suppliers. The The project is a milestone for
Process description main equipment was supplied by Sinoma, Cementos Avellaneda and in particutar
Clay crushing is carried out in the existing Dynamis, Aumund, Motofrenos, Schenck forthe Olavarria ptant, both in terms
crushing plant. For crushed ctay feeding, a and FLSmidth. of 6chnologicaI know-how ano
metal silo, vibrating feeder, weighing bett Civil works execution, mechanicaI
and bucket elevator were instatted.
environmental sustainabilitv. I
In the pyroprocessing section, a new
high-momentum burner was installed that
to use 100 per cent natura[ gas or
is able
100 per cent petcoke as fuel.
A full maintenance programme was
undertaken for the grate cooter, which
inctuded replacement of the grate and
cooler fan motors, as welt as a new
refractory.
For the transport of pozzotana a new
conveyor was insta[[ed. An existing hall is
being used for storage.
Dust removal system
The old electrostatic precipitator (ESp) was
converted into a bag filter to compty with
current regulations.
The cooler exhaust gas is dedusted by
the same system. In this way, the gases
driven by the excess fan are sent to the
cooling tower inlet.
The existing cooling tower is used to
adjust the gas temperature required for the
filter bags.
Pozzolana grinding
The project inctudes the option of joint
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