Cement News tagged under: clinker crystal

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Alternative fuels and clinker crystal characteristics

30 April 2018, Published under Cement News

Arthur Harrisson examines the effect of alternative fuel use on the characteristics of crystals present in clinker.  Figure 1: difference in alite quantity measured by microscopy and the Bogue calculation when burning increasing quantities of PSP Some four years ago an article was published in International Cement Review about the microscopic effects due to the use of alternative fuels (AFs). 1 In the intervening years the author has examined some 200 clinker sampl...

Crystal clusters in clinker

13 December 2017, Published under Cement News

With increasing use of alternative fuels, short homogenisation times in precalciner kiln systems and the requirement for high alite cement, the presence of crystal clusters is not expected to be a thing of the past. While the impact of crystal clusters in clinker on quality is not always clear, some effects can be seen.  Figure 1: brown and lighter blue belite crystals surrounding liquid phase Cement clinker for general-purpose Portland cement is composed essentially of four...

Crystal inclusions in Portland cement clinker

10 August 2016, Published under Cement News

The nature of inclusions in clinker crystals provides clues about the burning environment and are therefore important indicators of clinker quality. Figure 1: blue belite inclusions in alite crystals Of the four main crystalline compounds that are found in Portland cement clinker, two are produced as solids and two are present in the burning zone of the cement kiln as a liquid, which then crystallises on cooling. Microscopic examination of clinker has been employed as a quali...