Background:
Roller press (RP) technology has been widely used in cement grinding since the 1980s because it offers significantly lower energy consumption than conventional grinding methods. However, many of these systems were originally designed to process traditional clinker and were not engineered for today’s production demands or the increased use of supplementary cementitious materials (SCMs), which require finer grinding and create higher recirculation loads. As cement manufacturers pursue lower CO₂ emissions and greater efficiency, many existing grinding systems require modernization to remain competitive.
As cement producers work toward reducing energy consumption and carbon emissions, many existing high-pressure grinding roll (HPGR) and roller press systems struggle to efficiently process today’s finer supplementary cementitious materials (SCMs). These changing material characteristics often lead to unstable operation, reduced throughput, excessive wear, and higher operating costs.
Köppern addressed these challenges by upgrading existing roller press systems with advanced Hexadur® wear protection, an open-loop hydraulic system, and its proprietary choke feeding (gravity feeder) system. These upgrades significantly improved process stability, increased production capacity, reduced specific energy consumption, minimized maintenance, and delivered a rapid return on investment. One customer achieved payback in just two years while saving more than €2.2 million in energy costs, and another increased production by 33% while reducing specific energy consumption by 12%.
Challenge:
Customers operating older or non-Köppern roller press systems experienced several operational problems, including:
- High recirculation loads and excessive air entrainment
- Starvation feeding that caused process instability
- Frequent machine vibrations and torque fluctuations
- Increased wear on rollers, bearings, and gearboxes
- Reduced throughput and higher energy consumption
- Increased maintenance requirements and production downtime
These issues became even more pronounced when grinding SCM-based cements, making it difficult for plants to improve efficiency while reducing emissions.
Solution:
Köppern modernized existing roller press systems through targeted upgrades that improved both reliability and performance.
The solution included:
- Hexadur® wear-protected rollers to dramatically extend roller life and reduce maintenance.
- An open-loop hydraulic system that stabilized operating pressure and minimized power fluctuations.
- A proprietary choke feeding (gravity feeder) system that removes air from the feed material, ensures consistent material flow, prevents starvation feeding, and evenly distributes material across both rollers.
- Automatic side-wall adjustment and durable cheek plates that improve sealing, reduce material leakage, and maintain consistent roller loading.
Results:
Together, these upgrades delivered:
- Increased production capacity
- Lower specific energy consumption
- Improved process stability
- Longer equipment life
- Reduced maintenance costs
- Faster return on investment
In one installation, the customer achieved over €2.2 million in cumulative energy cost savings, with project payback occurring in approximately two years. A second customer realized a 33% increase in production along with a 12% reduction in specific energy consumption after upgrading the feeding system.