12 PLANT REPORTING 12.1 Definitions The assessment of cement plant equipment and operations involves numerous terms and numbers, many of which are prone to varying definitions. Plant capacity - Annual capacity can relate to various assumptions for kiln operation and cement intergrinding. A reasonable standard is the designed, or established, daily clinker production assuming 90% annu- al run factor and 5% cement additives: Annual cement capacity = Clinker/day x 365 x 0.9/ 0.95 Some elaboration is still required for a plant which has excess cement milling capacity either for producing blended cements or for grinding bought-in clinker. Kiln run-factor - Various definitions have been encountered including fire-on time and running time exclusive of planned shut-downs. Feed- on time is suggested as the most significant parameter and should be expressed as a percentage of 8760 hours per year. Kiln utilisation - Utilisation on a period basis is the average actual pro- duction rate in t/h divided by the base rate. The base rate is determined as the average over the best, say, 5 consecutive days of operation. A base run of other than 5 days may be used and it is expected that, with con- tinuous improvement, the base rate will rise over time. While most kiln. operators have long concentrated on maximising kiln up-time, much production may also be lost through operating at reduced rate due to instability or the limitations of peripheral equipment (eg reduced gas flow when raw mill is down). Utilisation facilitates focus on production rate as well as on operating time. Mean time between stops (MTBS) - The total number of operating hours over a period divided by the number of kiln stops, expressed in days. The kiln is considered stopped if feed is off for more than, say, 3 minutes. Cement Plant Operations Handbook * 169 "~ | P= 4 | F] mi "U0 2) ] = = G)To facilitate materials balance for reporting, certain conventions are desirable though not essential. Dry tonnes are used for production and inventory of raw materials though reversion to wet tonnes may be necessary in assessing quarry- ing, crushing and conveying efficiencies. Also, certain materials such as coal are usually bought with a standard moisture so that adjustment is required to reconcile inventory with purchased quantities and consumption. Equivalent tonnes facilitate the compilation of materials and process cost contributions to the unit (tonne) of cement produced. An equiva- lent tonne of cement is usually assumed to be 950kg clinker and 50kg gypsum. Then, for example, if there is 80% limestone in the raw mix and a kiln feed: clinker factor of 1.6: 1 Eqt Limestone = 950x1.6x0.8 = 1216kg Also, if raw mill operation costs $3.00/tonne of kiln feed ground Unit cost of raw milling = $3.00 x (950x1.6) /1000 = US$4.56 The system requires adjustment when pozzolanic or masonry cements are produced which differ significantly from 95% clinker. 12.2 List of Reports Minimal reports to plant management for monitoring operations include: Daily: Production Report with production, downtime, utilisation, and inventory by area (milling, burning, etc). Monthly: Production Report. Quarry Report with production figures and details of drilling, blasting, loading and hauling. Process Summary with operating data for each area. Downtime Report with total downtime and detailed breakdown for each area. Shipping Report with total cement shipped broken down by type, by bulk vs sack, by conveyance (road, rail, etc.) and by destination market. Paper sack inventory reconciliation and sack breakage 170 * Cement Plant Operations HandbookQuality Summary with raw material, process and product analyses and statistical variation. Mobile Equipment Report with availability, fuel consumption and details of major downtime. Manufacturing Cost Summary with total unit cost and detailed breakdown by area, by individual equipment and by grouping (power, fuel, labour, etc). Inventory Schedule valuing product, process, fuel and warehouse inventories. Order Status itemising rescheduled or overdue deliveries. Manpower Report comparing actual numbers with establishment by department, and including overtime, hiring and terminations. Safety Report detailing all accidents and total days worked (to month-end) since last lost-time accident. Projects Report covering planning, ordering, progress, and budget of capital projects managed by plant staff. 12.3 Inventories & Feeders Stockpile inventories are often calculated from production and con- sumption figures. At least monthly, all piles should be surveyed and their capacity calculated from standard bulk density assumptions. For large, disorderly piles, flyovers are particularly valuable; aerial digital imaging is now accurate to 1M horizontally and 15cm vertically. Weighfeeders should be calibrated regularly and crosschecked against inventories and indicated feed rates at other stages of the process. Fine material should be de-aerated before loading to a belt weighfeeder. Impact flow meters are particularly liable to instability and error if located in a moving air flow. 12.4 Downtime Reporting One of the most useful and revealing reports of plant operations is the downtime summary. It is believed that SP and precalciner kilns should be available to operate not less than 90% (330 days/year). The dictates of thermal efficiency and of sophisticated process control have led to large numbers of items of ancillary equipment and of control signals, failure of any one of which may cause the kiln to be shut down. It is much easier though, unfortunately, seldom as rewarding, to keep an old wet kiln in operation. Cement Plant Operations Handbook * 171 2 Pd z = Fs) mi "U fe) ] om z G)The purpose of downtime analysis is not only to monitor overall avail- ability but, more importantly, to identify and quantify reasons for break- down. It has, however, a pragmatic intent and pedantic accounting is not necessary. Usually, there will be an overriding reason for shutting down, though other tasks will be performed during the same period. It is suggested that the main reason only need be recorded though the other tasks should be noted in order to explain anomalous totals. For example, if a kiln is shut down for four weeks due to high cement inventory, and major re-bricking and maintenance are completed at the same time, the ascription should be voluntary downtime, but the sub- sequent low annual downtime must not be incorrectly construed. Any kiln voluntary downtime should be entirely due to excess clink- er/cement inventory due, in turn, to depressed shipment. By design, the kiln should be the limit on plant production and it should never be slowed or shut down either for lack of kiln feed, or for lack of clinker and cement space. If this does occur, then either maintenance or the capacity of secondary equipment is inadequate and should be reviewed. Likewise, there should be substantial voluntary downtime or spare capacity on all equipment other than the kiln. 12.5 Miscellaneous Reporting Exception reporting should be incorporated into automated data han- dling so that any abnormalities of process rate, efficiency, down-time, spare part consumption and cost are quickly identified. Operator's data logging is useful even when data is recorded automat- ically as it helps to bring the operator's attention to process changes. Either the operator or supervisor should also keep a narrative log of equipment shutdowns (with detailed explanation), alarm faults, requirements for maintenance or process investigation, process inven- tory situation, personnel accidents and any other matters that require management attention. Equipment numbering should allow easy identification and location. A typical system comprises area (eg kiln = 4), equipment type (eg buck- et elevator = BE), and a serial number; thus 4BE2. All maintenance and cost records should refer to equipment number. 172 + Cement Plant Operations Handbook12.6 Typical Daily Production Report (All data should be entered for both day and month-to-date). Materials Balance Stockpiles: Limestone Shale Silica Iron ore Gypsum Coal Silos: Limestone | Shale Silica Iron ore (Dust) Raw meal Coal Clinker Gypsum Slag/fly ash Cement, total Type 1 Plant Operation Primary crusher Crusher-dryer Raw mill Kiln Finish mill (Downtime [DT] reasons should be noted) Opening Prod/Recd —Cons/Disp_ Closing Prod Op Hrs tH kWh/h kWhit_kcal/kkg DEH Cement Plant Operations Handbook * 173 in © | == Pr = of a | ~U (2) a —_ = G)Primary Crusher, UH Crusher-Dryer, tH Operating time, % Fuel usage, kcal/kg CL Production, Limestone Shale Silica tron ore Feed material moisture, %, Limestone Shale Silica Iron ore Raw Mi ing Production, t, Raw Cement Eq Operating time, % Downtime, h, Total Voluntary Mill, KWhit % of rated kW Fineness, % -170# Meal moisture, % Material usage, kg/Eqt, Limestone Shale Silica Iron ore Ball usage, git Crushing & Drying Month 12.7 Typical Process Summary Data Year to-date Previous year 174 » Cement Plant Operations HandbookProcess Summary Contd. Burning & Cooling Production, tdlinker tcement Eq average, daily t clinker | Operating time, % Downtime, H, total voluntary Production rate, UH Specific heat, kcal/kg clinker Coal, HH Precalciner fuel, % Kiln exhaust gas, °C Preheater exhaust gas, °C Average free-lime, % Feed end, % Lol % SO3 Coal, % moisture % ash kcal/kg (net, adb) Finish Milling Production, t, total Type 1 Operating time, % Downtime, total voluntary Mill, % of rated kW kWhit, total Type 1, etc Gypsum usage, % Grinding aid usage, g/t Ball usage, g/t Cement Plant Operations Handbook ¢ 175 a) ee Bg =f a i) is] °o a mr = G)Process Summary Contd. Kiln feed, Type 1, CaS GA SiR Clinker, Type 1, C35 Free CaO Cement, Type 1, C35, % GA, % $03, % Blaine, cm2/g +3258, % Initial set, hrs:mins Strength, 1 day, kg/em? 3 day Tday 28 day Crushing & drying, KHh/Eqt Raw milling, mill auxiliary Blending Burning & Cooling Finish milling, mill auxiliary Utilities Packing & shipping Office, lighting, ete Total Quality Summary Electrical Power Summary 176 © Cement Plant Operations Handbook12.8 Typical Equipment Downtime Report Crusher-Dryer Voluntary. - Silos full Change materials Sub-total Involuntary- Feed & conveying Dust collector Refractories Mechanical Electrical Power off Inspection Misc maintenance Sub-total Total Voluntary - No raw materials Blend silos full ‘Sub-total Involuntary- Feed system Conveying FK pumpsilines Separator Liners/screens Balling Mill mechanical Mill electrical Power off Inspection Misc maintenance Sub-total Total DT# DTHrs Mo Mo Yr %ofDT %THrs Cement Plant Operations Handbook * 177 "U rc bed = =f x Lu Bo o a a = G)Voluntary - Inventory control Involuntary- No kiln feed Misc operating Feed system SP plug Kiln mechanical Kiln electrical Power off Control system Dust collector Refractories Cooler mech Cooler elec Fuel system ID fan Scheduled Sub-total Total Finish Mill Voluntary - No clinker No gypsum Cement silos full Sub-total Involuntary- Feed system Conveying FK pumpsllines Dust collector Separator Liners/screens Balling Mill mechanical Mill electrical Power off Inspection Misc maintenance Sub-total Total (Note kiln downtime is counted when feed is off) oo¢ 178 © Cement Plant Operations Handbook