Document 994Ym8NdBvNpyzOyqDwJ8V9B7

FILE NAME: Trade Publications (TR) DATE: 1941 Oct DOC#: TR046 DOCUMENT DESCRIPTION: Trade Journal Article - Permanente Is Now World1 Largest Cement Plant /y ty l'erm anente Is Now W orld 's Largest Cement Plant Two no kilns brin g capaoil.y oi p in n l u p to Hi. 1)00 lbl. p o r day a veiy tew weeks The Peimanente Corpoi ation's ce ment plant neat Sunnyvale Califoinia will be the largest c e me n t plant in the w01 Id About two y e a i s ago coiisliuction work started on this plant and this construction work has nevei stopped First it was a tvvokiln plant using the largest kilns callable Befoic these weie hardly biokpn m a thncl kiln was installed and now a fourth kiln is turning out ri-ment while one of the first kilns installed is down for repairs As soon as installation of the new grinding units is completed all four kilns will be m use \ W ar inilushw No! only w rlie c ement plant b e ing enlai ged at a speed that bieaks all iei oi'ds but a small army ol constnictioii men is building a M a g n e sium Plant adjacent to the cement plant The consti uctors at the c e ment plant aie proud of then accom plishments a new F L Smidth & Co kiln 11- x 464-fr . with ends e n larged to 12-ft was installed in 24 da\s tiom the date machinery ar m e d Tn.u s no small ac r omphs hin. m when one consi deis that three to six months is the usual time for ci ei ' i no s irh ri huge amt New AlhsChiilmeis b.dl mills 9' g - x JO-ft new F I Smi dth &. Co finish nulls 9 1,- \ 10-lt primary and 8- x 36- ft set onclai \ Don Cl a s s i f i es with and without bowls Cottrell Pi ecipi tat oi s Wilfley pumps-- these and ma n v other .term a i e all being installed as one unit and with speed c ompai abl e to Ism of the kiln installation When ! hn plant s completed as now planned then ", 11 be 17 mi ndi ng units, all of the largest sire o bt a i n able. and the plant will have a c a pacity of at least 16 000 bbl of c e ment pel day making it the largest cement plant in the world. Cement for the Central Valley aiea the Shasta and Fnant dams MadeiaBakersfield and Conti a Costa canals, has been classified as a defense neces sity mainly because of the powei to be generated The pioxirnitv of the metallic magnesium plant is anothci l eas on foi placing the cement plant on a war basis Wh en vou appioach the new laiae and artistically designed office you are politely intercepted by an armed guard who asks the general nature of your business. He dnects you to the proper official Possibly from that o f ficial a pr eli mi naiy pass can be ob tained to the plant The next step w to be photographed and some vital personal statistics lecoideci befoie the final permit to the plant is ob tained Armed and uniformed guaids aie at all gates and o t h e i s patrol the very large area taken up by the c o m bined operations Each day one must check into the plant and check out as well. Cameras aie strictly forbid den in the plant and anv photographs must come fioin the company's tun staff photogiaphei Knlhusiaslii- Organi/aiion Manv changes haw taken place withi n the plant since Rock P roducts published a desc l lptior, December. 1940 issue and Urn protect is so laigc with dav to da\ i hanges being made that even the operating staff itself has a haul mnt keeping up with what is going on Surveyors dot the yard, and it is with difficulty that you can find a place <. park youi cai . and the chances aie that when vou return to it vom <ai will have been moved and a cat or ''bull dozer ' oi a crew of men will be working on the foundation piers foi something or other It w very p m m k able. this- x pmt ot the men. their d e s n e to get the tob done This drive behind the organization s t a l l s fi om the top wi tn their presi dent,. H e m y J Kaisei The men at the plant sav that the cuticle recently published m the Satin day Evenvia Post was onlv halt o! it They tell of his ship-building punc-ct already launching ships befoic the ship yaici was compl eted The-, fust started constiuction of that yard with pile - rock d m e r crew s As soon as the ways were s ta rte d keels were laid for ships: the construction of the ships keeps pace w ith the construction of the yard and according to our inform a dam , to F rian t dam, to Panam a. Wake Island. Pearl Harbor, and other Pacific island bases. Bulk cem ent is hauled from Perm anente to Redwood City, m specially built trucks an d is C h u r n d r i l l t i k n m l c r e n p r e p a r i n g f o r a ` h o i * ' tion, a ship was launched long be fore the yard was completed. The same kind of ingenuity seems to p er vade th e whole organization Just w hen the cem ent plant would be finished, no one could say P os sibly it will be before th is is m p rin t, but some expect before the new unit completed another enlargem ent Program m ay be under way. for the cement is going out as fast as p ro duced. and the clinker storage facili ties a re em pty. All salesm en have been ta k en off the road and put at other work: and for some of the ce ment for the Central Valley Project, and for other m ajor customers, the com pany has had to go on the open m arket The ce m e n t is going to th e S h a sta then loaded into ocean going ships such as the Matson Navigation Com p an y 's S /S "W aimea". for th e ocean trade. (Before the Japanese crisis. Japanese boats also hauled cem ent m Pacific w aters. > Some 30 to 60 box cars loaded w ith bulk cem ent leave the plant each day for the Shasta dam alone. O perating T echnique The specifications for the Shasta cem ent require a low h e a t cem ent, and w ith th e alkali c o n ten t below' 0.6 percent. To meet these specifications requires strict laboratory control. F o rtu n a te ly , th e deposit is favorably constituted for this grade of cem ent and no selective mining or quarrying is needed OCTOBEH. 94 I Many of the new units installed were to increase capacity; others to improve the over-all efficiency such as the in stallatio n of a 12-ft wide Dorr FX classifier m the secondary grinding circuit. H ere it was found th a t if the clay tvere removed from the cem ent rock, better settling was experienced m the Dorr thickeners The minus 3/16-in. or -in. m ate rial from the screening plant, oper ated as a p art of the secondary crushing plant, is sent to th is classi fier. T he sa n d (coarse) p o rtion is returned to the cement rock storage conveyor by a short belt. The over flow (fines) goes to No 3 thickener -- a newly in stalled 125- ft D orr tr a c tion type T he underflow is ground with the clay. Some calcium carbon a te is th u s p u t in to th e clay, b u t not. enough to m atter a great deal. At times a newly installed Oliver filter is used to decrease the w ater content of the underflow' from the thickener. T his is a r a th e r novel deviation from standard practice, and the net result of its installation will be watched with interest. A nother installation th a t is pos sibly new to th e cem ent in d u stry will be the use of a Bird centrifuge th at will o perate in con ju n ctio n w ith a Pennsylvania ham m er mill and a T raylor ball mill for the grinding of clay. T h e clay (ab o u t 12 p ercen t of th e to tal raw' m ix) will first go to th e P ennsylvania, reversible mill (size CS38. serial 1275) opprated by a 125hp A u to -S ta rt b all-b earin g , U S. motor. The ham m er mill will serve a 9 '-2- x 10-ft. T ra y lo r ball mill m closed circuit w ith a Dorr classifier (12-ft. wide F X ). The classifier over flow will go to a co n stan t head tan k :$7 1 f I (