An on-belt elemental analyser for the cement industry

On-line control of raw mill feed composition is a key factor in the improved control of cement plants. A new and improved on-conveyor belt elemental analyser for cement raw mill feed based on neutron inelastic scatter and capture techniques has been developed and tested successfully in Adelaide Brighton’s Birkenhead cement plant on highly segregated material with a depth range of 100 to 180 mm. Dynamic tests in the plant have shown analyser RMS total errors of 0.49, 0.52, 0.38 and 0.23 wt% (on a loss free basis) for CaO, SiO2, Al2O3 and Fe2O3 respectively, when 10-minute counting periods are used.