Cement production has increased more than thirty-fold since 1950 and almost four-fold since 1990.¹ Cement plants are expanding and in need of highly efficient processes more than ever.
Sika is a well-known worldwide company supplying quality cement additives to the cement industry. However, our capabilities go far beyond just cement additives for the optimization of cement properties and the cement grinding process.
¹Source: Global Cement Review
Trends & Challenges in the Cement Industry
Globalization & Worldwide Presence
Sika is the world leader in construction chemicals with several production sites and presence in more than 100 countries.
Sustainability
Sika is committed to sustainable development which aims to create lasting value for people and the environment. As the global leading company in concrete admixtures and cement additives, Sika is the right partner in developing products supporting sustainability challenges.
Cost - Performance Ratio
Cement additives from Sika allow for substantial increase of productivity in the cement mill operation, which reduces energy and production costs.
Efficiency
With Sika products like SikaGrind® additives, cement producers can reduce clinker content and maximize the addition of supplementary cementitious materials (SCM).
Cement Additives
Each cement plant has different characteristics of local raw materials, availability of possible clinker replacements (such as supplementary cementitious materials - SCM) and varying conditions during the cement grinding process. In addition, local standards and customers’ needs regarding cement performance vary due to unique climate and construction methods.
Therefore, the solution for highest possible production rates or maximized use of supplementary cementitious materials needs to be adjusted individually. Sika offers many types of cement additives known to improve cement quality, increase production efficiency and meet local demands.
Sika Solutions for Cement Additives in Cement Plants
Not all systems are designed the same, and so the amount and type of grinding aid needs to be analyzed and adapted to each system in order to optimize costs and formulations. The type of mill needs to be specially considered. Innovation is a key factor to be successful in grinding aids.
The grinding of the finished cement consumes approximately one third of the total electrical energy of a cement plant. Vertical roller mills (VRM) have a higher energy efficiency than ball mills, even if the ball mill is combined with a roller press. This and further arguments led to the increased share of VRM for the grinding of finished cement.
Vertical Roller Mills
In a vertical roller mill (VRM), the grinding takes place by pressure and shear force. The clinker passes within seconds between roller and table. The energy input to the material during one passage between grinding rollers and grinding track is relatively low. The thickness of the material bed between roller and table is a multiple of the particle size. Thanks to the integrated separator (classifier) the grounded material is separated after each passage. In comparison to a ball mill (with external separator), the separation is sharper. Usually VRMs have a bigger output than ball mills.
Ball Mills
In a ball mill, the particles are ground by repeated impact forces. The material needs usually more than 20 minutes from mill entrance to outlet - unlimited impacts take place on this journey. Depending on the efficiency of the separator and the grinding aid, agglomerates of fine particles are rejected and pass the ball mill again. Repeated impact and attrition cause a certain proportion of very fine particles and a broad particle distribution.
Quality improvers are used when there is a need to further reduce the amount of clinker and CO2 during cement production. The early and final strength need to be evaluated as well as setting and hardening of the final product.
Specialities are used if there is a request to influence the performance of the cement for a specific application or location. Multi-purpose products are developed to meet the specific need.
Due to growing environmental requirements expected for the cement industry, specific products are increasingly needed. For example, some cement additives are related to reduced dust emission and chrome reduction.
Calcined Clay Cement Additives
The Sika product portfolio includes cement additives enabling customers to adapt their materials and mix designs to the new characteristics of calcined clay cement. Water consumption, workability, hardening and durability will be maintained as compared to conventional products.
Sika is prepared for full-scale product testing with interested customers.
Sika Solutions for Calcined Clay Cements
Calcined clay (CC) cement, including the well-known limestone calcined clay cement (LC3), are two of the promising new technologies that will help the cement industry reduce emissions and work towards a more sustainable environment. CC and LC3 offer similar performance to 100% Portland cement with a reduced CO2 footprint, and they are composed of widely abundant materials.
Sika has specially designed a new range of admixtures for the needs of calcined clay (CC) cement or LC3 (limestone calcined clay cement) in concrete. These products will ensure lower CO2 emissions and at the same time suit the required properties for demanding construction projects when using the new binder technology.
The Sika product portfolio of new concrete admixtures enables customers to adapt their materials to the new characteristics of CC or LC3. Water consumption and compressive strength, as well as workability, hardening and durability of concrete – all these features will be maintained or even improved in comparison to currently used superplasticizers.
Belt Repair
Rubber conveyor belt systems are commonly used for raw material transport during cement production. Sika’s expertise can provide superior cost-performance options for bonding and repair of rubber belts and components for many applications.
Sika Solutions for Conveyor Belt Repair and Bonding in Cement Plants
SikaBond® R&B-100 is ideal for fast repairs with a rapid return to service of the conveyor belts.
SikaBond® R&B-100 This 2-component, high-performance elastomeric, synthetic resin based system is specially designed for the repair of textile and steel reinforced rubber conveyor belts. The material is primarily used to fix the commonly occurring, non-structural damage such as holes, cuts and ripped edges caused by the rocks. This significantly extends the service-life of the conveyor belt. When applied, it cures and develops outstanding mechanical properties on a well-prepared substrate.
The vulcanization of rubber is time-consuming and can also be an expensive business with a lot of hardware and special know-how involved. Sika is one of the few companies with patented knowledge in this field, plus a global reach to supply outstanding rubber-bonding adhesives.
SikaBond® R&B products are fast curing, flexible adhesive systems designed to replace mechanical fixings or fastenings, such as rivets, screws or welding as well as hot vulcanizing itself. They are also suitable for bonding to and/or between many other materials as well as rubber, including metals, hard plastics, glass and wood etc.
Waterproofing & Repair
Waterproofing, sealing and repair of different structures in the cement factory can be done with various complementary technologies from the diverse Sika product range.
Sika Solutions for Waterproofing, Sealing and Repair in Cement Plants
Concrete repair and protection of any structure (e.g. silos, buildings, platforms), protection from external factors like weather or internal factors like chemicals
Sika MonoTop® Concrete repair and protection mortars
SikaTop® Waterproofing and sealing mortars
Sika® Injection / Sikadur® Injection and grouting systems
Sika-1 / Sika-4a Waterproofing admixtures for waterproofing or rapid setting of repair mortars, e.g. concrete slabs, roads, silos during processing
Immediate sealing of water leakages in concrete structures
Sika MonoTop® Water Plug Very fast setting mortar
Sika® Injection Resins for post-applied waterproofing by injection
SikaSwell® S-2 Hydrophilic swelling profile for joint sealing
Sika-4a Rapid setting waterproofing admixture
Sealing of wet rooms, e.g. below tiles
SikaTop® / Sika MonoTop® / Sikalastic® Waterproofing mortars
Sika® Igolflex® Bitumen coating
SikaCeram® Tile adhesives
Sikaflex® / Sikasil® Joint sealants
Joint sealing of any joint in concrete structures or connection joints between concrete and steel
Sikadur-Combiflex® SG Adhered waterproofing tape system
SikaSwell® Hydrophilic swelling profile for joint sealing
Sika® MultiSeal Self-adhered bitumen and butyl tapes
Sikaflex® / Sikasil® Joint sealants
Surface sealing and protection of existing and new structures
SikaProof® A Bonded waterproofing membranes
SikaBit® Bitumen membranes
Sika® Igolflex® Bitumen coating
SikaTop® / Sika MonoTop® / Sikalastic® Waterproofing mortars
Tank lining and coatings for processing water or chemicals in silos, channels and tanks
Sikaplan® Thermoplastic sheet waterproofing membranes
Sikalastic® Liquid spray-applied membranes
Sika® Igolflex® Bitumen coating
SikaTop® / Sika MonoTop® / Sikalastic® Waterproofing mortars
Some of Sika's References in Cement Plants Around the World
LafargeHolcim Cement Plant
Barroso, Brazil
Maerker Cement Plant
Harburg, Germany
Cbb Cement Plant
Santiago, Chile
Lengfurt Cement Plant and Grinding Plant
Mainz, Germany
Caliza Cemento Inca Plant
Lima, Peru
Mixercon Cement Plant
Lima, Peru
UNACEM Cement Plant
Lima, Peru
