Increasingly stringent emission regulations, the use of alternative fuels, extended use of the quarry as well as the production of blended cements cause a trend towards high-frequency process control in the cement production process. Particularly further restrictions on CO2, NOx and SOx emissions require more rapid control of the kiln burning condition to maintain the clinker quality, while complying with emission regulations. AnA step further is to change the process and fix the burning conditions to comply with emissions and control the kiln feed instead. Both cases require high-frequency feedback of the free lime content in the clinker.
Classically free lime content in the clinker is analyzed with titration. However, titration is a relatively time- consuming method and the feedback into the process is slow. Furthermore, the results are operator-dependent, chemicals are needed and some operator skills are required. Free lime determination using X-rays on the other hand is a fast method, sample preparation is easy and results are not operator-dependent.
In this webinar various techniques to determine the free lime content in clinker with X-rays will be discussed. From an instrumentation point of view, free lime measurements can be performed with either reflection or transmission methods, while from an analytical point of view the free lime content can be determined either with calibration or Rietveld methods. The pros and cons of these various techniques will be discussed.