Iron ore cement

Because calcium oxide comprises about 65% of Pordand cement, these plants are frequendy situated near the source of their calcareous material. The requisite silica and alumina may be derived from a clay, shale, or overburden from a limestone quarry. Such materials usually contain some of the required iron oxide, but many plants need to supplement the iron with mill scale, pyrite cinders, or iron ore. Silica may be supplemented by adding sand to the raw mix, whereas alumina can be furnished by bauxites and Al202-rich flint clays. 

Non-destructive analysis is especially valuable in an on line situation. X-ray fluorescence has above all become of major importance for the analysis of inorganic process streams. Cement production is an example of the successful application of this technique. The X-ray analyser can be used for the simultaneous assay of the various feedstocks (iron ore, clay and limestone) for Fe203, A1203, Si02 and CaO. In turn the signals from the analyser are used to control the feedstock supplies to the blending mill and to maintain an optimum product composition. 

A large part of Portland cement is lime-based. Sand, alumina, and iron ore are mixed and heated with limestone to 1500°C. Average percentages of the final materials in the cement and their structures are given here. 

This molten calcium silicate and the other more readily fusible silicates that are always present in the crude iron ores form a slag which floats on the surface of the molten iron. The slag is removed, allowed to solidify, and used in the manufacture of cement or as a road-building material after being mixed with asphalt or road tar. 

Portland cement is a finely ground, powdered mixture of compounds produced by the high-temperature reaction of lime, silica, alumina, and iron oxide. The lime (CaO) may come from limestone or chalk deposits, and the silica (Si02) and alumina (AI2O3) are often obtained in clays or slags. The blast furnaces of steel mills are a common source of slag, which is a byproduct of the smelting of iron ore. 

Tumble Balling drum, Iron ores, other ores, cement raw mix. 

---