Lafarge Canada Inc.

Alan Van Sloten

David Bridson Oates

Donald Stephen Hopkins

Kevin Moire Cail

Philip Souza Zacarias

John Graham Whellock

Paul Lehoux

Robert Kim Ungar

Michael Ritch

James Edward Cross

Syed Suhail Akhtar

Horace Hershel Compton

Alan Melvin Van Sloten

Philip De Zacarias

Michael David Thomas

Paul Honore Lehoux

A synthetic slag is produced by melting the mineral content of an organic carbon-containing mineral, for example, oil shale or tar sands, with a source of lime such as cement kiln dust. The organic carbon, especially hydrocarbon, content of the mineral is oxidized by oxygen gas, which typically is derived from air or an air/oxygen combination, in an exothermic reaction and the heat generated provides the thermal energy for the reaction between the mineral content and the source of lime. In this way the gaseous products will typically comprise nitrogen, unreacted oxygen, water vapor and carbon dioxide, and heat energy can be readily recovered from the hot off gas products evolving during the combustion reaction. The synthetic slag may be pelletized and employed as lightweight mineral aggregate or milled, or atomized and then milled, to cement fineness to provide slag cement.

Use of organic carbon-containing minerals

Concrete's durability to freeze-thaw cycles is dependent on its level of air entrainment, the appropriate level of which is achieved with the aid of surface active or air entraining agents. These agents promote the fragmentation of large air voids into smaller ones and stabilize air voids in the concrete. The carbon matter found in fly ash when used as a pozzolanic component of concrete, adsorbs the air entraining agents, reduces the air voids and concrete's ability to withstand many freeze-thaw cycles. This invention teaches a process for a partial removal of the carbon from the coal ash, used in concrete, through a partial combustion of only a fine carbon fraction of the carbon residue of the coal ash responsible for adsorbing the air entraining agents, in a reactor with a controlled ignition system. The process of the invention thus limits the adsorption of the air entraining agents and improves the freeze-thaw properties of the concrete produced.

Carbon removal through partial carbon burn-out from coal ash used in concrete

A method of cement clinker manufacture comprises feeding a clinker feed material containing a source of calcium carbonate into a feed end of a cement kiln, the feed material is heat processed in the kiln to produce cement clinker with emission of carbon dioxide from thermal decomposition of said source of calcium carbonate and discharge of the carbon dioxide from the kiln, and cement clinker is discharged from a discharge end of the kiln; a coal ash derived from burning pulverized lignite or sub-bituminous coal is included in the feed material fed into the feed end to replace a portion of the source of calcium carbonate, and provides a source of calcium as well as other components notably silicon and aluminum, in the formation of the cement clinker, with a lowering of the emission of carbon dioxide in the kiln, per unit weight of cement clinker produced.

Process for incorporating coal ash into cement clinker

A synthetic slag is produced by a high temperature combustion reaction between coal ash having a high carbon content, and a source of lime such as cement kiln dust. The carbon content of the coal ash is oxidized by oxygen gas, which typically is derived from air or an air/oxygen combination in an exothermic reaction and the heat generated is exploited in the melting process. In this way the gaseous products will typically comprise nitrogen, unreacted oxygen and carbon dioxide, and heat energy can be readily recovered from the hot off gas products evolving during the combustion reaction. The synthetic slag may be pelletized and employed as lightweight mineral aggregate or milled to cement fineness to provide slag cement.

Use of high carbon coal ash

The yield of cement clinker recovered from a kiln assembly is enhanced by feeding a particulate material comprising silica and an oxide of at least one of calcium and aluminum, for example, fly ash into contact with hot cement clinker; the fly ash melts to a partially fused material which chemically reacts with the hot clinker to produce a pyroprocessed cement clinker of crystalline hydraulic silicates; the extruder is added to the hot cement clinker downstream of the formation of the cement clinker, and suitably is added to the hot cement clinker at the upstream end of the cooler of the kiln assembly, or within the kiln, downstream of the burning zone, and more especially in the initial cooling zone at the discharge end of the kiln.

Enhancement of cement clinker yield

Undried blast furnace slag, for example, granulated blast furnace slag having a water content of 3 to 20, generally 5 to 15%, by weight, is introduced to hot clinker in a cooler downstream of a cement kiln; the water is volatilized or evaporated in the cooler to provide a cement clinker having an effective content of dried blast furnace slag free of water; this permits use of blast furnace slag in a blended cement without the need for separate special steps for drying the slag.

Process for producing cement clinker containing blast furnace slag

A combination of a class C fly ash having a high analytical content of CaO, and a silica fume, with a hydraulic cement, such as Portland cement, produces concrete with alkali-silica reactive aggregate having acceptable low expansion such as by ASTM C 1260; and also produces sulphate resistance with mineral aggregates generally.

Cement composition for alkali-reactive aggregate and for sulphate

Ground bottom ash, a waste material derived from combustion of coal, which presents a disposal problem, replaces part of the cement in a cementitious material useful in concretes and mortars and provides compressive strengths in concretes comparable with or better than corresponding cements in which there is no replacement of cement by ground bottom ash and cements containing fly ash.

Cementitious composition containing bottom ash as pozzolan and concretes

Contaminated coal ash, for example flyash contaminated with carbon is introduced to hot clinker in a cooler downstream of a cement kiln; the carbon is combusted in the cooler to provide a cement clinker having an effective content of flyash free of carbon; this permits use of flyash contaminated with carbon without the need for separate special steps for carbon removal; volatile contaminants or contaminants having a volatile component, for example adsorbed ammonia are similarly removed in the cooler by volatilization.

Process for producing cement clinker containing coal ash

A cement mix based on an inorganic hydraulic cement, for example, Portland Cement, an air-cooled blast furnace slag and silica fume produces concretes having strength characteristics superior to those achieved by the cement alone; furthermore this cement mix is superior to a corresponding mix based on the inorganic hydraulic cement, and the air-cooled slag without the silica fume, and to a corresponding mix based on the cement and silica fume without the slag; additionally a cost saving in the expensive Portland Cement is achieved by use of the air-cooled slag which is a waste material and cheaper than granulated or pelletized slag.

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Kettleby, Canada

David Bridson Oates