B Grinding support by Dr N Glukharev, Ecofor, Russia F ses 00 cr PTI 2010/00032) cares ot by common ering or ending ald ney which to the desing of mio ofthe mate bing led suppres iseoaned by the properties of the Sse te 'Sbiolaye sce ofthe ning meda th igh dest tee Figure’) Under deformation these postive charged dsestons emerge onthe et the leakage of he poste charge to th mild mate Atte same tne thy atc negatve}-charged pode GRINDING AIDS my Grinding aids help raise the efficiency of the grinding process and increase mill capacity. However, grinding capacity can also be improved by reducing the loss of mechanical energy in the comminution process. Ecofor carries out this process through its active electro-neutraliser, which not only increases mill capacity but also cuts the use of grinding aids for small mills. forming a coating. Ecofor neutralises the positively-charged dislocation of the near- surface layer of the grinding body and eliminates the barriers to the leakage of positive charges. Thus the grindabilty of ‘material is improved and the efficiency of mechanical deformation increases. Thereby mill capacity improves by an extra 8-12 per cent in addition to increases made by the use of grinding aids. ‘The surface hardening of grinding media gradually occurs and this reduces their wear by 2-3 times. This causes an unusual after-effect of the device on the grinding media, which lasts from several days to three weeks. The effect is explained by prolonged wear free of defects near the surface layer of the ‘grinding body even when the device is turned off. Grinding material is charged with the Ecofor device via a distributed electric circuit through the grinding balls, .our plates, the mils body and shaft. The body of the output bearing is connected to the device input. As Figure 2 shows, several connection alternatives exist. Ecofor should be installed within 25m of the mill and its terminal block must be connected, eg to the top part of the mill's output bearing JUNE 2014 KER 89GRINDING AIDS To lateral mill's reducer To slide contact with mill To roller press Table 1: results of 12-year Ecofor application at Vassiliko Cement Works, Cyprus No. of Ecofor Cement mill Mill capacity (ph) devices with 82 07 90 2B In addition, wear on the mill's “Hardalloy Tangible benefits Since its first use in Egypt and Cyprus more than 200 devices have been supplied and the technology has delivered tangible benefits to cement producers worldwide. Operational results have not only shown increased cement grinding capacity but aso a reduction in electrical power consumption and grinding ball wear (see also Table 1 without Ecofor Ecofor ‘Av. capacity rise (%) Separator speed (pm) with without Ecofor Ecofor 9.76 896 1300 1600 1225 1525 balls reduced from 25-40g/t to 9-13g/t Increased grinding capacity After Ecofor is switched on, the closed- circuit grinding system shows an increased capacity (see Figure 3). The load of the elevator rises due to the pulse destruction of the aggregates inside the mill in 10-30 ‘minutes for a short time. The return from the separator is slightly reduced and the rill noise in the last few metres increases due to some destruction. The operator Mill exit draught (mm we) with without Ecofor Ecofor Power consump. wave) with without Ecofor Ecofor “120 “120 85 -80 40.2 388 367 356 simultaneously increases the fresh feed and decreases the rotational speed of the distributor plate of the dynamic separator according to the current data relating to Blaine and the sieve residue (eg 45pm). if the mills expert control system is used, the ‘operations are caried out automatically To improve abrasion, throughput should bee increased by 10-30 per cent. Ths can bee carried out without any mill clogging by reducing the mill ext With Ecofor draught by 20-40 per cent When grinding aids are used T in combination with Ecofor, the mills capacity increases by 8-12 per cent for ball mills and 4-7 per cent for vertical roller mil Lower grinding aid use While Ecofor's developers Residue Roos (96) Separator RPM (3a) Blaine $ (27g) Fresh feed F (tph) never took the initiative of reducing grinding aid use during presale tests, in nine ‘cases customers requested an investigation into the possible 10.90 122010 ‘90 HER JUNE 2014 119012901300 Time (h) 1401500 16001700 effect on grinding aid use. Table 2 shows that a complete replacement of grinding aids with Ecofor is possible only for 100GRINDING AIDS a few 50tph mills used today. However, a significant reduction in the use of such aids can be expected, At Aalborg Portland Cement, Denmark, Ecofor was connected to each of the two mills in tandem and grinding aid use was halved. This lower grinding aid consumption in the mills was in roller press systems - eg at Hanil and Sungshin Cement, South Korea. If the grinding process does not include a pre-grinding stage, itis possible to increase the mill capacity and define an optimal (eg 30 per cent) reduction of also observe srinding aids. However, in most cases where Ecofor leads to an increase in ball mill capacity, the proportional increase in ‘grinding aid feed is not required Grinding aids used in the final metres of the ball mill show a less efficient, performance as there is not sufficient absorption time. Therefore, the use of Ecofor in this area assists in building the electro-neutralising effect required and supports the mill's grinding performance. Conclusion The use of Ecofor improves the performance of a cement plant's milling Table 2: reduction in grinding aid consumption Plant (country) aid use Raysut Cement (Oman) 100 Holnam Rio Grande (USA) 100 Aalborg Portland ‘Cement (Denmark) 100 Lafarge Asland (Spain) 100 Rugby Cement Barrington (UK) Hanil Cement, (South Korea) Lafarge Retznei (Austria) Sungshin Cement (South Korea) SAS Tobe Technologies (Kazakhstan) operations. Test results from a range of mills have shown that Ecofor helps to increase grinding capacity and as a result, The Cement Plant Operations Handbook Sixth Edition Without Ecofor Grinding With Ecofor Mill feed Grinding Mill feed tph) aid use (% lower specific energy consumption, as well as improve the use of grinding aids. The Cement P|; El ts as Handbook BARU CR ce MUM eens UES EMCO On MIO Ma eee ep EONS CH COMICS WACatLenOmeaicals ducer, E to subscri and their staff. fea (C4 | You can subscribe to International Cement Review online at