Making cement that measures up
A portland cement manufacturer uses a laser diffraction analyzer to measure and control particle size in-line and in real-time.
When Ash Grove Cement Co. began operations as a family-owned lime plant in Ash Grove, Mo., in 1882, laser particle analysis was as far from reality as traveling to the moon. Today the company is based in Overland Park, Kan., and has two lime and eight cement plants across the midwestern and western US. At its plant in Leamington, Utah, a Malvern Insitec in-line particle size analyzer now provides Ash Grove with continuous cement particle measurement, showing just how far the cement company and its industry have come.