Energy Management in Industry

Efs – Energy for Sustainability 2016/2017

Clinker Production Process Optimization
Beatriz T.C. L. Furtado
MSc Student

December/2016
Department of Electrical Engineering and Computers
Faculty of Sciences and Technology
University of Coimbra
Portugal

Portugal
 Energy Management in Industry

Table of Contents

1. Introduction .................................................................................................................................... 2
2. Cement Manufacturing Process ....................................................................................................... 3
3. Clinker Production........................................................................................................................... 4
3.1. Wet and Dry Processes ..................................................................................................................................6
3.2. Technologies and Energy Consumption ........................................................................................................6
4. Energy Efficiency and Management Measures ............................................................................... 9
4.1. All Kilns ........................................................................................................................................................9
4.1.1. Energy management and process control ...............................................................................................9
4.1.2. Seal Replacement ...................................................................................................................................9
4.1.3. Kiln Combustion System Improvements ................................................................................................9
4.1.4. Kiln shell heat loss reduction..................................................................................................................9
4.1.5. Efficient Kiln Drives ..............................................................................................................................9
4.1.6. Oxygen Enrichment ................................................................................................................................9
4.1.7. Refractories.............................................................................................................................................9
4.2. Wet Process Kilns....................................................................................................................................... 10
4.3. Dry Process Kilns ....................................................................................................................................... 10
4.3.1. Heat recovery for power generation .................................................................................................... 10
4.3.2. Low pressure drop cyclones for suspension pre-heaters ..................................................................... 10
5. Conclusion ..................................................................................................................................... 11
6. References ..................................................................................................................................... 11

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1. Introduction
Cement manufacturing is accountable for the use of significant amount of energy in the industrial
sector, with energy representing 20 to 40 % of total production costs. Most of the energy is used in the
form of fuel and electricity. Thermal energy is accountable for 20-25% of the cement production cost
while the usual electricity consumption in a modern cement plant is about 110-120 kWh per tonne of
cement. The major share of thermal energy is used during pyro-processing, while electrical energy is
used for operating both raw materials and cement grinding equipment.
Clinker production being the most energy-intensive stage
in cement production, not only accounts for the major share of
thermal energy use but also for virtually all fuel consumption
(93-99%), the choice usually being coal. Specific energy
consumption is a key indicator of the efficiency of a cement
plant in its production of clinker (in MJ/t clinker). A variety of
clinker kilns and processes are used that differ in the specific
energy consumption and CO emission intensity, the specific
energy consumption varies from about 3.40 GJ/t for the dry
process to about 5.29 GJ/t for the wet process. Therefore, it
provides a great foundation to try and improve the energy
efficiency of the process.
A concerted effort is made by the cement industry and
related organizations to check the environmental impact of
cement production and optimizing both the use of natural
resources and the consumption of energy so, it is important to
focus on reducing energy consumption and energy related Fig. 1 – Total Energy for Cement Manufacturing Sector, 2006

environmental emissions both locally and globally.

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2. Cement Manufacturing Process

In order to obtain cement clinker, we need an appropriate amount of compositions of the elements
calcium, silicon, aluminum and iron. To form the typical clinker composition, these raw materials must
be combined with the fuel ash.
The raw materials are grounded, blended, pre-calcined, and burned in manufacturing cement. The
most common raw materials in cement production are limestone (calcium carbonate) and clay (alumino-
silicate). The major component (limestone) is usually extracted close to the plant.
Limestone provides the required calcium oxide while clay and other materials provide most of the
silicon, aluminum and iron oxides for the manufacture of Portland cement. Raw materials are then
selected, crushed, pre-homogenized, ground, and proportioned so that the resulting mixture has the
desired fineness and chemical composition for delivery to the pyro processing systems.
The quarried material size is reduced by feeding into a primary (mills or impact crushers) and
secondary crusher. It is then necessary to add some iron, bauxite, quartzite and/or silica to achieve the
required raw feed compositions and to prevent any natural deviation from the compositions of raw
materials.
After suffering size reduction, the raw materials are further reduced in size by grounding, either by
a ball mill or a vertical mill (VRM), the choice of which is determined by the moisture content of the
material, the size of the plant, the abrasiveness of the material, the energy consumption levels, reliability,
and economic viability. The grinding varies with the preprocessing process used.
A variation in the chemical nature of kiln feed may result in adverse effects for the efficiency of the
kiln. To counteract this, it is necessary to blend and homogenize the raw material efficiently, using
continuous blending silos. Raw material preparation is an electricity-intensive production step.
The resulting blended raw materials are fed into the upper part of the pre-heater tower and then
passed through the end of the rotary kiln. As the kiln slowly rotates the material is tumbled to increasingly
hotter zones and as such chemical and physical changes start to take place, as the temperature increases.
The raw material melts and fuses together to form a clinker, which is discharged at the end of the kiln
and goes though different coolers.

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To produce powdered cement, the nodules of cement clinker are ground together with additives in a
cement mill, a horizontal metallic cylinder containing metallic balls. Finished cement is stored in cement
storage silos.
This is the dry process, which operates with a nearly dry raw mix containing less than 20% moisture
by mass. However, in a wet process water is added to the raw mix to form slurry and then is transported
to the kiln.

Fig. 2 - Overview of the Cement Manufacturing Process

3. Clinker Production
Clinker Production is the main step of cement manufacturing and the most energy-intensive one,
accounting for over 90% of total industry energy use, and virtually all of the fuel use. Cement Clinker
occurs as nodules that result from the heating of a homogeneous mix of raw materials in a rotary kiln at
high temperature.
This is carried out in a pre-heater tower, which comprises a series of countercurrent flow cyclones
that transfer heat from the kiln to the raw materials (with the latest including a pre-calciner) and in the

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kiln (rotary kiln). A rotary kiln consists of a tube with a diameter of up to 9m and an inclination of 3-4
degrees that rotates 1-3 times per minute.
Clinker is formed in large kilns by means of pyro processing. It starts with the mix of grounded raw
materials being fed to the top of the pre-heater tower, where the material is dried, followed by the
combustion chamber also known as the pre-calciner where the materials are calcined, the decomposition
of calcium carbonate (limestone) to calcium oxide (lime) and carbon dioxide. When the raw materials
reach the kiln (sintering zone), they are pushed to gradually higher temperature zones as it rotates slowly.
With the increase of temperature chemical and physical changes start to occur as the material melts and
fuses together to create more compact material, clinker. Once it’s formed it is quickly cooled down by
various coolers to minimize the formation of a glass phase and ensure the maximum yield of alite
formation, an important component of the hardening properties of cement. To partially recover the
thermal energy and lower the clinker handling temperature cooling technologies like the grate cooler or
the tube or planetary cooler are the main choices. The cooling air is used as secondary combustion air
for the kiln.
The fuel for the flame may be coal, petroleum coke, natural gas, oil and recycled materials.

Fig. 3 – Scheme of the Clinker Production Process

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3.1. Wet and Dry Processes

Originally the wet process was the process of choice, this was due to being easier to mix, grind and
control the size distribution of the particles in a slurry form. However, with the development of better
grinding processes and improved efficiency of pyro-processing systems, this process lost ground to the
dry process.
In the wet process, the raw meal has about 36% of moisture content, this translates into some changes
in the way the process occurs. The water (high moisture content of raw meal) is evaporated in the kiln in
the low temperature zone, with the evaporation requiring a long kiln. Energy use in wet kilns ranges
between 4.5-5.8 MJ/tonne clinker.
In the dry process the feed material has very low moisture content (0.5%), virtually annulling the
need for evaporation and reducing the kiln length, with the raw materials being ground dry to form a
powder.
Table I – Heat Requirements for the Dry and Wet Processes

Heat requirement Dry process (GJ/tonne) Wet process (GJ/tonne)

Chemical reactions 1.76 1.76

Evaporation of water 0 2.4

Heat lost 1.4 1.7

Total 3.2 5.8

3.2. Technologies and Energy Consumption

With different pyro-processing processes the need for different types of kiln to suit the needs of each
arises. Mainly vertical kilns (shaft kilns) and rotary kilns are used for pyro-processing raw materials and
produce clinker. Vertical kilns can be found in China, India and other developing countries while rotary
kilns are present mostly in developed countries.
There are many types of rotary kilns, depending on the form in which the raw materials are fed to
the kiln.

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The wet rotary kilns appeared as an upgrade to the original long dry kiln to improve the chemical
uniformity in the raw meal. The feed is a wet slurry, containing 38% of water, produced from raw
material with a moisture content between 15-25%. For this reason, the meal will be more homogeneous
for the kiln, not requiring as much grinding and using less electrical energy. However, the overall energy
consumption will be higher due to the need to evaporate the water present in the slurry. Therefore, the
wet kiln has the largest consumption of fuel among all types of kilns. While still in use in some countries,
many are shifting from wet kiln to dry kiln in order to reduce overall energy consumption.
As a countermeasure to the disadvantage of the wet rotary kiln, a process of using a filter to dehydrate
physically the raw material may be applied, resorting to a Semi-Wet Rotary Kiln. This is an improved
version of the wet process, where raw material is also prepared as a slurry but a substantial proportion
(50-80%) of the water is mechanically removed, as the wet raw material is processed in a filter after
homogenizing to reduce moisture content, resulting in a “filter cake” (18-20% moisture content) being
fed to the kiln. This is mainly used for retrofitting the existing wet kilns, reducing energy consumption
by 0.3 GJ/tonne of clinker.
In the case of a Semi-Dry Rotary Kiln, a limited amount of water (10-15%) is added to the dry raw
meal for it to be nodulised, and waste heat recovery from the kiln is used to remove the moisture content
and then the dried meal is fed to the kiln, reducing overall energy consumption to a certain extent.
Dry Long Kilns are dry process kilns with no external pre-heater. The kiln is fed with a dry raw meal
powder. Although these have significantly lower heat requirements, and as such are considerably superior
to wet processes, because they lack a pre-heater they still consume more energy than more recent
technologies like the multi-cyclone type pre-heater kilns.
Later developments have added multi-stage suspension pre-heaters which are the basis of all modern
systems, these are called Dry Kilns with Pre-heater. The raw dry meal is passed through the cyclones,
placed above each other in towers, each with a different range of temperatures. The energy use of kilns
with suspension pre-heaters is much lower than the previous examples. Although the more pre-heater
stages lead to lower energy consumption, it can be more energy efficient to operate the kiln with fewer
stages and use the extra heat for drying. Additionally, as part of the calcinations already occurs in this
stage, it’s possible to reduce the energy consumption by reducing the length of the kiln, with the downside

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of the potential build-up of alkalis which reduce the quality of the cement and can block the operation of
the preheated materials resulting in long interruptions.
The pre-calciner technology is a more recent development, it represents the final improvement in
efficiency and these types of kilns are known as Dry Kilns with Pre-heater and Pre-calciner, representing
almost all new kilns sold nowadays. An additional combustion chamber is installed between the
conventional pre-heater and the kiln, allowing further reduction in kiln fuel requirements. With the pre-
calciner chamber consuming about 60% of the fuel used in the kiln and 80-90% of the calcinations
occurring there, an energy consumption reduction of 8-11% is possible. Multistage preheaters and pre-
calciners make use of the waste heat from the kiln and clinker cooler to pre-heat and pre-process the kiln
feed, and thereby allow for considerable energy savings.
At last, the Vertical or Shaft Kiln. This one has the highest energy consumption of all. Clinker quality
highly depends on the homogenization of pellets and fuel and on the air supply. If there is an inadequate
air supply or uneven distribution, the combustion is incomplete, which leads to low quality clinker.

Table II – Energy consumption savings of different types of kilns

Types of Kiln Energy Consumption (%)

1. Wet rotary kiln 1.8–3 to 3.6

2. Semi-wet rotary kiln 0.3

3. Semi-dry rotary kiln –

4. Dry long rotary kiln –

5. Dry rotary kiln with pre-heater 2.9–3.5

6. Dry rotary kiln with pre-heater and pre-calciner 8–11

7. Shaft kiln 3.7–6.6, average 4.8

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4. Energy Efficiency and Management Measures

Clinker Production being the most energy-intensive process of cement manufacturing, allows us the
opportunity to identify measure to optimize the process.
These measures can be divided per the type of kiln.
4.1. All Kilns
4.1.1. Energy management and process control
Due to non-optimal conditions heat from the kiln may be lost, an automated computer control
systems can solve this by optimizing the combustion process and conditions under different fuels.
4.1.2. Seal Replacement
Helps counteract potential leaks that could result in false air penetration and heat losses.
4.1.3. Kiln Combustion System Improvements
Aim to optimize the flame, the mixing of combustion air and fuel and reducing the use of excess air,
due to fuel combustion systems in kilns contributing to inefficiencies that lead to poorly adjusted firing,
incomplete fuel burnout with high CO formation and combustion with excess air.
4.1.4. Kiln shell heat loss reduction
The shell of a kiln allows a considerable amount of heat losses through it by convection and radiation,
especially in the burning zone, of about 15.11% of the input energy. A way to reduce these losses is to
use a secondary shell and insulating the external surface of the cyclones and ducts in the pre-heater.
4.1.5. Efficient Kiln Drives
A significant amount of power is used to rotate the kiln. Resorting to high-efficiency motors in
detriment of re-winding old motors may reduce power costs by 2 to 8%.
4.1.6. Oxygen Enrichment
Is used to increase production, this is if the local market demand for cement justifies the additional
costs that come from it.
4.1.7. Refractories
Protect the steel kiln shell against heat, chemical and mechanical stress. The material choice depends
on the combination of raw materials, fuels and operating conditions.

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4.2. Wet Process Kilns

Conversions to pre-heater, pre-calciner kiln, to semi-dry kiln (slurry drier) and to semi-wet Kiln.
4.3. Dry Process Kilns
4.3.1. Heat recovery for power generation
Waste gas from the kiln exit gases, the clinker cooler system and the kiln pre-heater contains
energy that can be taken advantage of for raw material and fuel drying or for power generation. Heat
recovery for cogeneration can translate in significant electricity savings.
4.3.2. Low pressure drop cyclones for suspension pre-heaters
Cyclones are a part of the pre-heating system. Installing new ones in a plant, with lower pressure
losses will result in a reduction of the power consumption of the kiln exhaust gas fan system.
4.3.3. Long dry kiln conversion to multi-stage pre-heater kiln and to to multi-stage pre-heater, pre-
calciner kiln and addition of pre-calciner to pre-heater kiln
Table III – Energy efficiency measures for clinker making in dry and wet
processes

(Dry)

(Wet)

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5. Conclusion
Pyro-processing consumes the most energy in cement manufacturing, for which the dry process is
more energy efficient than the wet process. Industries are moving towards the dry process and only in a
few countries can we still find the wet process. Where this happens, it is possible to replace it by the dry
process with or without a pre-heater system and a pre-calciner, or upgrade the technology by converting
into semi-wet process in which we can reduce energy consumption. It’s also possible to further reduce
energy consumption in an already existing dry process by introducing various stages.
Lack of technical knowledge by staff and government policies can pose a challenge to improvement.
There is a substantial potential for improvement in efficiency in this industry, hence why it warrants
attention. These and other measures can significantly improve the technologies and processes by
reducing losses and costs.

6. References
[1] Addition of Pre-Calcination to Kilns with Preheaters. (2016). Retrieved December 2, 2016, from
http://ietd.iipnetwork.org/content/addition-pre-calcination-kilns-preheaters
[2] Cement. (2014). Retrieved November 28, 2016, from http://ietd.iipnetwork.org/content/cement
[3] Clinker Making. (2016). Retrieved December 2, 2016, from
http://ietd.iipnetwork.org/content/clinker-making
[4] Dry Kilns with Multistage Pre-heaters and Pre-calcination. (2016). Retrieved December 2, 2016, from
http://ietd.iipnetwork.org/content/dry-kilns-multistage-pre-heaters-and-pre-calcination
[5] Japan, The Energy Conservation Center (ECC). Output of a Seminar on Energy Conservation in
Cement Industry.
[6] Madlool, N. A., Saidur, R., Hossain, M. S., & Rahim, N. A. (2011). A critical review on energy use
and savings in the cement industries. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, 15(4), 2042-2060.
[7] Madlool, N. A., Saidur, R., Rahim, N. A., & Kamalisarvestani, M. (2013). An overview of energy
savings measures for cement industries. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, 19, 18-29.
[8] Moore, D. Design features of rotary kilns. Retrieved December 4, 2016, from
http://www.cementkilns.co.uk/kiln_design.html

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[9] Moore, D. Dry and semi-dry process kilns. Retrieved December 4, 2016, from
http://www.cementkilns.co.uk/dry_process.html
[10] Moore, D. Long dry kilns. Retrieved December 4, 2016, from
http://www.cementkilns.co.uk/long_dry_kilns.html
[11] Moore, D. Precalciner kilns. Retrieved December 4, 2016, from
http://www.cementkilns.co.uk/precalciner_kilns.html
[12] Moore, D. Rotary kilns. Retrieved December 2, 2016, from
http://www.cementkilns.co.uk/rotary_kilns.html
[13] Moore, D. Suspension preheater kilns. Retrieved December 4, 2016, from
http://www.cementkilns.co.uk/suspension_preheater_kilns.html
[14] Taylor, M., Tam, C., & Gielen, D. (2006). Energy efficiency and CO2 emissions from the global
cement industry. Korea, 50(2.2), 61-7.
[15] Worrell, E., Kermeli, K., & Galitsky, C. (2013). Energy Efficiency Improvement and Cost Saving
Opportunities for Cement Making An ENERGY STAR® Guide for Energy and Plant Managers.

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