The cement mixture or slurry, instead of being burnt in lumps, is passed between rollers or any suitable mill, when, it readily falls into coarse dry powder, which powder is thence conveyed by an elevator and fed into the revolving furnace by means of a hopper and pipe, which, being set at an angle with the horizon, as it turns gradually conveys the cement material in a tortuous path toward the lower and hotter end, where it is discharged properly calcined. The material having been fed into the upper end of the cylinder falls through the flame to the lower side of it; the cylinder being in motion lifts it on its advancing side, where it rests against one of its projecting fins or ledges until it has reached such an angle that it shoots off in a shower through the flame and falls once more on the lower side. This again causes it to travel in a similar path, and every rotation of the cylinder produces a like effect, so that by the time it arrives at the lower and hotter end it has pursued a roughly helical path, during which it has been constantly lifted and shot through the flame, occupying about half an hour in its transit.
To some who have been accustomed to the more tedious process of kiln burning, the time thus occupied may appear insufficient to effect the combinations necessary to produce the required result; but it will be seen that the conditions here attained are, in fact, those best suited to carry out effectively the chemical changes necessary for the production of cement. The raw material being in powder offers every facility for the speedy liberation of water and carbonic acid, the operation being greatly hastened by the velocity of the furnace gases through which the particles pass. That such is practically the case is shown by the following analysis of cement so burnt in the revolving furnace or cylinder:
| Per cent. | |
| Carbonic acid, anhydrous | 0.40 |
| Sulphuric acid, anhydrous | 0.26 |
| Silica soluble | 24.68 |
| Silica insoluble | 0.60 |
| Alumina and oxide of iron | 10.56 |
| Lime | 61.48 |
| Magnesia, water, and alkalies | 2.02 |
| ——— | |
| 100.00 |
Again, fineness of the particles results in their being speedily heated to a uniform temperature, so that they do not serve as nuclei for the condensation of the moisture existing in the furnace gas. The calcined material, on reaching the lower end of the furnace, is discharged on to the floor or on to a suitable "conveyer," and removed to a convenient locality for cooling and subsequent grinding or finishing. It, however, is not in the condition of hard, heavy clinkers, such as are produced in the ordinary cement kiln, which require special machinery for breaking up into smaller pieces before being admitted between the millstones for the final process of grinding; nor does it consist of an overburnt exterior and an underburnt core or center portion; but it issues from the cylindrical furnace in a condition resembling in appearance coarse gunpowder, with occasional agglutinations of small friable particles readily reduced to fine powder in an ordinary mill, requiring but small power to work, and producing but little wear and tear upon the millstones. The operation is continuous. The revolver or furnace, once started, works on night and day, receiving the adjusted quantity of powdered material at the upper or feed end, and delivering its equivalent in properly burnt cement at the opposite end, thus effecting a great saving of time, and preventing the enormous waste of heat and serious injury to the brickwork, etc., incidental to the cooling down, withdrawing the charge, and reloading the ordinary kiln.
Cement, when taken from the furnace, weighed 110 lb. per bushel. Cement, when ground, leaving 10 percent. on sieve with 2,500 holes to the inch, weighed 121 lb. per bushel, and when cold 118 lb. per bushel. When made into briquettes, the tensile breaking strain upon the square inch:
| At | 4 days | was | 410 | lb. per square inch. |
| At | 6 days | " | 610 | " |
| At | 14 days | " | 810 | " |
| At | 49 days | " | 900 | " |
| At | 76 days | " | 1,040 | " |
A cylindrical furnace, such as the author has described, is capable of turning out at least 20 tons of good cement per day of twenty-four hours, with a consumption of about 3 tons of slack coal. It will be readily understood that these furnaces can be worked more economically in pairs than singly, as they can be so arranged that one producer may furnish a sufficient quantity of gas for the supply of two cylinders, and the same labor will suffice; but in order to provide for possible contingencies the author advises that a spare gas producer and an extra furnace should be in readiness, so that by a simple arrangement of valves, etc., two cylinders may always be in operation, while from any cause one may be undergoing temporary repairs, and by this means any diminution in the output may be avoided.
The author considers it unnecessary here to discuss either the advantages or the economy of fuel effected by the employment of gas producers for such a purpose. These have been abundantly proved in steel and glass making industries, where a saving of from 50 to 70 per cent. of the fuel formerly employed has been made. Their cost is small, they occupy little room, they can be placed at any reasonable distance from the place where the gas is to be burnt; any laborer can shovel the slack into them, and they do not require constant skilled supervision. It is claimed by the author of this paper that the following are among the many advantages derivable from the adoption of this method of manufacturing Portland cement, as compared with the old system:
(1) Economy of space—the furnaces, with their appurtenances, requiring only about one-fourth the space of what would be occupied by the ordinary kilns for producing the same quantity of finished cement.
(2) Continuous working, and consequent economy of fuel lost by cooling and subsequent reheating of the kiln walls.