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Mineralogical and geochemical study of industrial clinker: material behavior in the burning zone

  • 3rd CAJG 2020
  • Published:
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Abstract

The purpose of this study is to find out if there is a correlation between material clogging on refractory bricks and the mineralogical composition of the materials that form. For this reason, samples were taken from different points in the burner zone (16 m, 22 m, and at burner) of the rotary kiln during maintenance stops in order to investigate their specificities in terms of mineralogical composition and geochemical composition. A chemical composition analysis was carried out using X-ray fluorescence (XRF). The X-ray powder diffraction (Rietveld method) was used to determine the mineralogical composition of collected samples. The burning material morphologies were also assessed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The studied samples show a highly variable mineralogical and geochemical composition. The mineralogical investigation showed the emergence of additional high-temperature resistant phases as well as a percentage drop in the major phases that constitute the final product. All of these findings support the idea that temperature (beyond that necessary for clinkerization processes) has an effect on the mineralogy of the final product. This crust acted as a real membrane, maintaining the refractory brick’s stability by lowering the rate of alteration and degradation.

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Fig. 1
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taken from position 22 m of the final combination zone (formulation of C3S)

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taken from burner

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Acknowledgements

The author would like to thank C-B laboratory team and all employees and personnel involved in this study for their support.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Matériaux Lamellaires Et Nanomatériaux Hybrides, Faculté Des Sciences de Bizerte, LR Ressource Matériaux Et Ecosystème, Université de Carthage, UR05/13-01, 7021, Zarzouna, Tunisia

    Benmohamed Mohamed, Bejaoui Marouene & Ben Haj Amara Abdesslem

  2. Département Des Sciences de La Terre, Faculté Des Sciences, de Bizerte, Université de Carthage, Bizerte, Tunisia

    Benmohamed Mohamed, Ayechi Mohamed Slim & Alouani Rabah

  3. Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Sciences Bizerte, Application Laboratory of Chemical & Natural Resources and Environmental Substances, 7021, Bizerte , Jarzouna, Tunisia

    Belgacem Sahar

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  1. Benmohamed Mohamed
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  2. Bejaoui Marouene
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  3. Ayechi Mohamed Slim
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  4. Belgacem Sahar
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  6. Ben Haj Amara Abdesslem
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Correspondence to Benmohamed Mohamed.

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Responsible Editor: Domenico M. Doronzo

This paper was selected from the 3rd Conference of the Arabian Journal of Geosciences (CAJG), Tunisia 2020.

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Mohamed, B., Marouene, B., Slim, A.M. et al. Mineralogical and geochemical study of industrial clinker: material behavior in the burning zone. Arab J Geosci 15, 1170 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12517-022-10431-9

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