Economy & Market

“Railways consider private terminals as their competitors”

Published

11 years ago

September 30, 2014

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Yogesh Mehta Joint Vice President – Commercial, Shree Cement

Government policies must be so framed as to encourage bulk cement transport in India. There are many ways to boost logistical efficiencies at plant and government level. Yogesh Mehta shares with ICR what Shree Cement is doing at its plant and how the government can help to do more. Excerpts from the interview…

How much is the contribution of the logistical expenses to the cost of the product? How can one reduce this cost?
Logistics is one of the major cost contributors to cost and has significant influence on the final price of the product. Factors leading to the high cost mainly include transportation and warehousing costs, maintaining distribution networks and the expenses of procuring raw materials. Overall the cost amounts to almost 25 per cent of final cost of product.

There is a need to identify major cost drivers in logistics and to replace traditional forms of cost allocation structures with more appropriate methods. Well organised logistics management can have significant impact on overall return on investment and ultimately bring value to the stakeholder.

To reduce logistical expenditure, the cement industry can adopt the following measures:

Encourage big cement users for bulk/loose cement transport. This will reduce packing cost and is also eco-friendly. It is beneficial for both – the seller and the buyer
Establish grinding units, blending or packing units in big market area for direct delivery of materials
Plan dispatches in a way that reduce rail freight/rail freight on return journeys availed for procurements
Maximise dispatches directly to the end user so that warehousing/distribution cost can be reduced, and
Optimise truck size/fleet capacity, timing of vehicle engaged in cement and raw material loading, unloading as well as the transit time, so that operational cost of vehicle is reduced by maximising efficiency of every trip made by the vehicle.

How do you synchronise your production volume with respect to fluctuating market demands?
Looking at the nature of cement commodity, no one can produce excess and store it for long period. Hence all cement industries plan their production according to their sale projections/targets. Being a smart producer of cement, the industry maintains cement stock just sufficient to meet the demand for next to 2-3 days at production centre and similarly a stock of 2-3 days in kept in transit and at godowns. So on an average the company maintains around 5 days stock to absorb fluctuations in a timely manner.

Besides that, most importantly, extra cement grinding capacity can be planned while setting up various production units based on future projected demand/fluctuation.

What are the problems faced by the cement industry in the last mile delivery?
Hurdles in last mile delivery may be classified as encountered with big and small consumers. Both have different types of problems, which need to be resolved in manner that ensures that the deliveries are made in minimum lead time. These challenges are as under:

Big consumer:

Maintaining supply according to their consumption schedules
Cement storage constraints at consumption sites
Labour unavailability and unloading issues at night
Sudden spurt in demand in short of period making it difficult to arrange vehicles for transport, and
Lack of rail wagons for small delivery for far-off destination, where road delivery is not feasible.

Small consumer:

Meeting demands of small quantity with minimum lead time
Requirement of product at remote locations, and
Lack of storage space.

The problems mentioned above can be tackled by doing well-planned supply co-ordination with consumer, supported by strong logistic backbone having commitment towards costumer?s satisfaction. Big consumers have their own planning of consumption which is fulfilled from plant directly by adopting any mode, i.e., rail or road. To overcome storage issues, stock on wheels is one of the best options considering unloading of cement vehicles within stipulated time frame with excellent coordination with consumer. However, small users may be served better by the cement dealer networks or from nearest warehouses. Therefore such delivery networks/warehouses need to be situated at strategic locations from where supply can be made effectively.

In SCL, we encourage regular and big consumer to use bulk (loose) cement, which can be stored easily in vertical silos with minimum requirements. Here we faced a hurdle where the bulk cement users were not able to use their existing compressor facility. The pumps were not compatible with all of the individual bulk carrying vehicles. To overcome this, we have installed compressors mounted on mobile vans.

By using loose cement, customers, industry and builders can reduce their dependency on manual intervention to a great extent. The labour involvement in cement bag unloading as well as feeding in silos could be avoided.

To give delivery at long distances, SCL has established cement production units near consumer areas, from where multiple consumer deliveries are clubbed together for last mile delivery with minimum lead time.

Bulk cement small deliveries are also catered through bulk cement loading terminal, where customers can take loose cement delivery in short lead time and in small lots as per their convenience. In this way all customers are served by SCL in the loose cement too. SCL is one of the leaders in implementing eco-friendly initiatives. The company has converted PP bag-using consumers into bulk cement users.

How do you ensure that your fleet is performing at its best?
There is a variety of vehicles that ply cement for us. Some vehicles are dedicated for cement dispatches, which form 80 per cent of the fleet. The rest of the cement dispatch is done through return vehicles, which normally ply in open market. Market trucks are attracted to us due to surety of load availability, i.e., assurance. Dedicated vehicles require load planning with lowest turnaround trip time. So the optimum use of vehicles achieved by maximum quantity loaded to earn more revenue in defined period serves as an incentive to them. In SCL?s case, we have a fixed size of our truck fleet that plies on our dedicated route dispatches. After restricting the number of trucks (by reducing fleet strength by 25 per cent), we observed that the rate of vehicle utilisation has improved. Now maximum quantity is dispatched using minimum number of vehicles. As a result, our benchmarking freights are achieved as well as revenue to truckers has also increased.

To further improve the performance of the fleet, SCL increased laden run km of vehicles by 9 per cent in last fiscal year, i.e., 53 per cent in FY 2013-14 from 44 per cent in FY 2012-13, by providing return load of raw material to dedicated fleets. This ensures increased revenue for every run km.

Also, while ensuring dedicatedly fleet performance, SCL encourages market fleet to approach SCL?s independent/impartial reverse freight bidding system, in which they can decide their own revenue, as result of their own choice routes available for transit.

Do you think that it is a good idea to outsource logistical functions?
Looking at the huge involvement of logistics cost in total cost of product, at first instant the obvious answer is NO to outsource logistical functions in SCL. In logistic function huge dedication is required for customer satisfaction which is possible with personal involvement only, with an object of cost reduction.

By outsourcing, it is not necessary that we get financial benefits but on the contrary, purity of work and quality of service both may disturb or get affected and the result may not up to the mark. Scarcity of expert and experienced employees will always be there since none of the outsourced party will give preference to priority work in a dynamic company which is objective/essence of logistics. Secondly the pipeline of experienced manpower, in a growing organisation which has need of expert people, will become dry because outsource people do not necessarily have cultural acquaintances.

How do you assess the potential of coastal shipping and IWT? What are the major hurdles that dent the growth potential of IWT?
Coastal shipping can be a very good option for reduction of cost for plants located close to water bodies. However, there is an unmet need of small jetties for delivery at unloading point as well as connecting with road to consumption centres across coast. In Bihar, industries are located in Southern region, but the main consumer market of Bihar lies in north. As of now no infrastructure is available to let heavy commercial vehicles cross Ganges River, except rail, which is already insufficient to meet the growing demand.

IWT has very good potential in India. IWT can be used where we have limitations in road/rail transportation, but are blessed with plenty of rivers and other water bodies. SCL is one of the first cement companies to associate with Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI) to move cement trucks via waterways by Roll on-Roll off of trucks from vessels. IWAI provides facility for cement laden trucks to disembark vessels at Patna (South Bihar) and then roll-off at Chhapra road (North Bihar) accounting to a lead distance reduction by 60 km. This not only conserves natural resources like fuel but also prevents congestion on overburdened road/rail infrastructure.

To make IWT a success, the government is expected to build the infrastructure of small loading and unloading jetties through IWAI as-well-as dredge the river channels regularly. The government should provide freight subsidy for using IWT to encourage its use at large scale.

Why has cement transport via BCCW not picked up that well in the country?
In India, the use of bulk (loose) cement is not as popular as it is in the international market. Compared to packed cement, use of bulk cement is just 8-9 per cent since no infrastructure or encouragement is provided for bulk cement transport and use. BCCW transport to be economically viable requires minimum order size of 3000+ MT of cement in one way single trip and the wagon must bring back fly ash from the nearest source from the cement dispatch point. Consumers are not always located near to the railway line. Cement companies have to establish packing units at rail site to take two way advantage. Since two way movement of cement and fly ash cannot be done on rail line, use of BCCW has not yet picked up in India.

There is lack of co-ordination amongst government enterprises both at the Centre and at State level. The Railways department should develop industrial parks along the rail terminals jointly with the state governments. The suggestions for rail terminal location should be invited from industrial organisations. As government initiative, a high level coordination committee should be formed, consisting of experts from industry, railway, and the Centre and State governments with an objective to promote return logistic in railway.

This initiative will develop many industries at a small cost of coordination. Cement industry alone cannot bear the cost of huge fly ash evacuation system at power plant. It should be a part of the government policy for power project?s in-built approvals that they should compulsorily develop fly ash filling system at their railway siding for BCCW type wagons.

The cement industry can develop infrastructure at their plants, but they cannot build infrastructure at fly ash sourcing point. Huge costs are involved at factory level for creation of storage silos for cement/fly ash, with compressor and transportation system from rail siding to their main plant.

What are the hindrances in setting-up private rail terminals?
Basic hindrances in setting-up private terminals are as under:

Discouraging policies of railways towards private terminals. It is as if railway considers private terminals as their competitors, instead as supporters who will take on the load from overburdened rail system.
Long and difficult approval process prevalent at various railway departments where approvals are required separately from commercial, technical, civil, rail transporter department, etc.
Difficulties inland acquisition and high lease licensing for railways land for siding takeoffs.
Clearances from various government bodies, i.e., road/highways authorities for ROB and RUB, State Electricity Boards for relocation of cable tower, etc. Take too much time.
No incentive is offered by railway for cost recovery of infrastructure created by private terminals. Earlier Rs 40/- PMT was committed by railway as terminals charges but they have been withdrawn unexpectedly.

The Liberalised Wagon Investment Scheme (LWIS) seems to be skewed in favour of Railways. What is your take on this and what needs to be done?
LWIS policy does not correlate with huge investment. A wagon costs around Rs 60 lakh, whereas railway policy gives rebate on railway freight instead of ensuring return on investment (ROI) for a wagon. Only if the scheme is modified by way of freight rebate to investment based return will the LWIS be successful. Even if railway plans to give return by way of freight rebate then they have to ensure free movement of wagons on railway infrastructure, without any restriction. The freight rebate should match ROI at 15 per cent. This will help LWIS serve its true purpose.

Cement being the 3rd largest revenue earner for Indian railways, should there be preferential treatment given to the industry especially when restrictions are necessary to be imposed?
Cement is put on ?D? category for wagon allotment preference by railways. Hence, cement has low priority in comparison to ?B? category food grains and fertilisers. The cement industry has to suffer heavily on account of wagon shortages, being non priority in wagon allotment. Choking of rail infrastructure at loading and unloading points with large storage areas occupied by ?B? category seasonal items, puts restrictions on cement industry. Cement should be considered in par with other commodities.

Coastal shipping can be a good option for plants located close to water bodies. However, there is an unmet need of small jetties for delivery at unloading point as well as connected road network.

Concrete

Refractory demands in our kiln have changed

Published

4 days ago

February 20, 2026

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Radha Singh, Senior Manager (P&Q), Shree Digvijay Cement, points out why performance, predictability and life-cycle value now matter more than routine replacement in cement kilns.

As Indian cement plants push for higher throughput, increased alternative fuel usage and tighter shutdown cycles, refractory performance in kilns and pyro-processing systems is under growing pressure. In this interview, Radha Singh, Senior Manager (P&Q), Shree Digvijay Cement, shares how refractory demands have evolved on the ground and how smarter digital monitoring is improving kiln stability, uptime and clinker quality.

How have refractory demands changed in your kiln and pyro-processing line over the last five years?
Over the last five years, refractory demands in our kiln and pyro line have changed. Earlier, the focus was mostly on standard grades and routine shutdown-based replacement. But now, because of higher production loads, more alternative fuels and raw materials (AFR) usage and greater temperature variation, the expectation from refractory has increased.
In our own case, the current kiln refractory has already completed around 1.5 years, which itself shows how much more we now rely on materials that can handle thermal shock, alkali attack and coating fluctuations. We have moved towards more stable, high-performance linings so that we don’t have to enter the kiln frequently for repairs.
Overall, the shift has been from just ‘installation and run’ to selecting refractories that give longer life, better coating behaviour and more predictable performance under tougher operating conditions.

What are the biggest refractory challenges in the preheater, calciner and cooler zones?
• Preheater: Coating instability, chloride/sulphur cycles and brick erosion.
• Calciner: AFR firing, thermal shock and alkali infiltration.
• Cooler: Severe abrasion, red-river formation and mechanical stress on linings.
Overall, the biggest challenge is maintaining lining stability under highly variable operating conditions.

How do you evaluate and select refractory partners for long-term performance?
In real plant conditions, we don’t select a refractory partner just by looking at price. First, we see their past performance in similar kilns and whether their material has actually survived our operating conditions. We also check how strong their technical support is during shutdowns, because installation quality matters as much as the material itself.
Another key point is how quickly they respond during breakdowns or hot spots. A good partner should be available on short notice. We also look at their failure analysis capability, whether they can explain why a lining failed and suggest improvements.
On top of this, we review the life they delivered in the last few campaigns, their supply reliability and their willingness to offer plant-specific custom solutions instead of generic grades. Only a partner who supports us throughout the life cycle, which includes selection, installation, monitoring and post-failure analysis, fits our long-term requirement.

Can you share a recent example where better refractory selection improved uptime or clinker quality?
Recently, we upgraded to a high-abrasion basic brick at the kiln outlet. Earlier we had frequent chipping and coating loss. With the new lining, thermal stability improved and the coating became much more stable. As a result, our shutdown interval increased and clinker quality remained more consistent. It had a direct impact on our uptime.

How is increased AFR use affecting refractory behaviour?
Increased AFR use is definitely putting more stress on the refractory. The biggest issue we see daily is the rise in chlorine, alkalis and volatiles, which directly attack the lining, especially in the calciner and kiln inlet. AFR firing is also not as stable as conventional fuel, so we face frequent temperature fluctuations, which cause more thermal shock and small cracks in the lining.
Another real problem is coating instability. Some days the coating builds too fast, other days it suddenly drops, and both conditions impact refractory life. We also notice more dust circulation and buildup inside the calciner whenever the AFR mix changes, which again increases erosion.
Because of these practical issues, we have started relying more on alkali-resistant, low-porosity and better thermal shock–resistant materials to handle the additional stress coming from AFR.

What role does digital monitoring or thermal profiling play in your refractory strategy?
Digital tools like kiln shell scanners, IR imaging and thermal profiling help us detect weakening areas much earlier. This reduces unplanned shutdowns, helps identify hotspots accurately and allows us to replace only the critical sections. Overall, our maintenance has shifted from reactive to predictive, improving lining life significantly.

How do you balance cost, durability and installation speed during refractory shutdowns?
We focus on three points:
• Material quality that suits our thermal profile and chemistry.
• Installation speed, in fast turnarounds, we prefer monolithic.
• Life-cycle cost—the cheapest material is not the most economical. We look at durability, future downtime and total cost of ownership.
This balance ensures reliable performance without unnecessary expenditure.

What refractory or pyro-processing innovations could transform Indian cement operations?
Some promising developments include:
• High-performance, low-porosity and nano-bonded refractories
• Precast modular linings to drastically reduce shutdown time
• AI-driven kiln thermal analytics
• Advanced coating management solutions
• More AFR-compatible refractory mixes

These innovations can significantly improve kiln stability, efficiency and maintenance planning across the industry.

Concrete

Digital supply chain visibility is critical

Published

4 days ago

February 20, 2026

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MSR Kali Prasad, Chief Digital and Information Officer, Shree Cement, discusses how data, discipline and scale are turning Industry 4.0 into everyday business reality.

Over the past five years, digitalisation in Indian cement manufacturing has moved decisively beyond experimentation. Today, it is a strategic lever for cost control, operational resilience and sustainability. In this interview, MSR Kali Prasad, Chief Digital and Information Officer, Shree Cement, explains how integrated digital foundations, advanced analytics and real-time visibility are helping deliver measurable business outcomes.

How has digitalisation moved from pilot projects to core strategy in Indian cement manufacturing over the past five years?
Digitalisation in Indian cement has evolved from isolated pilot initiatives into a core business strategy because outcomes are now measurable, repeatable and scalable. The key shift has been the move away from standalone solutions toward an integrated digital foundation built on standardised processes, governed data and enterprise platforms that can be deployed consistently across plants and functions.
At Shree Cement, this transition has been very pragmatic. The early phase focused on visibility through dashboards, reporting, and digitisation of critical workflows. Over time, this has progressed into enterprise-level analytics and decision support across manufacturing and the supply chain,
with clear outcomes in cost optimisation, margin protection and revenue improvement through enhanced customer experience.
Equally important, digital is no longer the responsibility of a single function. It is embedded into day-to-day operations across planning, production, maintenance, despatch and customer servicing, supported by enterprise systems, Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) data platforms, and a structured approach to change management.

Which digital interventions are delivering the highest ROI across mining, production and logistics today?
In a capital- and cost-intensive sector like cement, the highest returns come from digital interventions that directly reduce unit costs or unlock latent capacity without significant capex.
Supply chain and planning (advanced analytics): Tools for demand forecasting, S&OP, network optimisation and scheduling deliver strong returns by lowering logistics costs, improving service levels, and aligning production with demand in a fragmented and regionally diverse market.
Mining (fleet and productivity analytics): Data-led mine planning, fleet analytics, despatch discipline, and idle-time reduction improve fuel efficiency and equipment utilisation, generating meaningful savings in a cost-heavy operation.
Manufacturing (APC and process analytics): Advanced Process Control, mill optimisation, and variability reduction improve thermal and electrical efficiency, stabilise quality and reduce rework and unplanned stoppages.
Customer experience and revenue enablement (digital platforms): Dealer and retailer apps, order visibility and digitally enabled technical services improve ease of doing business and responsiveness. We are also empowering channel partners with transparent, real-time information on schemes, including eligibility, utilisation status and actionable recommendations, which improves channel satisfaction and market execution while supporting revenue growth.
Overall, while Artificial Intelligence (AI) and IIoT are powerful enablers, it is advanced analytics anchored in strong processes that typically delivers the fastest and most reliable ROI.

How is real-time data helping plants shift from reactive maintenance to predictive and prescriptive operations?
Real-time and near real-time data is driving a more proactive and disciplined maintenance culture, beginning with visibility and progressively moving toward prediction and prescription.
At Shree Cement, we have implemented a robust SAP Plant Maintenance framework to standardise maintenance workflows. This is complemented by IIoT-driven condition monitoring, ensuring consistent capture of equipment health indicators such as vibration, temperature, load, operating patterns and alarms.
Real-time visibility enables early detection of abnormal conditions, allowing teams to intervene before failures occur. As data quality improves and failure histories become structured, predictive models can anticipate likely failure modes and recommend timely interventions, improving MTBF and reducing downtime. Over time, these insights will evolve into prescriptive actions, including spares readiness, maintenance scheduling, and operating parameter adjustments, enabling reliability optimisation with minimal disruption.
A critical success factor is adoption. Predictive insights deliver value only when they are embedded into daily workflows, roles and accountability structures. Without this, they remain insights without action.

In a cost-sensitive market like India, how do cement companies balance digital investment with price competitiveness?
In India’s intensely competitive cement market, digital investments must be tightly linked to tangible business outcomes, particularly cost reduction, service improvement, and faster decision-making.
This balance is achieved by prioritising high-impact use cases such as planning efficiency, logistics optimisation, asset reliability, and process stability, all of which typically deliver quick payback. Equally important is building scalable and governed digital foundations that reduce the marginal cost of rolling out new use cases across plants.
Digitally enabled order management, live despatch visibility, and channel partner platforms also improve customer centricity while controlling cost-to-serve, allowing service levels to improve without proportionate increases in headcount or overheads.
In essence, the most effective digital investments do not add cost. They protect margins by reducing variability, improving planning accuracy, and strengthening execution discipline.

How is digitalisation enabling measurable reductions in energy consumption, emissions, and overall carbon footprint?
Digitalisation plays a pivotal role in improving energy efficiency, reducing emissions and lowering overall carbon intensity.
Real-time monitoring and analytics enable near real-time tracking of energy consumption and critical operating parameters, allowing inefficiencies to be identified quickly and corrective actions to be implemented. Centralised data consolidation across plants enables benchmarking, accelerates best-practice adoption, and drives consistent improvements in energy performance.
Improved asset reliability through predictive maintenance reduces unplanned downtime and process instability, directly lowering energy losses. Digital platforms also support more effective planning and control of renewable energy sources and waste heat recovery systems, reducing dependence on fossil fuels.
Most importantly, digitalisation enables sustainability progress to be tracked with greater accuracy and consistency, supporting long-term ESG commitments.

What role does digital supply chain visibility play in managing demand volatility and regional market dynamics in India?
Digital supply chain visibility is critical in India, where demand is highly regional, seasonality is pronounced, and logistics constraints can shift rapidly.
At Shree Cement, planning operates across multiple horizons. Annual planning focuses on capacity, network footprint and medium-term demand. Monthly S&OP aligns demand, production and logistics, while daily scheduling drives execution-level decisions on despatch, sourcing and prioritisation.
As digital maturity increases, this structure is being augmented by central command-and-control capabilities that manage exceptions such as plant constraints, demand spikes, route disruptions and order prioritisation. Planning is also shifting from aggregated averages to granular, cost-to-serve and exception-based decision-making, improving responsiveness, lowering logistics costs and strengthening service reliability.

How prepared is the current workforce for Industry 4.0, and what reskilling strategies are proving most effective?
Workforce preparedness for Industry 4.0 is improving, though the primary challenge lies in scaling capabilities consistently across diverse roles.
The most effective approach is to define capability requirements by role and tailor enablement accordingly. Senior leadership focuses on digital literacy for governance, investment prioritisation, and value tracking. Middle management is enabled to use analytics for execution discipline and adoption. Frontline sales and service teams benefit from
mobile-first tools and KPI-driven workflows, while shop-floor and plant teams focus on data-driven operations, APC usage, maintenance discipline, safety and quality routines.
Personalised, role-based learning paths, supported by on-ground champions and a clear articulation of practical benefits, drive adoption far more effectively than generic training programmes.

Which emerging digital technologies will fundamentally reshape cement manufacturing in the next decade?
AI and GenAI are expected to have the most significant impact, particularly when combined with connected operations and disciplined processes.
Key technologies likely to reshape the sector include GenAI and agentic AI for faster root-cause analysis, knowledge access, and standardisation of best practices; industrial foundation models that learn patterns across large sensor datasets; digital twins that allow simulation of process changes before implementation; and increasingly autonomous control systems that integrate sensors, AI, and APC to maintain stability with minimal manual intervention.
Over time, this will enable more centralised monitoring and management of plant operations, supported by strong processes, training and capability-building.

Concrete

Cement Additives for Improved Grinding Efficiency

Published

4 days ago

February 20, 2026

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Shreesh A Khadilkar discusses how advanced additive formulations allow customised, high-performance and niche cements—offering benefits while supporting blended cements and long-term cost and carbon reduction.

Cement additives are chemicals (inorganic and organic) added in small amounts (0.01 per cent to 0.2 per cent by weight) during cement grinding. Their main job? Reduce agglomeration, prevent pack-set, and keep the mill running smoother. Thus, these additions primarily improve, mill thru-puts, achieve lower clinker factor in blended cements PPC/PSC/PCC. Additionally, these additives improve concrete performance of cements or even for specific special premium cements with special USPs like lower setting times or for reduced water permeability in the resultant cement mortars and concrete (water repellent /permeation resistant cements), corrosion resistance etc.
The cement additives are materials which could be further differentiated as:

Grinding aids:
• Bottlenecks in cement grinding capacity, such materials can enhance throughputs
• Low specific electrical energy consumption during cement grinding
• Reduce “Pack set” problem and improve powder flowability

Quality improvers:
• Opportunity for further clinker factor reduction
• Solution for delayed cement setting or strength development issues at early or later ages.

Others: materials which are used for specific special cements with niche properties as discussed in the subsequent pages.
When cement additives are used as grinding aids or quality improvers, in general the additives reduce the inter-particle forces; reduce coating over grinding media and mill internals. Due to creation of like charges on cement particles, there is decreased agglomeration, much improved flowability, higher generation of fines better dispersion of particles in separator feed and reduction of mill filling level (decrease of residence time). However, in VRM grinding; actions need to be taken to have stable bed formation on the table.
It has been reported in literature and also substantiated by a number of detailed evaluations of different cement additive formulations in market, that the cement additive formulations are a combination of different chemical compounds, typically composed of:

Accelerator/s for the hydration reaction of cements which are dependent on the acceleration effect desired in mortar compressive strengths at early or later ages, the choice of the materials is also dependent on clinker quality and blending components (flyash / slag) or a mix of both.
Water reducer / workability / wet-ability enhancer, which would show impact on the resultant cement mortars and concrete. Some of the compounds (retarders) like polysaccharide derivatives, gluconates etc., show an initial retarding action towards hydration which result in reducing the water requirements for the cements thus act as water reducers, or it could be some appropriate polymeric molecules which show improved wet-ability and reduce water demand. These are selected based on the mineral component and type of cements (PPC/PSC /PCC).
Grinding aids: Compounds that work as Grinding Aid i.e. which would enhance Mill thru-put on one hand as well as would increase the early strengths due to the higher fines generation/ or activation of cement components. These compounds could be like alkanol-amines such as TIPA, DEIPA, TEA etc. or could be compounds like glycols and other poly-ols, depending on whether it is OPC or PPC or PSC or PCC manufacture.

Mechanism of action — Step By Step—

Reduce Agglomeration, Cement particles get electrostatically charged during grinding, stick together, form “flocs”, block mill efficiency, waste energy. Grinding aid molecules adsorb onto particle surfaces, neutralise charge, prevent re-agglomeration.
Improve Powder Flowability, Adsorbed molecules create a lubricating layer, particles slide past each other easier, better mill throughput, less “dead zone” buildup.
Also reduces caking on mill liners, diaphragms, and separator screens, less downtime for cleaning.
Enhance Grinding Efficiency (Finer Product Faster), By preventing agglomeration, particles stay dispersed more surface area exposed to grinding media, finer grind achieved with same energy input, Or: same fineness achieved with less energy, huge savings.
Example:
• Without aid ? 3500 cm²/g Blaine needs 40 kWh/ton
• With use of optimum grinding aid same fineness at 32 kWh/ton 20 per cent energy savings
Reduce Pack Set and Silo Caking Grinding aids (GA) inhibit hydration of free lime (CaO) during storage prevents premature hardening or “pack set” in silos. especially critical in humid climates or with high free lime clinker.
It may be stated here that Overdosing of GA can cause: – Foaming in mill (especially with glycols) reduces grinding efficiency, retardation of cement setting (especially with amines/acids), odor issues (in indoor mills) – Corrosion of mill components (if acidic aids used improperly)
The best practice to optimise use of GA is Start with 0.02 per cent to 0.05 per cent dosage test fineness, flow, and set time adjust up/down. Due to static charge of particles, the sample may stick to the sides of sampler pipe and so sampling need to be properly done.
Depending on type of cements i.e. OPC, PPC, PSC, PCC, the grinding aids combinations need to be optimised, a typical Poly carboxylate ether also could be a part of the combo grinding aids

Cement additives for niche properties of the cement in concrete.
The cement additives can also be tailor made to create specific niche properties in cements, OPC, PPC, PSC and PCC to create premium or special brands. The special niche properties of the cement being its additional USP of such cement products, and are useful for customers to build a durable concrete structure with increased service life.

Such properties could be:
• Additives for improved concrete performance of cements, high early strength in PPC/PSC/PCC, much reduced water demand in cement, cements with improved slump retentivity in concrete, self-compacting, self levelling in concrete, cements with improved adhesion property of the cement mortar
• Water repellence / water proofing, permeability resistance in mortars and concrete.
• Biocidal cement
• Photo catalytic cements
• Cements with negligible ASR reactions etc.

Additives for cements for improved concrete performance
High early strengths: Use of accelerators. These are chemical compounds which enhance the degree of hydration of cement. These can include setting or hardening accelerators depending on whether their action occurs in the plastic or hardened state respectively. Thus, the setting accelerators reduce the setting time, whereas the hardening accelerators increase the early age strengths. The setting accelerators act during the initial minutes of the cement hydration, whereas the hardening accelerators act mainly during the initial days of hydration.
Chloride salts are the best in class. However, use of chloride salts as hardening accelerators are strongly discouraged for their action in promoting the corrosion of rebar, thus, chloride-free accelerators are preferred. The hardening accelerators could be combinations of compounds like nitrate, nitrite and thiocyanate salts of alkali or alkaline earth metals or thiosulphate, formate, and alkanol amines depending on the cement types.
However, especially in blended cements (PPC/PSC/PCC the increased early strengths invariably decrease the 28 day strengths. These aspects lead to creating combo additives along with organic polymers to achieve improved early strengths as well as either same or marginally improved 28 days strengths with reduced clinker factor in the blended cement, special OPC with reduced admixture requirements. With use of appropriate combination of inorganic and organic additives we could create an OPC with substantially reduced water demand or improved slump retentivity. Use of such an OPC would show exceptional concrete performance in high grade concretes as it would exhibit lower admixture requirements in High Grade Concretes.
PPC with OPC like properties: With the above concept we could have a PPC, having higher percentage flyash, with a combo cement additive which would have with concrete performance similar to OPC in say M40/M50 concrete. Such a PPC would produce a high-strength PPC concrete (= 60 MPa @ 28d) + improved workability, durability and sustainability.
Another interesting aspect could also be of using ultrafine fine flyash /ultrafine slags as additions in OPC/PPC/PSC for achieving lower clinker factor as well as to achieve improved later age strengths with or without a combo cement additive.
The initial adhesion property at sites of especially PPC/PSC/PCC based mortars can be improved through use of appropriate organic polymers addition during the manufacture of these cements. Such cements would have a better adhesion property for plastering/brick bonding etc., as it has much lower rebound loss of their mortars in such applications.
It is needless to mention here that with use of additives, we could also have cement with viscosity modifying cement additives, for self-compaction and self-leveling concrete performance.
Use of Phosphogypsum retards the setting time of cements, we can use additive different additive combos to overcome retardation and improve the 1 day strengths of the cements and concretes.

About the author:
Shreesh Khadilkar, Consultant & Advisor, Former Director Quality & Product Development, ACC, a seasoned consultant and advisor, brings over 37 years of experience in cement manufacturing, having held leadership roles in R&D and product development at ACC Ltd. With deep expertise in innovative cement concepts, he is dedicated to sharing his knowledge and improving the performance of cement plants globally.