Clinker grinding refers the process that material is grinded into fine powder under external force, impact, extrusion, and grinding effect.

On the one hand, clinker grinding is the last step during the cement production process. So the cement grinding system control is directly related to the cement product quality, yield, and cost. On the other hand, cement grinding is the step consuming the most energy. So choosing high quality clinker grinding mill is very important to increase company's economic benefits.

Cement clinker is usually ground using a ball mill. This is essentially a large rotating drum containing grinding media - normally steel balls. As the drum rotates, the motion of the balls crushes the clinker. The drum rotates approximately once every couple of seconds.

Grinding systems are either 'open circuit' or 'closed circuit.' In an open circuit system, the feed rate of incoming clinker is adjusted to achieve the desired fineness of the product. In a closed circuit system, coarse particles are separated from the finer product and returned for further grinding.

Gypsum is interground with the clinker in order to control the setting properties of the cement. Clinker grinding uses a lot of energy and the cement becomes hot - this can result in the gypsum becoming dehydrated, with potentially undesirable results - see the link at the bottom of this page for more information.