Outlines of R&D - Cements -
Cement kiln in Ube Cement Factory
The cement industry plays a key role in building a recycling-oriented society through its waste treatment activities.
Three factories, Ube, Isa, and Kanda, are fully committed to carrying out their production activities taking regional and global environmental conservation into consideration, and process safely a vast amount (as much as 3 million tons annually) of various wastes.
Trace constituents in wastes for use are different from those in mineral raw materials such as limestone and clay, and their amount varies all the time. To obtain correct data on the levels of trace constituents in raw materials quickly, we are upgrading our analytical procedure by taking full advantage of advanced equipments such as ICP (inductively coupled plasma emission spectrochemical analysis).
Any variation in trace constituent levels and thermal process history subtly affect the crystalline mineral composition of clinker, resulting in inferior performance of cement and concrete. To maintain the stability of product quality, the crystalline structure of the clinker mineral is ascertained by crystalline analysis (Rietveld Method) using the latest X-ray analysis technique.
In addition, a wide variety of computer simulation techniques is used to contribute to environmental conservation.
The burning behavior of various kinds of fuels such as coal, waste plastics, and biomass can be ascertained by combustion analysis, and the data so obtained is applied to improve burners and to establish optimal combustion.
Analysis of the behavior of the major chemical constituents in a kiln, such as melting and vaporization, ensure the stability of product quality and stable operation.
