UCIC Industrial Training Program Review

Trainee: Amaar (Ammar Bassem) - Plant Operations

United Cement Industrial Company - Tufail PlantIndustrial Training Program

UCIC Industrial Training Program Review

Trainee: Amaar (Ammar Bassem) - Plant Operations

United Cement Industrial Company - Tufail PlantIndustrial Training Program

Overview & Objectives

Plant Flow: Quarry Crushing Raw Grinding Preheater Kiln Cooler Cement Mill CF Silo
Key Equipment: Sinoma Rotary Kiln, Loesche Vertical Roller Mill, IKN Clinker Cooler
Target: Achieve A+ operational performance across all plant departments
Hands-on exposure to DCS control systems, plant instrumentation, and process optimization

Crushing & Raw Materials

Quarry Operations: The plant is supplied by a network of seven quarries in the region. Three key quarries include:

‌محجر عثمان

Othman Quarry

‌محجر شرق طفيل

East Tufail Quarry

‌محجر الجموم

Al-Jamoum Quarry

Crushing Section - التفكيك

Crusher Type: Impact Crusher - امباكت كرشر

Material Flow Sequence:

Apron Feederالابرم فيدرWobbler Feederالوبلر فيدرImpact CrusherBeltبلاStorage Warehouseالمخزن

Rotor

الروتري - high-speed rotation generating the primary impact force that fractures the feed material.

Grinding Bars

القراندنق بار - secondary crushing stage; material is further reduced between bars and impact plates.

Armor Plates / Liners

البلاط / البطانات - protect the crusher housing and provide the impact surface for material breakage.

Target Output Size: These components work in synchronization to reduce raw materials to approximately 10 cm.

Raw Mill - طاحونة الخام

1. Pre-Grinding Material Handling

Four materials extracted via belts (بلتات): 2 types of Marble, 1 Iron (حديد), 1 Gypsum (جبس), and 1 CR.
Materials pass through a Stacker.
A Metal Detector (كاشف معادن) removes iron fragments before entry.
Stored in 5 Bins (بينات).
Wet Feeders (ويت فيدر) underneath feed by weight and adjust ratios per lab requirements.

2. Grinding Process

Materials move via belt to the raw mill.
Rotary Airlock (روتري ايرلوك) and Rotary Feeder (روتري فيدر) manage flow and pull powder using hot gases.
Grinding occurs on the Grinding Table (قراندنق تيبل), which rotates and pushes materials to the edges.
4 Rollers (رولات) press materials into fine powder on the table.
Hot gases enter from under the table through the Ring Nozzle (رينق نوزل).

3. Separation and Storage

A separator at the top uses rotating blades (ريش دوارة) to filter the material.
Fine powder passes through to the Raw Mill Silo (راو ميل سايلو).
Coarse particles fall back to the grinding table for re-grinding.

Preheating & Calcination

Preheater Tower: 4-6 stage cyclone suspension preheater maximizes heat recovery from exhaust gases
Precalciner: Fires 60% of total fuel before the kiln, achieving 90% calcination by the time material enters the rotary kiln
Reaction: CaCO₃ + Heat → CaO + CO₂ (endothermic, ~830°C)
Reduces thermal load on the kiln, increasing production capacity by up to 60%

Pyroprocessing in the Rotary Kiln

Sinoma Rotary Kiln: 4.8m x 72m, 3-5 RPM, refractory-lined rotating cylinder at a 3-4% slope
Thermal Zones: Drying (<200°C) → Preheating (200-750°C) → Calcining (750-1000°C) → Sintering (1450°C)
Clinkering: Liquid phase formation (25-30%) enables C₃S nucleation at 1450°C peak temperature
Cooling: IKN grate cooler quenches clinker from 1400°C to <100°C, recovering heat for combustion air

Clinker Chemistry & Mineralogy

Alite - C₃S

Primary strength contributor (50-70%). Reacts fast with water, responsible for early strength development within 7-28 days.

Belite - C₂S

Hydrates slowly (15-30%). Contributes to long-term strength gain beyond 28 days. More energy-efficient to form.

Aluminate - C₃A

Reacts instantly with water (5-10%). Causes flash set if not controlled by gypsum addition. High sulfate resistance requires low C₃A.

Ferrite - C₄AF

Acts as flux lowering clinkering temperature (5-15%). Gives cement its grey color. Hydrates at a moderate rate.

Cement Mill - السمنت ميل

1. Material Feeding & Pre-Grinding

Post-kiln, clinker is stored in the Clinker Silo.
Clinker is extracted via belts and fed into Mill 1 and Mill 2 in specific proportions.
Gypsum and other additives are added based on laboratory requirements.

2. Mill Configuration

Ball Mill (طاحونة كروية): a horizontal rotating cylinder filled with steel balls.
Chamber 1 (الغرفة الأولى - Coarse Grinding): steel balls from 90 cm down to 60 cm (decreasing in 5 cm increments). Rotation lifts and drops balls to break the clinker.
Diaphragm (الدايفرام): a middle wall that allows sized broken clinker to pass into the second chamber.
Chamber 2 (الغرفة الثانية - Fine Grinding): smaller steel balls from 40 cm down to 15 cm (decreasing in 5 cm). Grinding through friction and rubbing to achieve full fineness.

3. Separation & Final Product

An Air Separator (سبريتر هوائي) filters the ground material.
Fine powder meeting specifications is sent to the Final Product Silos (المنتج النهائي).
Coarse particles (الريجيكت - Reject) are returned to the mill for re-grinding.

QC & Safety/EHSS

Sampling Loops: Automated samplers at crusher, raw mill feed, kiln feed, clinker, and cement dispatch ensure process control.
XRF Analyzer: X-Ray Fluorescence provides elemental analysis (CaO, SiO₂, Al₂O₃, Fe₂O₃) within minutes for real-time quality adjustment.
LSF Monitoring: Lime Saturation Factor (93-102%) ensures correct clinker mineral formation and prevents free lime issues.
Safety: SHEM compliance, PTW system, LOTO procedures, H2S/CO monitoring, and heat stress management in Tufail's extreme summer (44°C+ / 110°F+).

Conclusion & Takeaways

This industrial training at UCIC's Tufail plant provided deep, hands-on exposure to every stage of cement manufacturing - from quarry operations through to finished product dispatch. Beyond technical skills in process control, equipment operation, and quality management, the experience reinforced the discipline of industrial safety and the value of teamwork under demanding conditions.