Over-grinding
Grinding finer than the spec needs wastes megawatt-hours every day.
Agent A4 · Grind & blend
On-spec cement at minimum kWh.
The grind & blend agent controls finish grinding, Blaine fineness, residue, gypsum and supplementary-material proportioning, and cement type, hitting the strength spec at the lowest specific power.
±60cm²/g
Blaine hold band
−5%
Grinding specific power
22%
SCM substitution held
+4t/h
Mill throughput
Over-grinding burns power. Under-grinding loses strength.
Finish mills are the plant's biggest electricity consumer. Chasing Blaine by hand means over-grinding for a safety margin, or missing spec and re-milling.
Under-grinding
Coarse cement loses early strength and can miss the type spec.
SCM variance
Slag and fly-ash ratios drift, moving strength and set time.
SO₃ off-target
Wrong gypsum dosing hurts set and strength development.
Perception
It estimates fineness and strength live.
From mill power, separator, and elevator signals, the agent estimates Blaine and residue continuously and predicts the cement's strength class before the lab confirms it.
- Soft-sensed Blaine and residue between lab checks.
- Strength predictor for the current cement type.
- SO₃ / gypsum tracking for set and strength.
Blaine (pred.)3,850 cm²/g
45µm residue4.2 %
Gypsum / SO₃4.8 % / 2.9%
Slag ratio22 %
Strength (pred.)52.4 MPa
Control
It grinds exactly to spec.
The agent moves separator speed, feed, and SCM / gypsum dosing to hold Blaine and the strength target at the minimum specific power for the cement type being made.
- Fineness control via separator and feed.
- SCM & gypsum optimizer to the type spec.
- Power minimizer at constant quality.
Separator speed74 %
Fresh feed182 t/h
Slag dosing22 %
Spec. power31.4 kWh/t
Strength margin+0.9 MPa
From clinker to cement, on spec.
Estimate fineness
Soft-sense Blaine, residue, and strength for the current type.
Optimize blend
Proportion gypsum and SCMs to the strength and set spec.
Control the mill
Hold Blaine at minimum specific power.
Confirm strength
Reconcile to lab strength and adapt the model.
What the grinding agent governs
Targets
Blaine, residue, SO₃, strength class, cement type.
Actuators
Separator speed, mill feed, gypsum and SCM dosing.
Mills
Ball mills, VRMs, and roller presses.
Objective
On-spec strength at minimum kWh/t.
SCMs
Slag, fly ash, limestone, pozzolan proportioning.
Integration
OPC UA / Modbus to mill and separator control.
What tighter grinding moves
Legacy control vs. Clinkum autonomy
Manual & rule-based
- Grind fine “to be safe”
- Blaine known from periodic lab
- Fixed SCM recipes
- Strength margin unknown until 28 days
- Power is whatever it is
Clinkum
- Grind exactly to spec
- Live Blaine and strength estimate
- SCMs optimized per batch
- Strength predicted and held
- Minimum kWh/t at constant quality
“Finish grinding is our biggest power bill. Trimming the over-grinding safety margin paid for the whole project.”
Plant Director · Grinding station, 1.2 Mt/yr
Common questions
Yes. It controls ball mills, vertical roller mills, and roller-press circuits, adapting to each circuit's dynamics.
Each type has its own fineness and strength target and SCM recipe; the agent switches recipes and optimizes within each.
It optimizes substitution within your strength and set-time constraints, never past the spec you define.
From fineness, chemistry, and blend, calibrated to your 2-day and 28-day lab results over time.
Adjacent agents
Run this agent on your line.
Start a paid pilot on one kiln or mill, with a defined success metric on your data, under your security controls.