Latest technological innovations in grinding with the vertical roller mill

Without any doubt, today's grinding plants have to feature highly efficient mills with high efficiency classifiers showing low specific energy consumption and the highest possible mechanical durability. However, that alone is not sufficient to create the highest conceivable standard. Concepts are required which are not only aimed at certain parts of a grinding plant and its process but which are part of a comprehensive approach to creating competitive projects. This can only be done by keeping the main goals in mind, which are low TCO-values, as little as possible environmental impact and the highest safety standards. Any design detail of a grinding unit should follow this philosophy. With the innovative COPE drive and the 4+4 cement mills and 6-roller raw mills in combination with a common parts concept covering both of the mill types, the technical and commercial risks derived from single grinding unit solutions are significantly reduced. Unexpected and undesirable down-time of the grinding plant is avoided by built-in redundancy and an optimized spares management. By employing the compact plant design which can be adapted to the respective project specifics, the CAPEX of an installation is significantly reduced whilst improving on process features at the same time. Supplementary to this, the LM-Master control system increases the availability of the grinding plant at high capacity levels and maintains a constant product quality. Many other issues, such as plant flexibility, separate versus intergrinding or variable speed versus fixed speed etc., can be raised and also controversially discussed with respect to their purpose in contributing to the ideal grinding plant. In any case, clever solutions are of an individual nature aligned with the requirements of the project and those of the cement market.