subject: Limestone Processing Plant For Extraction [print this page] In the limestone processing plant, limestones are crushed and ground into powder for aggregate and limestone powder production.
Limestone is a sedimentary rock composed primarily of calcium carbonate with the occasional presence of magnesium, which is usually light in color, although many variations exist.
The limestone processing operations includes the inputs and outputs for each of the processes depicted in Figure 2. Specifically, processes and operations represented in this
portion of the inventory include:
Primary shaping of stone into large, less-refined pieces, such as tiles or flagstone
Application of a surface finish or texture
Secondary shaping, including hand detailing, of stone into specific products
Packaging of finished limestone products or slabs for shipment
On-site transport of stone using heavy equipment, such as forklifts
Transport of scrap stone to on-site storage or reclamation
Onsite generation of energy and compressed air
Capture and treatment of wastewater and other waste materials such as dust
Upstream production of energy and fuels
Equipment and ancillary materials (e.g. drill bits, maintenance items) are listed in Tables 5 and 6 but have not been included in this inventory.
Since a fabrication facility often processes more than one stone type, each facility was categorized as a limestone facility if the majority of their production was indicated to be limestone. Under this condition, all respondents who are labeled limestone processors indicate that at least 97% of their production is limestone.
The major raw material for cement production is limestone. The limestone most suitable for cement production must have some ingredients in specified quantities i.e., calcium carbonates, silica, alumina, iron, etc.Typically, cement plants locations are based upon the availability of good quality limestone in the vicinity. The quarrying operations are done by the cement producer using the open cast mining process.Quarrying is done through drilling and subsequently, using heavy earth moving equipment such as bulldozers, payloaders and dumpers.The quarried raw material is then transported to the cement plant, using mechanical conveying equipment such as ropeways or belt conveyors, or by vehicles like wagons and trucks.The quarried limestone is normally in the form of big boulders, ranging from a few inches to meters in size. These varying sizes of limestone need to be crushed to a size of about 10 mm in order to be prepared for finish-grinding.There are mainly two types of crushers available for this purpose- compression type or impact type crushers. There are many types of compression type crushers such as jaw crusher, gyratory crusher, cone crusher, roll crusher. The impact technology is used in hammer crusher/impact crusher.Crushing is done either in two stages or in a single stage. In the two stage crushing system, a compression type crusher is used in the first stage for raw crushing, followed by impact/hammer crusher in the second stage. In single stage crushing, an impact type crusher is used.The selection of the crusher depends mainly on the characteristics of the raw materials. This selection is further guided by the particle-size distribution requirements of the down-stream equipment such as raw mills and lastly by financial considerations.
