Journal of the Air & Waste Management Association

ISSN: 1047-3289 (Print) (Online) Journal homepage: https://www.tandfonline.com/loi/uawm18

The Effects of Rotary Kiln Operating Conditions

and Design on Burden Heating Rates as
Determined by a Mathematical Model of Rotary
Kiln Heat Transfer

Geoffrey D. Silcox & David W. Perching

To cite this article: Geoffrey D. Silcox & David W. Perching (1990) The Effects of Rotary Kiln
Operating Conditions and Design on Burden Heating Rates as Determined by a Mathematical
Model of Rotary Kiln Heat Transfer, Journal of the Air & Waste Management Association,
40:3, 337-344, DOI: 10.1080/10473289.1990.10466691

To link to this article: https://doi.org/10.1080/10473289.1990.10466691

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ISSN 1047-3289 J. Air Waste Manage. Assoc. 40: 337-344 (1990)
The Effects of Rotary Kiln Operating Conditions and
Design on Burden Heating Rates as Determined by
a Mathematical Model of Rotary Kiln Heat Transfer
Geoffrey D. Silcox and David W. Perching
University of Utah
Salt Lake City, Utah
A mathematical model of heat transfer in a directly-fired rotary kiln
is developed and used to examine the effects of operating and
design parameters on burden temperature. The model includes a
mean beam length radiation model and axial zoning. Conductive
and convective heat transfer are also included. Radiation between
immediately adjacent zones is permitted. Calculation of heat trans-
fer rates is facilitated by the use of an electric circuit analogue. An
iterative solution procedure is adopted to solve the energy balance
equations.
At the conditions examined, the model predicts that coflowlng
gas and solid streams result in higher average burden temperatures
than do counterflowing streams. The moisture level of the feed is
predicted to be a key operating parameter. The effects of kiln
length, burden residence time, firing rate, and flame length are also
examined.
Rotary kilns have been important for decades as calciners
for various processes, especially cement production. More
recently, rotary kilns have been adopted as an effective
means for the incineration of hazardous wastes. This is par-
ticularly true of solid hazardous wastes such as sludges,
sorbents, and contaminated soils. Rotary kilns are able to
treat solid materials with a wide range of particle sizes.
For a given waste material, the key parameters affecting
the incineration process include gas-solid contacting, tem-
perature, and time. The importance of temperature makes
heat transfer calculations useful for estimating the effects of
kiln design and operation on burden temperature. This pa-
per presents a mathematical model of heat transfer in direct-
ly-fired rotary kilns. The model uses one-dimensional zon-
ing along the kiln axis with a mean beam length radiation
model.
The model is used to address questions of kiln design and
operation with particular emphasis being given to the heat-
ing characteristics of wet solid burdens. The specific design
and operating parameters examined include the direction of
burden flow (cocurrent or countercurrent relative to the gas
flow), kiln length and diameter, burden residence time, feed
moisture content, firing rate, and flame length.
Previous Work
Because of the industrial importance of kilns, numerous
investigators have developed heat transfer models. Recent
models include those of Jenkins and Moles1 and Gorog,
Brimacombe, and Adams.2"4 Jenkins and Moles focus on
predicting gas and refractory temperatures using a modifica-
tion of the method of Hottel and Sarofim.5 Their results
show encouraging agreement with cement kiln measure-
ments but they do not include burden temperature predic-
tions in their calculations.
March 1990 Volume 40, No. 3
In a series of three papers, Gorog et al. examine the radia-
tive heat transfer between the freeboard gas and the interior
surfaces,2 the overall heat transfer to the solid burden,3 and
the flame zone heat transfer.4 The latter model is the most
comprehensive and is based on a one-dimensional approach
which neglects axial radiation. They use the model to predict
the effects of fuel type, firing rate, temperature of the sec-
ondary air, percent primary air, and oxygen enrichment on
heat flow to the bed. They assume an isothermal bed in the
axial direction and do not consider the effects of burden
moisture content on burden temperatures. Both consider-
ations are critical to the design and operation of kilns for soil
decontamination applications. The work of Gorog et al.
forms the starting point for the model discussed below.
Model Development
Approach
The zone modeling approach adopted here is shown sche-
matically in Figure 1. The kiln is divided axially into zones of
equal widths. Within each zone there are three flowing
streams: the flame or jet, the gases surrounding the flame or
jet, and the solid burden. Within a given zone, each stream is
characterized by a single temperature and each is considered
well stirred.
The flame is represented as cylinder of constant diameter.
The combustion gases from the flame also form a cylinder of
constant diameter (labeled "combusted jet" in Figure 1) that
extends from the end of the flame to the kiln exhaust. The
kiln exhausts to an afterburner, the temperature of which is
specified. The combustion rate in the flame and the flame
length are specified and the rate of entrainment of the gases
Implications
The mathematical model of heat transfer in
rotary kilns can be used to help design kilns and
to estimate operating parameters for the incin-
eration of hazardous wastes. As such, the model
can help ensure safe and efficient kiln operation.
For example, if a given waste-contaminated soil
must be heated to a high temperature for a cer-
tain length of time to completely destroy the
waste, the model can be used to specify the kiln
size, fuel requirements, residence time, and
waste feed rate to meet these requirements.
Copyright 1990—Air & Waste Management Association
337
 Table I. Resistances for the circuit analogue given in Figure 2.

i? 1t = nR5
Hi ~ &

1
R,=

ool W
Barrel Feed Mechanism Solids Burden #4 = # 3 #,.=

1
Figure 1. Schematic of the zone modeling approach. #lfi =
V
1
^ur7 ww
surrounding the flame is equal to that required to support £7 = # 6
combustion. The massflowrates of the burner air and of the
air surrounding the flame or jet can be set independently.
The gases surrounding the flame are assumed roughly trans-
parent to radiation.
The solid burden enters the kiln continuously. The rota-
tion of the kiln is assumed sufficient to completely stir the
solids and to maintain a radially isothermal bed. The bed iv
10 "20 AC0JiJ
depth is assumed independent of axial position. In a given
zone, the surface temperature of the wall is assumed inde- ln(r0uf/O D 1
pendent of angular position. The generation of heat due to #21
2wAzV "5 &bw
the combustion of hydrocarbons in the burden is neglected.
Evaporation of moisture from the bed is neglected until the 1 h ' — '''IDS

temperature of the bed reaches 100° C. The temperature of 22

KKJ T + T)(T 2HVT2)
the bed remains at 100° C until all moisture is removed. The
steam leaving the bed is added to the annular gas stream 1 K
23
surrounding the flame or jet. \ + Tsh)(Tw2 -i• Tsh2)
The modes of heat exchange considered in the model in-
h
clude radiation from the flame to the walls and burden, nAI ' — gw
24 gw . 2
convection from the annular gas stream to the walls and T + T)(T VT2)
H
burden, and conduction through the walls. Convection and
radiation between the walls and the burden are included. 1
#25 :
The outside of the kiln radiates and convects to the sur- gS
<riT + T )(T2 + T2)
roundings. The thickness of the burner wall can be set inde-
pendently of that of the cylindrical walls to permit realistic 1 Kut
h
'"out at T u + T )(T u2 + T a 2 )
heat losses. Radiation exchange between immediately adja- A
sh ' * a ' V J sh
cent zones is permitted although axial exchange between K
adjacent flame elements is neglected. Exchange between the #61
h ' —
wall and burden surfaces in the exhaust zone and the after-
• (Tl wm 2 .
*Tbsh2)
burner is allowed. The gas radiation model is the mean beam ^6u;
length model of Hottel and Sarofim.5 #62
h ' —
n
All surfaces are considered grey and diffuse. The emissivi- ^6u,fe u ,' 6sh + TJ(Tbsh2 + Ta2)
ties of the flame and jet are specified for each zone. The jet
and flame gases are assumed grey, that is, eg = ag. #63

1
Circuit Analogue #64 =
Abwhout'
The electric circuit analogue for a single zone is shown in
Figure 2. Slight modifications of this analogue are necessary
at the burner and exhaust ends of the kiln. The resistances Ri
are defined in Table I. The unknown potentials include Jw,
Js, Ew, Esh, and Jsh. The "known" potentials include Ej, Eg, the analogue requires the use of heat transfer coefficients
Es, and Ea. The first three are considered known because and thermal conductivities which are functions of tempera-
they are calculated from separate energy balances on the ture (denoted by primes) and which are defined in Table I.
flowing materials. The energy balances on theflowingmate-
rials are coupled with the balances represented by the ana- Heat Transfer Coefficients
logue. This is discussed more fully below. Energy exchange
with adjacent zones is indicated by the superscripts + or — Four heat transfer coefficients are required, hws, hgw, hgs,
on the appropriate nodes. Energy entering or leaving the and hout. To calculate the convection coefficient for the solid
zone is indicated by the arrows at the nodes Ej, Es, Eg, and burden in contact with the kiln wall (hws), Tscheng and
Ea. Energy losses to the surroundings occur at node Ea where Watkinson6 recommend:
"a" denotes the ambient temperature. n
wslw _ nr
in P
The circuit analogue includes radiation, convection, and 1 ] f i
(1)
conduction. The inclusion of convection and conduction in K [ Oi \

338 J. Air Waste Manage. Assoc.

 Figure 2. Electric circuit analogue for the zone model.

where IJ is the covered wall circumference; n is the rotation-
al speed in revolutions per second; rin is the inside kiln
radius; j8 is the angle subtended by the solid burden in
radians; a is the thermal diffusivity of the solids; and ks is the
thermal conductivity of the solids. At the baseline condi-
tions examined here, and summarized in Table II, hws = 120
W/m2.K.
Gorog et al.3 recommend that the coefficient hgw for the
kiln gas in contact with the wall be estimated from:
933 rD>055
hgw = 0.036 (2)
where kg is the thermal conductivity of the gas; D is the kiln
ID, and L is the kiln length. This equation is for turbulent
flow. For the low gas flow rates examined here, hgw — 2 W/
m2«K. This would obviously be higher if the flame impinged
on the bed.
For the kiln gas in contact with the solid burden, Gorog et
al.3 recommend: / 2F•abnh +F
062 2 ^
gs 0.4(G/) , W/m -K (3)
where G/ is the gas mass flux through the kiln in units of kg/
m2*hr. This gives a value of hgs = 27 W/m2*K.
The heat transfer coefficient on the outside of the kiln is
estimated by assuming natural convection on a stationary
horizontal cylinder. See, for example, Incropera and
DeWitt.7 A value of hout = 6 W/m2-K is estimated.
View Factors
View factors were calculated from the view factor integral:
_ 1 f r coadiCosOj
"•i }A: JA: irR
The integrals are evaluated numerically. Because radiative
exchange is permitted within zones and between immediate-
ly adjacent zones, the "effective" view factors are calculated
using the actual view factors such that the summation rule
for an enclosure is still obeyed. The enclosure in this case
consists of three zones with no losses permitted from the
ends.
For example, consider the middle zone of a three zone
system. Let Fab be the view factor from surface (a) to surface
(b) in the middle zone, and let Fab+ be the view factor to the
corresponding surface in the adjacent zone, where by sym-
metry, Fab+ = Fab~. Suppose that surface (a) can see only
surface (b). This is true, for example, of the burden surface
and the kiln walls since the burden cannot see itself. Then
the "effective" view factors (Fe and Fe+) must satisfy 2Fe+ -+•
Fe = 1 and Fe/Fe+ = Fab/Fab+. Solving for Fe and Fe+ yields:
ab ab
and Fo = (4)
+
ab
+
2F abu + Fab
A
ab '
Energy Balances
Energy balances are used to obtain the unknown tempera-
tures of the materials flowing through the kiln and of the
inner and outer wall surfaces. In connection with the net-
work analogue, the unknown potentials are Jw, Js, Ew, Esh,
and Jsh- To obtain five equations in five unknowns, current
balances are performed about each node with an unknown
potential. The resulting equations, when solved for the un-
known potentials, yield a system which is readily solved by
successive substitution:

EJRl4 + Ej+/R15 + Ej-/R17 + JJRIZ + J~/R9 + Js+/R8 + Jw~/R7 + Jw+/R6

1/RW + 1/R14 + 1/R15 + 1/B17 + 1/R13 + ]/R9 + VR8 + VI
+ Ej+/R16 + Ej-/R18 + EJRl9 + Jw+/Rn + Jw~/Rb + Ej/R12
13
_
1/Rl3 + l/R16 + 1/R18 + 1/R19 + 1/Rn + 1/R5 + 1/Rl2
JjR\i + Esh/R21 + EJR22 + Es/R20
_ (7)
1/Rl4 + 1/R2l + 1/R22 + l/R
20

sh (8)

V
(9)
26

March 1990 Volume 40, No. 3 339

 Nomenclature Subscripts
2
A = area, m a = ambient
cp = heat capacity, J/kg-K af = afterburner
cw = heat capacity of liquid water, J/kg-K bsh = burner outer shell
cws = heat capacity of wet solid burden, J/kg-K bw = burner wall
cwv = heat capacity of water vapor, J/kg«K
D - kiln inside diameter, m cov = contact area between wall and solid
E = emissive power of a black body, W/m2 ds = dry solid burden
F = view factor / = fuel
JH2O = weight fraction of moisture in solid feed g = gas surrounding jet
Fi = flame length, m gs = gas to solid
Gg = gas mass flux through kiln, kg/m2-hr j = jet
h = convective heat transfer coefficient, W/m2-K js = jet to solid
h' = convective heat transfer coefficient modified for use jw = jet to wall
in analogue (see Table I), dimensionless
Hnet = net heating value of fuel, J/kg out = outer surface of kiln
J = radiosity, W/m2-K pa = primary air
kw = thermal conductivity of refractory wall, W/m-K s = solid burden
kw' = modified thermal conductivity for use in analogue, m sa = "secondary" or leak air
L - kiln length, m sh = outer kiln shell
lw' = circumference of inner wall covered by solid burden, m sw = solid to wall
m = mass flow rate, kg/s w = wall
n = rotation rate, revolutions per second, s"1 ws = wall to solids or wet solids
N = number of nodes ww = wall to wall
Pr = Prandtl number
q' = rate of energy transport to solids burden per unit
length of kiln, defined by Eqn 20, W/m
qci = rate at which energy is convected into zone, W
qs = rate of energy transport from solids to jet, W
qw = rate of energy transport from wall to jet or gas, W
R = distance between two differential surface elements, m
Re = Reynolds number
Greek Symbols
Tf = flame radius, m
Ri = resistance in network analogue as defined in Table I,
in- 2 a = thermal diffusivity of solid burden, m2/s
rin = inner kiln radius, m j8 = angle subtended by solids burden, radians
rout = outer kiln radius, m AHv — heat of vaporization of water, J/kg
T - temperature, K Am = increment in mass flow rate, kg/s
Tref = reference temperature, 298 K Az = zone width, m
e = emissivity
Superscripts 0 = angle between a line joining two surfaces and
the normal to one of the surfaces, radians
+ = following zone p = density, kg/m3
— = preceding zone a = Stefan-Boltzmann constant, 5.670 X 10~8
a = designates adjacent zone W/m2-K4
i = node number r = transmissivity

This set of equations is solved for each zone. Because of the where T/+1 is the temperature of the jet at node i + 1. The
exchange between adjacent zones, the equations are all cou- rate of radiation from the solids burden qs is given by:
pled. Slightly modified forms of the above equations are
required for the burner and the exhaust zones. The burner (11)
zone equations account for the presence of the burner wall l
12
and the exhaust zone equations include radiative exchange the radiation from the walls is given by:
with the afterburner. Four additional equations are required
for the burner wall. The associated unknowns are Jbwi Ebw, Jw - • J,,, — E; J,,, — E:
(12)
Ro Rt R 10
Equations 5 through 9 are not linear because a number of
resistances are functions of temperature. Referring to Table the energy convected in is given by:
I, it is apparent that R20, R21, R22, #23, #25> #62, and RhA are all Qci ~ m/cpj(Tf ~ Tref) + Am/cp - Tref) (13)
functions of temperature. Furthermore, Equations 5
through 9 are also dependent on the flame or jet temperature and the rate of generation is given by qgen. The generation
(Tj = (Ej/a)l/4), the gas temperature (Tg = (Eg/<r)1/A), and the rate in each zone of the flame is specified. The total energy
solids temperature (T« = {Es/a)llA). These temperatures are input, relative to a reference temperature of 298 K, for heat-
obtained by performing energy balances on the flowing ma- ing the kiln system and the surroundings is given by the
terials. product of the mass flow rate of the fuel and its net heating
For a central zone as represented in Figure 2, an energy value. The term Am/ in Equation 13 represents the mass of
balance on the jet or flame yields: gas entrained by the jet in a given zone. For the purposes of
these calculations, the total gas entrained by the flame is
i+\ 1 (10) equal to that required for complete combustion of the fuel
= Tref +
minus the burner air. Equations 11 to 13 are modified slight-

340 J. Air Waste Manage. Assoc.

 700 i+l _
m, (18)
AH,,
600
77 +1 = 77 + Az (19)
m
dsCds
500
respectively, where q' is obtained from the analogue:
Js - Es Eg - Es Ew - Es
400 (20)
R19Az R20Az

300 0.1 rpm Equation 20 gives the rate at which energy is transmitted to
Fill fraction 0.08 the bed per unit length of bed. This formulation is chosen so
Wall temperature 605 K
that distances over which evaporation and heating occur can
200 be fractions of the zone width.
500 1000 1500 2000

Time, s

Figure 3. Comparisons of bench-scale burden temperature

data with model predictions.

ly for the burner and exhaust zones.

For the annular blanket of gas surrounding the flame an
energy balance yields:

i+1 _

where Tgi+1 is the gas temperature at node i + 1. Radiative

heating of the blanketing gas is neglected. The rate of con-
vective heating from the walls and solid burden is given by: 200
0.0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1.0
Ew~ Eg — Ep
(15) Fractional Distance
^22 "23
Figure 5. Sensitivity of predicted bed temperatures to node
The energy convected into the blanketing gas is given by: spacing.

Qci =

~ Tre{) - c p g (r; - Tref) + AmJcwv(B7S - TTef)

Solution
(16)
where the term AmJ. is the mass of water vapor at 373 K In general, Equations 5 to 20 must be solved simulta-
added to the gas stream from the bed in zone i. neously. This is accomplished by successive substitution.
The energy balance on the burden accounts for the latent The use of damping factors is, in many cases, necessary for
heat of vaporization of water in the bed. This balance in- obtaining a converged solution. This is particularly true for
cludes three stages: the heating of the bed to 373 K, a con- countercurrent flow of gas and solids where damping factors
stant temperature period at 373 K, and a final period in of approximately 0.2 are required.
which the bed is completely dry. The first stage assumes that
the rate of water loss is negligible until the bed temperature Comparisons with Data
reaches 373 K. The resulting equations for the three stages
are: Burden temperature profiles were measured as a function
+1
of time in a batch, pilot-scale rotary kiln by Owens et al.8 The
77 = 77 + Az (17) 70 kW kiln has inside dimensions of 0.61 by 0.61 m and is
refractory lined. Wall temperatures were measured by ther-
mocouples inserted through holes in the kiln shell and re-
fractory. Burden temperatures were determined continu-
1200 ously using a thermocouple placed in the slumping bed.
Suction pyrometry was used to measure gas temperatures.
1000
Experiments were performed in the kiln by Owens et al.8
to examine the effects of fill fraction, rotation rate, and wall
temperature. All tests were performed at conditions such
800 that the flame did not extend over the bed. In comparing the
model to the measured profiles, the inside wall temperature
600
was specified and an average, uniform gas temperature in
the bench-scale kiln was used.
0.5 rpm Model parameters used to predict the measured burden
Fill fraction 0.08 profiles are summarized in Table III. The wall and burden
Wall temperature 1066 K
emissivities are handbook values given by Perry and Ghil-
200
ton.9 All heat transfer coefficients are based on the correla-
500 1000 1500 2000 tions given above. Figure 3 shows predicted and measured
burden temperatures for a kiln rotation rate of 0.1 rpm, a fill
Time, s fraction of 0.08, and a wall temperature of 605 K. Figure 4
Figure 4. Comparisons of bench-scale burden temperature shows predicted and measured profiles at 0.5 rpm, 0.08 fill
data with model predictions. fraction, and a wall temperature of 1066 K. In both cases the
March 1990 Volume 40, No. 3 341
wall temperatures are measured values. The predictions are width. All subsequent calculations used 10 zones. Predicted
in good agreement with the data. baseline profiles for the wall, the burden, and the core jet are
At the lower temperature, the dominant mode of heat compared in Figure 6. The constant temperature portion of
transfer is convection between the wall and the solid. At the the burden profile is at 100° C.
higher temperature, it is radiation from the kiln walls. The predicted sensitivity of burden exit temperature to
the heat transfer parameters, e/, hgs, and hws, is summarized
Model Predictions in Table IV. Of the three parameters examined, changes in
the flame emissivity e/ and the wall to solid heat transfer
coefficient hws have the greatest impact on the burden tem-
The Effect of Design Parameters perature.
The effect of burden flow direction on bed temperature is
The baseline values for all parameters used in the following shown in Figure 7. Higher peak burden temperatures are
predictions are summarized in Table II. Unless otherwise achieved with countercurrent conditions but the coflowing
noted, these parameters are used in all of the calculations condition gives higher temperatures for longer periods of
which follow. Preliminary calculations were performed to time. At the conditions examined here, it appears that co-
determine the effect of node spacing on predicted tempera- flowing gas and solid streams are best suited to achieving
ture profiles. Figure 5 shows burden profiles calculated using solid decontamination.
10 and 20 zones. The profiles are fairly insensitive to zone The effects of kiln length and the solid's residence time
are related and are shown in Figures 8 and 9. The results are
expressed in terms of the time that the solid stream stays
above a certain temperature. A temperature of 700 K was
Table II. Baseline parameters used in making predictions. chosen arbitrarily. Figure 8 shows that the time above 700 K
depends linearly on kiln length for a fixed solids feed rate.
Temperatures Lengthening the kiln is an obvious way of extending heating
Temperature of afterburner, Taf = 800 K periods. An alternative to increased kiln length is increased
Temperature of surroundings, Ta — 300 K
Gas inlet temperature, Tg = 300 K burden residence time. For a fixed solid feed rate, the effect
Solids inlet temperature, Ts = 300 K of burden residence time on the time that the bed stays
above 700 K is shown in Figure 9. For an existing kiln,
Kiln dimensions and zone specification changing the residence time is the only option available for
Outside radius of kiln, rout = 1.92 m obtaining increased time at temperature.
Inside radius of kiln, r,rt — 1.62 m
Kiln length, L = 10.7 m
Burner wall thickness, hbw - 0.102 m
Number of nodes, N = 11
Burden residence time and physical properties
Burden residence time, 0 = 1800 s Table III. Model parameters for prediction of pilot-scale results
Weight fraction of moisture in feed, /H2O = 0.15 in Figures 3 and 4.
Flow direction, cocurrent gas and solids
Density of dry solids, pds — 1490 kg/m3 Parameter Figure 3 Figure 4
Flame and gas characteristics Gas emissivity, eg 0.10 0.11
Flame length, F\ = 5.35 m
Flame radius, r/ = 0.54 m Wall emissivity, €„, 0.73 0.85
Emissivity of gas, eg = 0.1 Burden emissivity, es 0.9 0.9
Emissivity of jet, e; = 0.3 for flame, €,0.1 for combustion gas Heat transfer coef., hws, wall to bed, W/m2-K 34 55
Heat transfer coef., hgs, gas to solid, W/m2«K 12 14
Emissivities, heat transfer coefficients, and thermal conductivity Dry solid density, pds, kg/m3 680 680
Emissivity of wall, ew = 0.75 Dry solid heat capacity, Cds, J/kg«K 1000 1000
Emissivity of burden surface, es = 0.80 Dry solid thermal conductivity, ks, W/m-K 0.174 0.174
Emissivity of outer shell, esh = 0.80
Heat transfer coefficient, wall to solid burden, hws = 123 W/m2-K
Heat transfer coefficient, gas to wall, hgw = 2 W/m2«K
Heat transfer coefficient, gas to solid burden, hgs = 27 W/m2-K
Heat transfer coefficient, outside of kiln, hout = 6 W/m2-K
Thermal conductivity of wall, kw = 1.0 W/m-K
Table IV. Sensitivity of burden exit
Mass flow rates temperature to e/, hgs, and hws.
Mass flow rate of fuel (natural gas), m/ = 0.0901 kg/s
Mass flow rate of primary air, mpa = 1.24 kg/s 1. Flame emissivity
Mass flow rate of secondary air, msa = 0.698 kg/s if 1 exit, **•
Mass flow rate of feed including moisture, mws — 3.0 kg/s 0.1 696
Thermodynamic quantities 0.2 748
Net (lower) heating value of fuel, Hnet = 5.55 X 107 J/kg 0.3, baseline 783
Heat of vaporization of water, AHV = 2.257 X 106 J/kg 0.4 807
Heat capacity of combustion gases (jet), cPJ = 1230 J/kg>K
Heat capacity of gas surrounding flame, cpg = 1230 J/kg»K 2. Gas to burden heat transfer coefficient
Heat capacity of water, cw = 4200 J/kg-K hes, W/m 2 -K Texit, K
Heat capacity of water vapor, cwv — 2100 J/kg-K 27, baseline 783
Heat capacity of dry solids, Cds = 840 J/kg«K 54 760
View factors 216 711
View factor, jet to adjacent wall, Fjwa = 0.21
View factor, jet to adjacent solids burden, Fjsa = 0.044 3. Wall to burden heat transfer coefficient
View factor, solid burden to adjacent wall, Fswa = 0.35 hws, W/m 2 -K Texit, K
View factor, wall to adjacent wall, Fwwa — 0.29 61 751
View factor, jet to wall, Fjw = 0.39 123, baseline 783
View factor, jet to solid, Fjs = 0.094 246 818
View factor, solid burden to wall, Fsw = 0.21 492 843

342 J. Air Waste Manage. Assoc.

 The Effect of Operating Parameters
For a constant, dry solid feed rate of 2.55 kg/s, the effect of
varying the burden moisture content on burden temperature
is shown in Figure 10 for moisture fractions varying from
0.05 to 0.3. At 0.3 weight fraction, the burden is never com-
pletely dried. As seen in Figure 10, at fractional distances
less than about 0.2, the initial heating rate of the solids is also
affected by subsequent kiln temperatures. The 0.3 weight
fraction case has the slowest initial heating rate. The ex-
treme sensitivity to feed moisture content seen in Figure 10
is greatly reduced at lower feed rates.
The predicted effect of kiln firing rate on burden tempera-
ture is shown in Figure 11. Increasing the firing rate in-
creases the burden temperatures and sharply reduces the
time required for removal of the moisture. These calcula-
tions assume constant flame diameter and length, equal to
the baseline values. Holding these values constant is proba-

2000

Flame Temperature

1500

Solid Temperature

0.0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1.0

20 30 40 50 60
Fractional Distance Residence Time, min
Figure 6. Predictions of flame, wall, and solid temperatures
Figure 9. Predictions showing the effect of burden residence
at the baseline conditions.
time on the time that the burden is above 700 K.

1200

Countercurrent

200
0.0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1.0 0.0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1.0
Fractional Distance Fractional Distance
Figure 7. The effect of burden flow direction on the bed
Figure 10. Predictions showing the effect of the weight frac-
temperature profile. tion of moisture in the solid feed on bed temperature profile.
The dry solid feed rate is constant at 2.55 kg/s.

200
0.0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8
Kiln Length, m Fractional Distance
Figure 8. Predictions showing the effect of kiln length on the Figure 11. Predicted effects of kiln firing rate on bed tem-
time that the solid burden is above 700 K. perature profile.

March 1990 Volume 40, No. 3 343

bly unrealistic but the calculation still provides an estimate
of the sensitivity of the burden temperature to firing rate. In
an actual system, increasing the firing rate would increase
both flame length and diameter which would enhance the
effects shown in Figure 11.
The sensitivity of the burden temperature to flame length
at a given firing rate and flame diameter is shown in Figure
12. These calculations are based on the assumption of a
flame emissivity of 0.3 and a nonflame jet emissivity of 0.1.
Figure 12 shows that at the conditions examined here,
shorter flames (flame length less than about 0.5 times the
kiln length) produce more desirable burden profiles. A flame
length of about 0.5 times the kiln length appears to be opti-
mum.
o.o 0.2 0.4 0.6
Fractional Length
Figure 12. Predictions showing the impact of flame length on
bed temperature profile. The firing rate is constant at 5 MW.
Acknowledgment
Financial support for this work was provided by the Ad-
vanced Combustion Engineering Research Center. Funds
for this Center are received from the National Science Foun-
dation, the State of Utah, 25 industrial participants, and the
U. S. Department of Energy.
References
1. B. C. Jenkins, F. D. Moles, "Modeling of heat transfer from a
large enclosed flame in a rotary kiln," Trans IChemE 59: 17
(1981).
2. J. P. Gorog, J. K. Brimacombe, T. N. Adams, "Radiative heat
transfer in rotary kilns," Metallurgical Transactions B 12B: 55
(1981).
3. J. P. Gorog, T. N. Adams, J. K. Brimacombe, "Regenerative heat
transfer in rotary kilns," Metallurgical Transactions B 13B: 153
(1982).
4. J. P. Gorog, T. N. Adams, J. K. Brimacombe, "Heat transfer from
flames in a rotary kiln," Metallurgical Transactions B 14B: 411
(1983).
5. H. C. Hottel, A. F. Sarofim, Radiative Transfer, McGraw-Hill,
New York, 1967.
6. S. H. Tscheng, A. P. Watkinson, "Convective heat transfer in a
rotary kiln," Can. J. of Chem. Eng. 57:433 (1979).
7. F. P. Incropera, D. P. DeWitt, Fundamentals of Heat and Mass
Transfer, 2nd ed., John Wiley & Sons, New York, 1985.
8. W. D. Owens, G. D. Silcox, J. S. Lighty, X. X. Deng, D. W.
Pershing, V. A. Cundy, C. Leger, A. L. Jakway, "Thermal analysis
of rotary kiln incineration: Comparison of theory and experi-
ment," submitted to the Twenty-Third International Sympo-
sium on Combustion, University of Orleans, France, July 22-27,
1990.
9. Chemical Engineers' Handbook, 5th ed., R. H. Perry, C. H. Chil-
ton, Eds., McGraw-Hill Book Company, New York, 1973.

Conclusions

The mathematical model described here accurately pre-

dicts measured, pilot-scale burden temperature profiles.
The predicted effects of two key design parameters, solids
flow direction and kiln length are summarized in Figures 7
and 8. At the conditions examined, coflowing gas and solid
streams result in higher average burden temperatures and
increased kiln length increases the length of time that the
burden is maintained at elevated temperatures. Both effects
are desirable from the viewpoint of efficient hazardous waste
destruction. The benefits of increased length must be
weighed against initial capital costs.
The predicted effects of four operating parameters, bur-
den residence time, moisture level of the feed, firing rate,
and flame length are summarized in Figures 9 through 12. At
the conditions examined, the temperature profile of the bur-
den can be favorably altered by simply increasing burden
residence time. This leads to increased fill fractions and bed
depths which decrease the rate of mass transfer from the
bed. At some point, the benefits gained by increased burden
time at temperature may be offset by reduced gas-solid con-
tacting.
Solid feed moisture levels have a pronounced effect on Geoff Silcox is a Research Assistant Professor of Chemical
burden temperature profile. This results from the high heat Engineering at the University of Utah and Dave Pershing is
Dean of the College of Engineering at the University of Utah,
of vaporization of water. Burden profiles are also sensitive to Salt Lake City, Utah 84112. This paper was submitted for
kiln firing rate and flame length. At the conditions exam- peer review on June 7, 1989. The revised manuscript was
ined, the optimum flame length is about 0.5 times the kiln received January 2,1990.
length.

344 J. Air Waste Manage. Assoc.