M.Necdet Kaya
MAPEI Construction Chemicals, Cement Additives Group Sales Manager
Established in Milan in 1937, MAPEI operates today with 90 subsidiaries in 57 countries, 83 production facilities in 36 countries, and more than 10,000 people employed within the group.
With 20 different product groups, MAPEI GROUP sells more than 5000 products, such as adhesive and complementary products for the application of all types of floor, wall and coating materials, waterproofing products, thermal insulation products, floor covering products, special mortars, cement and concrete additives, products for underground construction, sports facilities, products for the restoration of concrete and historical structures, and products for the maritime sector.
MAPEI TURKEY presents 16 different product groups to the market by collecting them in 4 main groups. It currently operates with its head office located in Ankara, offices in Istanbul and Izmir and its production facility in Polatlı OSB, one of the most important industrial zones of Ankara. It covers the whole of Turkey through 8 regional directorates and nearly 300 dealers consisting of companies specialized in ceramics, construction, repair of stone structures, restoration of historical monuments and heat insulation and paint groups. It offers ceramic adhesives and joint filler products, of which it is the market leader in the world, to the market mainly through its dealer network consisting of Turkey’s most exclusive ceramic stores.
MAPEI sees the world as a large construction site full of oportunities and develops leading products and system solutions that define the standards in the building industry, meet the needs of the building and its end users, and offer maximum quality and durability that defies years. It adopted the target to continue to grow with its products that have proven their quality in projects and markets around the world, to ensure the more effective use of chemicals in cement production, and to lead the full fulfillment of the needs by using more comprehensive analysis methods.
The cement additive line established in Ankara Polatlı factory in 2018 can produce completely based on automation and has stainless steel tanks and mixers. It currently has the production capacity to meet the needs of all cement factories in Turkey, with this cement additive line and the specially conditioned warehouse capacity for the cement line which was increased in 2019.
MAPEI Spray System for Vertical Mills
Vertical Mills and Ball Mills:
The use of vertical mills in cement grinding is increasing compared to ball mills due to some of their advantages. Highlights of these advantages are as follows:
• The specific energy value, ie electricity consumption of kWh/ton, is less in cement production,
• Vertical mills occupy less space,
• It is easier to switch from one cement type to another cement type in vertical mills,
• Since less energy is used in these mills, the greenhouse gas emissions of the cements produced with these systems are also lower.
MAPEI Construction Chemicals Cement Chemicals Group (C-ADD) has developed chemicals specific to these mills and the “New Dosing System for Vertical Mills” as a result of its R&D studies on “Cement Chemical for Vertical Mills” with this widespread use.
MAPEI Lance System For Vertical Mills:
The MAPEI Lance System, also called the MAPEI Spray System, was developed considering the different characteristics of vertical mills and ball mills.
• In vertical mills, the residence time of the particles in the system is shorter.
• The amount of scavenging air per ton of cement is higher in vertical mills.
• The meeting times of chemicals and particles are shorter in vertical mills.
• Plenty of water is used in vertical mills for bed formation, in other words to prevent vibration. The amount of water used more than necessary causes prehydration and this leads to a decrease in cement strength. The amount of water used should not exceed 1.5 percent%.
Chemicals and dosing systems developed by MAPEI provide the following:
• In the selection of active substances, raw materials with higher adsorption, that is, the ability to attach to the surface, are preferred. To achieve this, auxiliary materials with high adhesive properties are also used.
• Chemicals used in vertical mills should consist of less volatile components. To achieve this, MAPEI prefers specially selected raw materials.
• Water is already supplied to the mill. Giving the chemical together with water increases the chance of meeting the active components with the particles being milled. Therefore, the process of introducing the chemical with the water used in grinding has been turned into an advantage with the MAPEI Spray System.
• The dosing system should be able to deliver the chemical at certain angles and spraying should be provided with compressed air. In this way, the rate of adhesion of the chemical to the particles increases.
Figure 1. Parts of the MAPEI Spray System for Vertical Mills
Figure 2. System used to supply cement chemicals, water and compressed air together
Figure 3: Spraying the chemical with water
Stream Of Chemical, Water and Air Combined and Spraying:
Cement chemicals are industrial products with very low dosage. In practice, the dosage generally varies between 200 grams and 2000 grams per 1 ton of cement. In recent years, this rate has decreased further. For this reason, it becomes difficult for the active substances of the chemicals to meet the ground particles. In the MAPEI Spraying System, “water+chemical+air” enters the mill together, thus increasing the meeting rate. As a result, the effectiveness of the cement chemical increases.
Conventional Methods And MAPEI Dosing System:
Delivery of the chemical to the mill is performed by the following methods:
1. Giving the chemical on the clinker band,
2. Giving the chemical to the mill neck,
3. Adding the chemical to the water tank,
4. Giving the chemical to the water supply line,
5. Spraying the chemical with the MAPEI dosing system.
Figure 4: View of air, chemical and water lines
Sample Application (From Abroad)
Sample Application (Domestic)
Results:
• The effectiveness of the chemical increases with the MAPEI Dosing System in Vertical Mills.
• The amount of water supplied to the mill is reduced, thus preventing a decrease in strength. In other words, an increase in strength is provided.
• The system is offered by MAPEI to its own customers.
• Practices continue successfully in Turkey as well.
Kaynaklar / References:
• MAPEI Eğitim Notları, https://cadd.mapei.com/en/
• Magistri Matteo, Keeping up Quality, World Cement, April 2015
• Recchi, P., Magistri M., D’arcang Elo,P., Talantikite, A.,: ‘ Facilitating cement grinding in vertical mill s’, Zement Kalk Gips International , October 2010.
• Padovani D., ‘Enhanced performance’. International Cement Review