Cement Production Process
Raw Material Extraction
The ODRA Cement Plant has its own open-pit mine located in the immediate vicinity of the plant, where limestone and chalky marl are extracted. We are the only ones to have what is known as a complete deposit that does not require the use of corrective additives other than iron-bearing additives.
Crushing and Transport
Stone in the mine is extracted by mechanical means. It is then crushed on site by a mobile crusher and transported by conveyor belts to mobile silos located in front of the raw mill.
Drying and Grinding of Raw Materials
In the ball mill, the stone is dried and ground to a very finely ground lime flour. The drying process utilizes exhaust gases from the rotary kiln. The ready flour is transported to homogenization silos.
Homogenization
In specially equipped silos, which allow for the uniformity of the raw material, a raw material set for the burning of Portland clinker is prepared. This is one of the more important operations in the cement production process, as the correct proportions and composition of the raw flour have a significant impact on the quality of the resulting Portland clinker.
Clinker Firing
The lime flour is subjected to a heating process during which the first chemical transformations occur. Then, the material enters a dry-method rotary kiln. In the sintering zone, the temperature of the raw material reaches 14500C, transforming from a solid to a liquid, and then after sintering, it regains a solid form with new properties. The resulting hot clinker is subjected to intensive cooling and then transported to storage halls.
Cement Grinding
The grinding process takes place in ball mills, where fragmentation occurs as a result of the collision of steel balls. Clinker is ground along with additives such as blast furnace slag, fly ash, and flue-gas desulfurization gypsum, resulting in the final product, which is cement.
Storage, Packing, and Dispatch
Cement is pneumatically transported to storage silos, from which it is directed both to bulk loading terminals, wagon loading as well as to packing depots (bags).
