A Cement Plant in Nigeria - Jingcheng ZTA Ceramic Liner Extends Service Life by 7 Times for Vertical Mill Wind Ring

In the cement raw meal production process, the upper wind ring liner of the vertical mill of this cement plant in Nigeria is subjected to severe scouring by high-temperature and high-speed dust-containing airflow for a long time, resulting in extremely fast wear. The original "8+6 surfacing composite liner" had an average service life of only 2 months. Frequent shutdown and replacement not only affected the continuity of production, but also brought continuous investment in labor and materials, which became a major pain point restricting the production efficiency of the plant.

Hunan Jingcheng Special Ceramics provided a zirconia-toughened alumina (ZTA) ceramic liner independently developed for the mine's working conditions. This material combines the high hardness of alumina and the high toughness of zirconia, and is specially designed for the high-temperature, high-scouring and high-wear working environment of the vertical mill wind ring. The technical team also optimized the installation structure of the liner to adapt to the on-site equipment parameters of the cement plant.

The first trial installation of the ZTA ceramic liner was completed on August 27, 2024, with continuous operation monitoring and technical follow-up for 14 months.

• The service life of the liner was drastically increased from 2 months to more than 14 months (still in use by the release of the project data), and the wear resistance was improved by more than 7 times.
• The frequency of shutdown and replacement of the vertical mill wind ring was reduced by more than 85%, which realized the continuous and stable operation of the cement raw meal production line.
• The comprehensive maintenance cost was significantly saved, including the cost of liner materials, labor cost for replacement and production loss caused by shutdown.
• Although there was a slight chipping at the edge of the ceramic in the initial installation stage, it did not affect the overall structural integrity and protection function, and the liner performance was stable in the subsequent operation.

The cement plant highly recognized the performance of Jingcheng's ceramic liner and praised "Made-in-China" products. It has not only placed an additional order for the complete set of vertical mill wind ring liners, but also promoted the application of Jingcheng's ceramic wear-resistant solutions to other equipment such as the mill cylinder and material conveying chute.