HOW CHRISTIAN PFEIFFER
HAS BUILD A
HIGH EFFICIENCY
GRINDING PLANT
IN ONLY 20 MONTHS

Completed after a runtime of only 20 months

Grinding plant for Schwenk Latvija

Latvia
March 2024
Schwenk Latvija

The EPC project encompasses all engineering aspects, from plant and project construction planning, foundation design to detailed electrical engineering.

Promising completion of a comprehensive EPC project to realize one of the most sustainable grinding plants in Europe.
Schwenk Latvia, a company of Schwenk Zement KG, commissioned Christian Pfeiffer Maschinenfabrik GmbH for the Broceni plant in Latvia to erect an efficient grinding plant for high-quality cements. The EPC project encompasses all engineering aspects, from plant and project construction planning, foundation design to detailed electrical engineering. Christian Pfeiffer also handled steel and facade construction, electrical installation, including assembly and commissioning of the grinding plant, including implementation into the existing clinker silo to increase storage capacity and modification of the existing gypsum silo.

The project's special requirement was to ensure plant availability from an ambient temperature of up to -25°C. Schwenk Latvija's starting point was to become one of the most sustainable plants in Europe with the expansion and modernization of the existing facility, aiming to meet EU climate targets. The energy-efficient grinding plant additionally enables the production of two more types of cement, thus expanding Schwenk Latvia's product portfolio to include more environmentally friendly types of cement with fineness up to 5600 cm²/g according to Blaine. Since 2009, the Broceni plant has successfully operated a coal grinding plant for kiln firing by Christian Pfeiffer.

The efficiency of the grinding plant is ensured by its well-founded process engineering design. The intelligent design of the mill internals - the progressive lifting liners in the 1st grinding chamber and sorting liners with waves in the 2nd grinding chamber as well as the MONOBLOC transfer diaphragm - developed and produced by Christian Pfeiffer, along with the grinding balls, allows for a significant reduction in energy consumption during grinding operation. The high-performance separator QDK completed the portfolio for the energy-saving potential of a grinding plant.
Auxiliary equipment such as hose filters, conveying equipment, water injection, and grinding aids are also crucial for stable plant operation.

The process was precisely tailored to the customer's needs based on product analysis before the start of the project. The successful concept of the new grinding plant also includes the process control system, which is part of Christian Pfeiffer's scope of supply.

The raw materials are taken over from the existing transport routes and distributed to various feed hoppers with additional conveying routes - also part of the scope of supply. In addition to the bulk material bins, de-dusting silos for chromium reduction (Fe2 sulfate) and bypass dust have been implemented. Two additional grinding aid tanks, each 25,000 liters, complete the group of material feeders. Through dosing devices, the material enters the ball mill with a diameter of Ø 4.4m and an effective grinding path length of 14.0m with an attached high-performance separator (QDK 187-Z) and filter separation. Due to special process engineering requirements for machine design and plant layout, it is ensured to produce high-value cements, such as CEM I 52.5R, with high target fineness as efficiently as possible.

The project was successfully completed after a runtime of only 20 months.