Re: (erielack) Coal trains to Portland cement

["Rich Chapin" <rwc27q_@_nac.net>]

Well, it's been a long time since I did the study of the effects of using
coal to manufacture cement (who remembers the governments coal conversion
programs of the late 1970s? after the original energy crisis?) but her goes.

Cement is a complex compound of calcium, aluminum and silica. When you add
water to it, a chemical reaction takes place which forms a rocklike,
crystalline structure. (the water chemically binds into the cement). Add
aggregates to the cement (stone & sand) and you get concrete. Curing
concrete gets warm (or even hot if there's a large pour) because this is an
exothermic reaction (gives off heat).

Take limestone and grind it to a powder. Take any other ingredient(s) and
grind them to a powder (Here's where I'm a little unsure of the other
materials, but they vary with the Type of cement you're making). Inject them
into the kiln (a big, long, almost horizontal, rotating steel tube) and
DIRECTLY apply heat, lots of it, in the form of a big flame. Heat the beast
to several thousand degree F. A reaction occurs as everything moves down the
kiln, forming the cement and what's called cement "klicker", which are small
balls of cement. These balls are ground, like flour, to produce the cement
powder we're all familiar with.

Pulverized coal can be used to fire a cement kiln and create this "giant
flame" inside the rotating kiln. Don't remember how much coal per how much
cement (i.e., pounds of coal required for each pound of cement produced) but
it was large, as I remember the major "environmental" issue was the rainfall
runoff from the coal piles (but that's another story) which would be large
(acres is size) for the cement kilns in the study (no, don't remember their
capacity).

So, that's it for the Saturday morning engineering lesson. There'll be no
homework.

Best Regards,
Rich Chapin



- ----- Original Message -----
From: David J. Monte Verde <dmvgvt_@_earthlink.net>
To: <VSX9000_@_aol.com>; <trains@robertjohndavis.com>; <erielack@railfan.net>
Sent: Saturday, July 13, 2002 8:25 AM
Subject: Re: (erielack) Coal trains to Portland cement


> Why does the process of making cement use coal? To dry out the cement once
> it is mined?  Regards David MV
>
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: <VSX9000_@_aol.com>
> To: <trains_@_robertjohndavis.com>; <erielack@railfan.net>
> Sent: Friday, July 12, 2002 8:26 AM
> Subject: Re: (erielack) Coal trains to Portland cement
>
>
> > In a message dated 7/11/2002 8:43:44 PM Eastern Daylight Time,
> > trains_@_robertjohndavis.com writes:
> >
> >
> > >
> > > Lou,
> > >
> > > Which plant are you talking about, Alpha?
> > >
> > > The LNE hauled a lot of B&O bituminous to the cement region.
> > >
> > > Rob
> > >
> >
> > Rob,
> >
> >   Don't know the name (Hercules maybe? ).  Just remember seeing "long"
> trains
> > of PRR, P&S, etc.... hoppers every so often eastbound through
Gouldsboro.
> >
> > Thanks,
> > Lou
> >
>
>
>
>

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