Rugby

rugby Logo
Rugby Crown Brand of 1882. Kindly provided by John Frearson.

Location:

Clinker manufacture operational: 1870 to date

Approximate clinker production to 2022: 40 million tonnes (10th)

Raw materials:

Ownership:

Sometimes called New Bilton Works, and in earlier times, Victoria Works. The Bilton plant was in operation as early as 1855, making blue lias lime and at some stage “artificial cements” began to be made, called “Portland” or “Roman” fairly indiscriminately: in any case this was a “quick-setting” cement. Henry Reid visited in 1869 and consulted with the owners on making a true Portland cement, and it would appear that newly-designed plant began making it in 1870, using dry rawmix preparation. The original rectangular brick-kilns used for burning lias blocks and briquetted rawmix were replaced in the mid-1870s with bottle kilns. Although dates are uncertain, the sequence of construction seems to have been:

These were followed by ?seven chamber kilns of total capacity 155 t/week. All these were in place by 1889, with total capacity 505 t/week. With Newbold’s 190 t/week, this made up Davis’ 1907 figure of 700 t/week.

In 1910, the first rotary kiln was installed, and the static kilns were shut down by 1914. Kilns A1 and A2 had common ancillaries and were used alternately. In 1933, the plant reached its nadir, selling only 11000 t of cement, but in that year Halford Reddish took control, and aggressive redevelopment took place. With the development of the Rugby company in the 1930s, this became the “home” plant of the company, and at the same time the inadequacy of the local raw materials emerged. This was solved by import of chalk from Bedfordshire. All the Rugby plants were systematically up-rated, and a relatively large kiln was installed at Rugby in 1968, despite the lack of on-site raw materials. The post-1973 contraction resulted in the shut-down of all but this kiln. The plant made sulfate resisting clinker alongside ordinary clinker from 1956 to 1983. In the 1990s, it was decided to replace it with the largest kiln in Britain - a four-fold capacity increase. The use of chalk slurry as a major rawmix component continued, and the plant can be described as "semi-wet". During the long history of the plant, Rugby town and its satellite villages have gradually surrounded it. The resources of the company were concentrated at Rugby, so that by 2009 it accounted for 80% of CEMEX’s UK clinker output. With more than 150 years of Portland cement production, it is by far Britain's oldest plant, its nearest rival being Aberthaw (commenced 1914).

The plant had no direct canal connection, but had a siding on the L&NWR Rugby to Leamington branch, giving communication with the many lines radiating from Rugby. The tracks were taken up with the construction of the new plant, and now only road transport is used.

In my efforts to preserve the history of the industry, and to describe its evolution, the information that I have available on the earlier Rugby plant is extremely unsatisfactory, particulary with regard to the rotary kilns. Please contact me with any relevant information or corrections. I am particularly interested in firmer dates and statistics, pictures, plans.

Note: technical information on currently operational plants is ✄withheld in the public version of the site at present, except where already published (see references).

Power Supply

The early plant was direct-driven by steam engines. In 1911 the plant was powered by site-generated electricity, supplemented in the late 1920s by waste heat boiler steam. Grid electricity was used from 1940.

Rawmills

Seven rotary kilns were installed:

Kiln A1

Supplier: Ernest Newell
Operated: 1/1911-1926
Process: Wet
Location: Hot end 448957,275610 : Cold end 448921,275619 : entirely enclosed
Dimensions: 120’0” × 7’4½” (metric 36.58 × 2.248)
Rotation (viewed from firing end): clockwise
Slope: 1/25 (2.292°)
Speed: ?
Drive: ?
Kiln profile: 0×2248: 36576×2248: tyres at 3429, 17145, 35433: turning gear at 18974.
Cooler: concentric rotary beneath kiln
Cooler profile:
Fuel: Coal
Coal mill: indirect: coal fired drier followed by ball and tube mills
Exhaust: via drop-out box to stack
Typical Output: 55 t/d
Typical Heat Consumption: 8.0 MJ/kg


Kiln A2

Location: Hot end 448959,275617: Cold end 448924,275627 : entirely enclosed
Operated: 1/1915-1939
Process: Wet; waste heat boiler added in 1926.
Identical in all other respects to A1


Kiln A3

Supplier: ?Edgar Allen
Operated: 1926-28/6/1968: ?/11/1977-?/10/1980
Process: Wet, originally with waste heat boiler.
Location:

Dimensions:

Rotation (viewed from firing end): clockwise
Slope: ?°
Speed: ?
Drive: ?
Kiln profile:

Cooler: Rotary beneath kiln: dimensions? about 40' long.
Cooler profile: ?
Fuel: Coal
Coal mill: ?
Exhaust: via ID fan and waste heat boiler to stack: electrostatic precipitator added between fan and stack 1969
Typical Output: 1926-1968 120 t/d: 1977-1980 236 t/d
Typical Heat Consumption: 1926-1968 8.5 MJ/kg: 1977-1980 6.79 MJ/kg


Kiln A4

Supplier: Edgar Allen: ex Gillingham A1 with burning zone shortened and enlarged rear section added
Operated: 1940-?8/1/1981
Process: Wet
Location: Hot end 448958,275602: Cold end 448872,275625: entirely enclosed
Dimensions: 292’0”× 10’0”/ 9’0”/ 12’0” (metric 89.00 × 3.048 / 2.743 / 3.658)
Rotation (viewed from firing end): anticlockwise
Slope: 1/24 (2.388°)
Speed: ?
Drive: ?
Kiln profile: 0×2743: 1524×2743: 4369×3048: 13818×3048: 15850×2743: 58522×2743: 61570×3658: 89002×3658: tyres at 762, 16612, 35433, 54864, 68580, 82296: turning gear at 32385
Cooler: Rotary beneath kiln: dimensions?
Cooler profile: ?
Fuel: Coal
Coal mill: ?
Exhaust: via ID fan to stack: electrostatic precipitator added between fan and stack 1967
Typical Output: 1940-1968 269 t/d: 1968-1981 266 t/d
Typical Heat Consumption: 1940-1968 6.35 MJ/kg: 1968-1981 6.89 MJ/kg


Kiln A5

Supplier: FLS
Operated: 17/12/1953 - 4/7/1982
Process: Wet
Location: Hot end 448954,275621: Cold end 448867,275644 : entirely enclosed
Dimensions: Metric 90 × 3.450
Rotation (viewed from firing end): anticlockwise
Slope: 1/25 (2.292°)
Speed: ?
Drive: ?
Kiln profile: 0×3450: 88700×3450: 88700×3000: 90000×3000: tyres at 4500, 23500, 42500, 61500, 80500: turning gear at 40000
Cooler: Folax ?624 grate under kiln.
Fuel: Coal
Coal mill: indirect: FLS Tirax ball mill
Exhaust: via ID fan to stack: electrostatic precipitator added between fan and stack 1967
Typical Output: 1953-1967 398 t/d: 1968-1974 388 t/d: 1975-1982 357 t/d
Typical Heat Consumption: 1953-1967 6.25 MJ/kg: 1968-1974 6.81 MJ/kg: 1975-1982 6.85 MJ/kg


Kiln A6

Supplier: FLS
Operated: 30/6/1968-?/2/2000
Process: Wet
Location: Hot end 448638,275676: Cold end 448800,275633 : entirely enclosed
Dimensions (from cooler ports): Metric 168 × 4.25BC / 5.00D
Rotation (viewed from firing end): ?
Slope: ?°
Speed: ?
Drive: Dual ?kW
Kiln profile (from cooler ports): no information
Cooler: Unax planetary 10 × 13.50 × 1.650
Fuel: coal, plus up to 35% petcoke from 1986.
Coal mill: indirect: FLS Tirax ball mill
Exhaust: via electrostatic precipitator and ID fan to stack
Typical Output: 1968-1986 1015 t/d: 1987-2000 1190 t/d
Typical Heat Consumption: 1968-1986 6.85 MJ/kg: 1987-2000 6.55 MJ/kg


Kiln A7

Supplier: Polysius
Operated: 15/2/2000 to date
Process: semi-wet Polysius Prepol-MSC 2-stage air-separate precalciner: details ✄
Location: hot end 448691,275742: cold end 448750,275722: unenclosed
Dimensions: Metric 62.00 × 4.600
Rotation (viewed from firing end): clockwise
Slope: 1/25 (2.547°)
Speed: ?
Drive: friction drive: 315kW hydraulic drive on each cold end roller
Kiln profile: 0×4400, 1550×4400, 2200×4600, 60800×4600, 61650×3200, 62000×3200: tyres at 11750, 45250
Cooler: grate: details ✄
Fuel: coal, plus up to 40% petcoke, supplemented by solid refuse from 2007.
Coal mill: ✄
Exhaust: ✄
Typical Output: ✄
Typical Heat Consumption: ✄



Sources: