Kiln Emergency Conditions Ok

Table of Contents
EMERGENCY CONDITIONS..........................................................................................2
1. Red Spot on the Kiln Shell......................................................................................3
2. Refractory fall down or lost in a part of kiln system...............................................4
3. Burning Zone Temperature Dangerously Very High..............................................5
4. Dangerously High Kiln Inlet Temperature..............................................................7
5. Unburned Raw Materials in the Kiln Outlet or in the Coolers................................9
6. Main Burner Flame is Distorted............................................................................11
7. Failure of Precalciner Burners...............................................................................13
8. Failure of By-pass System.....................................................................................14
9. High Kiln Hood Positive Pressure.........................................................................16
10. Red-hot Clinker coming out from the Cooler....................................................17
11. Cooler Drive or Clinker Transportation Stopped...............................................19
12. Snowman in the First Stage of the Cooler.........................................................21
13. Rush of Clinker Materials in the Kiln................................................................22
14. Power Failure....................................................................................................23
15. Loss of Kiln Feed..............................................................................................25
16. Preheater’s Cyclones Blocking..........................................................................26
KILN EMERGENCY
CONDITIONS
Many operations and control procedures explained and described in “kiln operation”
chapter can’t be applied and are not adequate when kiln is in upset conditions or if an
emergency case exists.
In any kiln system, emergency situation that require immediate actions will exists at any
time.
In such condition operator should:
 Fully understand the situation
 Know what must be done during this emergency condition
 The decision taken must be applied quickly and properly
 Understand the consequences of any action might be taken
In such condition continuity of operation is not the case, but the real issue here will be
how to take a correct decision that prevents any major damage to kiln equipment.
No kiln operator training should ignore the subject of emergency condition, since any
kiln operator should know and be familiarized with these possible emergency conditions.
Operator should be trained to deal with emergency conditions; since, his reaction should
be spontaneous and natural.
Pyro-process in Cement Industry
Kiln Emergency Conditions 2/28
EMERGENCY CONDITIONS
Emergency conditions in any rotary cement kiln are:
1. Red spot on kiln shell.
2. Refractory material fell down and lost in any part of the kiln system
3. Burning zone temperature dangerously very high.
4. Dangerously high kiln inlet temperature.
5. Unburned raw material in the kiln outlet and cooler.
6. Main burner flame shape is distorted.
7. Failure of precalciner burner or burners.
8. Failure of by-pass system.
9. High kiln-hood positive pressure.
10. Red-hot clinker coming out from the cooler.
11. Cooler drive or clinker transportation stopped.
12. Snowman in the first stage of the cooler.
13. Rush of clinker materials in the kiln.
14. Power failure.
15. Loss of kiln feed.
16. Preheater cyclones blocking with feed material.
1. Red Spot on the Kiln Shell

Red spots can be frequently seen on kiln shell in all cement plants and it indicates loss of
bricks in kiln different zones especially with modern short dry kilns.
Some of this red spots can be dealt with and can disappear while other red spots will be
persistent and will lead to eventual kiln shut down for repair refractory in that area of the
red spot.
The danger of operation with red spots, especially in very hot countries, will lead to
severe damage to the kiln shell and the shell can be punctured in the end.
This red spots are diagnosed by:
1. Visual inspection.
2. Temperature over 480ºC on shell scanner or hand pyrometer.
3. Bricks found with clinker either in the burning zone or with clinker on the clinker
conveyor.
Action to be taken:
A) If the red spot is located in upper transition zone or in the burning zone.
 Continue normal operation of the kiln
 Start cooling this spot with fans.
 Shorten the flame to bring the black feed area under the burner nearer or over the
red spot to try to form a new coating inside the area empty from bricks (red spot
area).
 Keep the burning zone temperature at its normal range.
 Try in the period after the disappeared of this red spots to have easy to burn kiln
feed.
B) Large red spot especially if located under the tyre or very near to welding seams in
the section of the tyre.
 Kiln should be immediately shutdown.
How to make it never or rarely happen again?

 Be sure that there in no excessive overheating of the kiln-burning zone.
 Be sure that flame doesn’t directly hit the brick or for any other reason, cause
localized coating erosion.
 Try to minimize kiln shut down or upset conditions.
 Install a high quality refractory bricks in the kiln and employ proper refractory
installation techniques and methods with proper and professional supervision.
 Try your best to have the easy to burn kiln feed. This will ensure burning clinker
at lower temperature and having a reasonable quantity of liquid phase to make
good coating in the burning zone and lower the thermal load in the kiln
2. Refractory fall down or lost in a part of kiln system

Falling of bricks in preheater areas or in kiln inlet or in kiln before upper transition zone
in the kiln or in the area of by pass before quenching air area or in kiln fire-hood and in
kiln nose ring area or cooling end of kiln shell before the outlet nose ring or in cooler
walls in the hot zone area of the cooler, etc. are potential reasons for stopping the kiln to
repair these areas.
Detection of the area or areas where the brick lining or castables are lost can:
 Rapid rise in the area where the refractory is lost, until it becomes red hot and
deformed.
 Area parallel to kiln axis, and the shell is very hot or red in this area.
 Loose bricks are found with clinker on clinker transportation system.
 Loose bricks are seen with the clinker bed in the burning-zone.
 Thermal damage to the kiln shell or the steel structure of other areas and eventual
loss of that parts with possibility of false air to the system and possibly hot
material leakage to outside of the kiln system.
 The area where the refractory lining is lost will increase on area.
The action that should be taken in such condition is to shut down the kiln immediately.
How to prevent such conditions:
 Procedure of installing bricks should be revised and the proper techniques and
methods of applying refractory material in the kiln system.
 Quality of the refractory used in this area should be questioned and investigated.
 Suppliers should be contacted for help if needed.
 Kiln techniques and procedures should be revised and investigated to for any
excessive rotating of the kiln during shut down or start up or when it is cold during
the shutdown it self.
 Kiln ovality and kiln alignment should be monitored and checked in the proper
time to keep the kiln in proper mechanical conditions.
3. Burning Zone Temperature Dangerously Very High

In any kiln system, kiln-burning zone temperature can be very high. But excessively and
dangerously very high burning-zone temperature is a case that should never happen.
An inexperienced kiln operator or in condition of kiln commissioning kiln can be
excessively high due to uncontrollable conditions in kiln system such as kiln feed system
or kiln main burner.
But in abnormal operation condition, the following can be detected during such
conditions:
1. Coating will be dripping off the kiln burning zone wall.
2. Clinker start to balling in the burning-zone and this phenomenon is called sausage.
3. Sliding clinker bed will be found in the burning-zone.
4. Burning zone temperature is too high
5. First part of the cooler will have snowman.
6. Cooler under-grate pressure will be very high.
7. Burning-zone color will be white-faint yellow.
Results of such conditions will be the following:

1. Rapid failure of bricks in the burning zone will take place due to the loss of
coating and excessive heat on the bricks.
2. Red spots on the kiln shell that could be a large area with faint red-hot color, big
or small area with red-hot color.
3. Thermal damage to cooler plates and kiln hood area components will be very
costly.
Actions that should be taken in such conditions:

 Reduce fuel rate to minimum until sausage is stopped.
 Increase kiln speed by 0.5 rpm more to help breaking the sausage in the burning-
zone.
 Increase the air in the cooler hot zone to maximum with creating positive
pressure in the kiln hood.
 Reduce primary airflow to control the temperature of the flame.
 When the sausage disappears and the agglomeration disappears, start to restore
the condition of the burning-zone to normal again by: reducing kiln speed and
increasing the I.D. fan speed while increasing the fuel rate.
How to prevent this phenomenon:

If it is suddenly starts to be frequently happening in the kiln, it means that kiln feed
become very easy to burn and no body took notice.
The laboratory has to evaluate the possibility to provide mix that have less liquid phase.
The operator must be more alert to the condition in the burning-zone
Evaluate the condition of kiln pyrometer installed in the kiln hood and evaluate the flame
position and shape to determine if thinner, longer flame is required since the existing
flame may be too wide.
4. Dangerously High Kiln Inlet Temperature

In any dry kiln, temperature of kiln inlet is a major indication on the kiln conditions.
If the kiln suddenly suffered from rapid rise in the kiln inlet temperature, then the
reasons will be:
 I.D. fan speed sharply increased.
 Kiln speed decreased and became too low.
 The concentration of sulfur and chlorine in lower most cyclones are very high.
 Lack of materials at kiln inlet due to problems in the kiln feed system or the lower
most cyclones are blocked by feed materials and don’t discharge any to the kiln
inlet, or the materials are erratically behaving in flushing waves from these
cyclones.
 The concentration of sulfur and chlorine may be high in the lower cyclones to the
degree that leads to erratic flow of material form these cyclones. This is may be
due to either unsuitable by-pass fan speed or due to blocking of by-pass system
and/or higher concentration of alkali, chloride and sulfate in the kiln feed.
 Carbon monoxide exists in kiln exit gas.
Consequences of such condition are:

 The lower most cyclones temperatures increase will lead to blocking of these
cyclones by over heated feed material (cake formation).
 The inefficient by-pass system or blocked by-pass system, since there may be a
drastic increase in the percent of both of chiorine and sulfate in the lower most
cyclones.
 This will make kiln operation increasingly hard with flushes of material coming
from these cyclones.
 Damage to the kiln inlet area, dust collector and preheater equipment
 The fuel can start ignition in the kiln inlet.
 The kiln will start to be in an upset condition.
Actions that should be taken are:

 Reduce fuel rate and I.D. fan speed to obtain less than 1-% oxygen in the kiln inlet
but the fuel rate should not be completely cut, since this may trigger an explosion
in the kiln electrostatic precipitator.
 Increases kiln speed and feed rate.
 Don’t open any door in the kiln inlet area, so no fresh air will be introduced into
the kiln system.
 When the temperature of the kiln inlet starts to be normal, then
 Return the kiln operation to normal operation conditions.
 First start to increase fuel in very slow steps.
 Start in the same time increasing the I.D. fan speed in the same slow steps.
 Check the kiln inlet area, especially the gas analyzer equipment.
How to prevent such condition from occurring:

 The kiln must not be operated without feed for more than 10 minutes.
 Kiln operator must look routinely to the trends or curves of the different
instruments monitoring the condition of the kiln inlet area.
 The performance of measuring devices in the kiln inlet should be periodically
examined.
 During upset conditions, start up and shutdown time, kiln operator should give
more attention to the conditions of combustion of the fuel, main burner
performance, feed rate flow condition, feed system performance, kiln inlet
temperature, I.D. fan speed and how much it is suitable for prevailing kiln
conditions
 Keep the by-pass system in good operation condition with suitable fan speed.
5. Unburned Raw Materials in the Kiln Outlet or in the Coolers

In any cement plant it is usually forbidden to get the kiln into such condition. It is not
acceptable from any kiln operator to wait until he has unburned materials in the burning-
zone and then starts to take action. He should promptly act when he sees the first sign
that indicates that this condition may exist in the burning-zone.
Delaying of action may indicate that the operator in not well trained or he doesn’t
understand the consequences of his actions.
When the kiln-burning zone suffers from onrush of partially burned raw feed, the
following will take place:
 Black feed area under the main burner flame is greatly advanced in the direction of
the kiln nose ring area.
 The burning zone is blacked-out.
 When the kiln hood area become black and dusty.
 Red grate in cooler and the temperature of the grates will become increasingly high.
 Rapid increase in the temperature of the material discharged from the cooler.
 Decrease of secondary air and tertiary air temperature.
 Cooler drag-chain for transporting of under grate dust and spillage will be either over
loaded or amp very high.
Reasons behind this phenomenon are

 One or more of lower most cyclones filled up with materials and suddenly released,
while the kiln was on a maximum speed.
 The breaking of ring formation and the trapped material before it are suddenly
released.
 When there are bad kiln operation practices or bad operator behavior, the feed flow to
the kiln may be so erratic to the degree that can cause such condition.
Consequences of such conditions:

 Damage to the cooler components and internal parts may take place with very bad
results such as damage to the driving units or bearing damage for the movable parts.
 Flame will disappear or completely extinguished in the burning-zone.
 Temperature in the clinker conveying system will be in some instance dangerously
high with eventual damage to this system on the long run.
 This condition in the kiln may indirectly lead to excessive heating of the kiln-burning
zone. Since impaired visibility of the burning-zone may make the operator try to
clear it, by heating it up in the way that leads to overheating of this area in the kiln.
Different actions that should be taken during this condition are:

 Stop kiln feed.
 Immediately stop the kiln and turn it on the auxiliary drive or minimum speed
according to the gravity of the situation.
 Start to reduce kiln main burner, and I.D. fan speed according to the normal practices
and slowdown procedure to keep the kiln inlet temperature under-control.
 Reduce the speed of cooler different drives to cope with the new situation, and switch
to manual control, to control the temperature of the materials in the cooler to cool
down.
 Adjust cooler airflow to obtain maximum cooling from the cooler without creating
positive pressure in the kiln hood.
 Inspect the cooler under grate if possible before start up the kiln again.
 Start to heat up the kiln in the normal procedure until you have the proper condition in
the kiln different parts.
How to prevent such condition:

If it happens frequently, the following has to be done:
 Inspect the situation and look for indication that you are over-feeding the kiln
 The burner is not giving the proper amount of fuel to the maximum feed the operator
will give to the kiln.
 In the same time put into consideration the speed at maximum feed.
 This study should also look for the situation of the grate cooler especially for the
temperature of the tertiary air and the secondary air temperatures.
 This will, in the end, give clear idea about how to achieve kiln operation stability in
relation to these conditions previously mentioned.
 The operator behavior should be continuously followed and he should be advised to
make frequent visual inspection of the burning-zone in order to be able to learn how
to detect any sign of an impending problem related to such formerly explained case.
6. Main Burner Flame is Distorted

Reasons for such condition:
 When the kiln burner is not well adjusted or the mechanical parts are not in proper
conditions.
 When the electrical instruments of the kiln main burner may cause faulty control of
the burner.
 When the burner tip part is blocked by oil fuel and dust or it is damaged.
 When the burner pipe bottom is worn out due to falling of protective castable and
primary air is escaping from this opining in the bottom of burner pipe.
In all the above conditions, the result in burner may lead to distorted flame.
That can be indicated by the following phenomena:

 Irregular flame shape and unusual flame shape.
 Flame is fragmented in a way that will permit for part of the flame to impinge on
lining. This takes place, especially in the area of burning zone nearer to cooling
zone in the kiln outlet.
Possible consequences:
 Thermal damage to kiln burning-zone, kiln shell and kiln hood refractory and kiln
mantel door especially if backfire happens in the kiln burning-zone during this
period.
 Possible red spots on kiln shell, if this phenomenon is disregarded and neglected.
 Thermal damage to nose ring segments.
Action to be taken:
 Inspect burner pipe for damage especially in the bottom area where the secondary air
loaded with dust from cooler will hit the pipe in great speed.
 If the burner flame is so distorted that is greatly impinge on the lining of the burning
zone i.e. bricks, the kiln should be shutdown immediately.
 If the burner condition can permit for adjusting it during operation without danger of
aggravating the burner condition, then the burner must be adjusted in way to provide
for smooth operation until a scheduled shutdown is decided to repair the burner
pipe.
How to avoid such case:

 During any regular kiln shutdown, burner pipe must be inspected and repaired in the
best possible way. The price of neglecting the burner pipe or to economize in the
spare parts will be lost production or lost kiln linings and the final result will be
again lost production.
 Try to provide the best protection for the burner pipe. Burner pipe is one of the most
troublesome parts of the kiln section that can give hard job for the kiln manager if
he neglects the process of casting it. Buy the best castables and anchor available for
the burner pipe.
 Investigate the process of casting the burner pipe and the techniques used in this
process.
 The primary air fan must be programmed in a way that provide for its operation at
least two hours after the burner is stopped.
 Never pull out the burner pipe after kiln shut down, but continue with the primary air
fan for cooling and don’t take out the burner pipe from kiln hood before four hour
after kiln shut down to protect the castable on the pipe from taking unnecessary
thermal shock.
The sole target of kiln manager must be to provide the best protection for the
burner pipe.
7. Failure of Precalciner Burners

The failure of the precalciner burner in dry cement kilns is one of the emergency
conditions that can happen frequently.
The importance of the precalciner in short dry kiln is that it is anatomical part of the
system.
The precalciner is completing the calcination of the materials to nearly >95%, and if the
materials enter the kiln without this degree of calcination, then the kiln will not be able to
do it. Therefore, if this burner stops, then the condition in the kiln will completely
change. The kiln of such type can never work properly in such conditions.
Reasons for such case:

Malfunction of the valve train of this burner.
 Interlock with the uppermost (top) cyclones temperature. In order to protect the
I.D. fan impeller and shaft from overheating, this interlock is activated in the kiln
system.
 The gas temperature of the precalciner vessel rises to >1000C.
 The gas temperature of lower most cyclones that receive gas and materials from
the precalciner rises to >1000ºC.
 The temperature of the fuel decreases less than 65C.
 If the kiln feed system is stopped for any reasons mechanical electrical or
extraction problem.
Consequences:
The frequent tripping of this fuel station and the frequent stoppage of the kiln can be very
damaging to production of the kiln either as tonnage or as quality.
If the operator tries to work with the kiln without precalciner, the feed will be less than
the half of the kiln capacity and the kiln can suffer from frequent upset conditions.
The kiln bricks will suffer, since the operator will introduce higher quantity of fuel in the
kiln and will work with lower speed to be able to produce clinker.
Recommended action:
If the precalciner stops, the kiln must be stopped.
How to prevent such conditions:

During kiln shutdown for repair, the following areas should be taken care of:
 Kiln feed system.
 Kiln fuel station and heating system
 Burners valve trains
8. Failure of By-pass System

By-pass system is part of the short dry kiln with precalciner that is critical for keeping the
kiln system under control.
By-pass system is not made to make the kiln atmosphere free of chlorides and sulfates.
But it only controls the percent of these elements to the degree that permits easy and
normal kiln operation. Some times the by pass may fail to do this.
The by-pass system can fail for the following reasons:

 By-pass equipment malfunction.
 By-pass gas duct starts to accumulate alkali chlorides and sulfates accretion.
 The main burner is very strong and the evaporation rate of alkali sulfates is very
high, due to unnecessary high temperature of the burner flame.
The consequences of working with blocked by-pass:

 The concentration of sulfates and chlorides in lower most cyclones can jump to 3
and 4% and with such concentration the kiln becomes un-operational.
 The gas ducts, cyclones, kiln inlet, kiln riser duct and material transport pipes from
the bottom of cyclones start to be blocked by accretions.
 The kiln inlet starts to have less oxygen and more carbon monoxide.
 Kiln starts to suffer from this condition and the burning process will not under full
control of the operator.
 The operator will be obliged to decrease the feed in order to control the litter
weight.
What should be done?

 The concentration of the sulfates in the clinker should be examined and if it is less
than 0.7-to1%, the main burner should be examined.
 Evaporation rate of different alkali, sulfur and chlorine should be calculated and if
the value found excessively high, then the burner should also examined. This
action is important because the flame is responsible for the degree of evaporation
rate of these elements.
 The original concentration of alkali, sulfur, and chlorine must be re-examined in
the kiln feed.
 The lab X-ray spectrometer should be calibrated to examine its accuracy.
 The condition of the by-pass fan condition and its flap should be examined in any
kiln shutdown.
 If the operators in the preheater can’t clean the by-pass duct system, then the kiln
should be shutdown and operators must clean these ducts completely.
What to be done to prevent such condition?

 The kiln feed content of alkali chlorides and sulfates should be kept as low as
possible.
 Kiln by-pass system should be cleaned continuously and should not be left until it
is nearly closed with accretion and then start cleaning job.
 In the market now many types of castables that can rebel the alkali chlorides and
sulfates.
 This castables will help in easy cleaning and the number of opening of the by-pass
system are cleaned less frequent.
 The kiln operator should be in good contact with the lab, so whenever the sulfur or
chlorine increase in the kiln feed, he should act according to this change in the kiln
feed chemistry.
 He should routinely examine the concentration of these elements in lower most
cyclones and make it no mare than 2% for sulfate.
9. High Kiln Hood Positive Pressure

The conditions of kiln hood represent a corner stone in proper kiln operation. Kiln hood
is where the operator looks for:
 The burner flame its shape, color and volume, dimension, position and
temperature
 The clinker color, consistency, its bed behavior in the burning zone, the color of
the coat and its thickness
 Specifications of the secondary air such as temperature, color, and the amount of
dust in it.
When the kiln hood is clear and bright and the kiln is in full production means the kiln
is in its best condition.
Possible reason for high kiln hood positive pressure:

 I.D. fan failure.
 I.D fan control failure.
 Excess air fan failure in the cooler.
 Instrumentation failure of cooler air flow, cooler excess air fan damper control
failure.
 Tertiary air damper suddenly closed.
The consequences:
 Back fire in the kiln hood.
 Accumulation of very hot dust on the kiln hood plate forms and equipment.
 Danger of possible thermal damage to instruments in the area of the kiln hood.
 Danger of possible body injury to any person standing in adjacent to the kiln hood.
Action to be taken:
At the moment of overpressure in the kiln hood, the operator must reduce fuel rate and
increase I.D. fan speed.
Reduce cooler airflow rates into different grate compartments.
Increase the cooler excess fan speed to accommodate the new situation.
10. Red-hot Clinker coming out from the Cooler

Different indicators that will reveal the existence of such case:
 High amps in cooler different drives.
 Clinker bed very high and has an uneven cross sectional loading.
 Cooler loaded with coating and ring fragments.
 Sudden drop in the under grate pressure of the outlet area of the cooler
 Excessively high under grate pressure (cooler overloaded).
 Insufficient airflow into the cooler.
 Stalagmite formation at cooler bull nose area at its inlet.
 Under grate-drag chain high amps.
Consequences:
 Thermal damage to the cooler mechanical and electrical equipments.
 Thermal damage to the clinker transportation system.
Action to be taken:
 Immediately inspect the cooler to determine the reason for the red clinker
discharge.
 If the cooler is out of order, immediately stop the kiln.
 If the cooler is overloaded then start to
1. Reduce kiln speed to minimize the amount of the clinker discharged from the kiln
to the cooler.
2. Reduce under grate speed to medium speed to give the cooler more time to cool
this clinker.
 Increase airflow into the cooler.
 If you have a water spray system at the end of the grate then activate it.
How to prevent such condition?

1. If the grate is frequently failing then the following have to be checked:
 The under grate different parts searching for faulty parts, missing parts and the
system of greasing of the bearings.
 The quality of bolts and grate plates.
2. If cooler cross-sectional loading in not even for long time:
 Inspect the condition of under grate distribution of air if it is an air-beam system.
 If it is ordinary reciprocating grate, then check for possible changes in the
distribution of fixed side plates or any change needed to control this
phenomenon.
3. If the cooler overloading is due to frequent kiln upset conditions:
 Kiln manager should starts to retrain his kiln operator on proper kiln operation
practices in order to teach them how to prevent such upset condition from
frequently happing and to predict them and over come them.
 At least he should know that he must slow down the kiln, therefore he can prevent
the rush of material to the cooler and stop its over-loading.
 Or for preventing the un-burned feed from reaching the cooler.
11. Cooler Drive or Clinker Transportation Stopped

Cooler can be over-loaded in many ways and for many reasons.
In some plants there are ball formation so big that, in addition to its size and the original
height of clinker bed, the ball does not pass in the area of cooler bull nose.
In many times the falling of heavy coating from the kiln and the kiln rpm is maximum,
big chunks of clinker fall gown to the cooler in big quantities, and over load the cooler.
If there is malfunction in the instruments in the cooler either for under grate pressure,
cooler drive, or the number of stroke /minute for cooler drive, the cooler can be
overloaded.
If the area of the clinker crusher is jammed, while the crusher is still running, the cooler
can be overloaded.
For all the reasons mentioned, the kiln cooler will be overloaded but sometimes the
operator can avoid it and sometimes he will not in a position to by-pass it.
If the cooler or the clinker transport system tripped the indicator will be:
 Cooler stages are full with clinker and sometime the height can reach more than
1.2 meter.
 Large clinker chunks coating in the cooler.
 High under grate pressure.
 Cooler drives will have high amps before they start to trip.
 Cooler crusher jammed with big clinker pieces.
 Big clinker balls coming out with the clinker from the kiln and its diameter can be
more than one meter. When it is broken it will be found totally consist of clinker.
This balls are formed in the burning zone due fluctuation of the feed melting
percent. Also it can be formed in kiln inlet area and made by build up of alkali
chlorides and sulfates. When it is broken it will have yellow brownish material in
side and clinker on the outside.
Consequences:
 Thermal and mechanical damage to the different components of the cooler and
cooler drives.
Action to be taken:
 Reduce kiln cooler speed to minimum and try to start the clinker cooler and/or
clinker conveyor.
 If the drives can’t be start in five minutes, then immediately stop the kiln and
change the kiln to auxiliary drive. In this case the operator should turn the cooler
less frequently to limit the amount of the clinker discharged from the kiln to the
cooler.
 Start to eliminate the cause of overloading of the cooler immediately.
 If you have a snowman starting to move in the direction of the cooler outlet then
never use water to break it.
How to prevent such case:

The operator should routinely check the trends of different cooler drives all the time.
 Must not cancel or ignore the alarms related to the amps of the different cooler
drives.
 But he must first understand it is very dangerous to work with cooler loaded all the
time and he must know the normal operating amps of the cooler drives and try to
keep them in this range;
 He must also give attention to the under grate pressure of all the grate stages,
 He should be aware that kiln speed reduction means lost production and he must
not reduce it every now and then to control the situation in the cooler.
 He must not reduce kiln speed unless he sees heavier load is coming from the kiln.
 If the area of the cooler is less than needed to handle kiln production, then the
operator has to accept higher clinker temperature out of the cooler and not trying
in vain to reduce clinker temperature and ending every time overloading the
cooler.
12. Snowman in the First Stage of the Cooler
Snowman can frequently formed in many rotary cement kilns directly under the nose ring
segment in the cooler first stage.
The snowman can be formed due to the following reasons:

 Kiln burning-zone extremely overheated.
 The material change from normal or hard to burn to material easy or very easy to
burn without taking notice by the operator to make the proper changes in the kiln
to accommodate the new material.
 The air canons in the area under the kiln nose ring are out of order or weak,
therefore permit the clinker to accumulate in the cooler first stage.
 Fixed plates in the cooler first stage are not provided with enough air for aeration,
when the cooler has a CIS type of stationary plates.
Consequences:
 If the snowman is not be broken during operation from cooler side door in the
cooler first stage, the immediately stop the cooler and the kiln to clear the
snowman.
 Lost production from kiln.
Action to be taken:
 Try to break the snowman and if not possible try to move it to the end of the
cooler to break it by jackhammers after stopping the kiln.
 If the snow man breaks into medium size pieces, then continue operation in the
normal way and follow it until it nearly reachs the clinker crusher, then slow the
cooler and break it piece by piece in order to prevent the crusher from jamming.
 Inspect the air cannon in the cooler area.
 Contact the lab and see if there is any change in the burnability of the kiln feed.
How to prevent such cases:

 The lab must contact the kiln operator to give him information about burnability
factor and burnability index changes in the kiln feed.
 The operator must be aware that this information is vital to him because it has
direct impact on the kiln conditions.
 Air canon must be checked on daily basis in the kiln area and any malfunction
should be rectified.
 If there is a camera in the cooler first stage, the operator must use it to see if any
snowman started to appear and get an early help to destroy it.
13. Rush of Clinker Materials in the Kiln

The rush of materials in the burning zone can be due to broken large ring directly after
the burning zone in the area of upper transition zone or inside the kiln in the calcining
zone
The presence of such phenomenon can be known by:

 Visual observation of large material pieces in burning-zone
 Sudden drop in kiln inlet pressure
 The oxygen percent in the kiln inlet drop
 Kiln hood pressure starts to change and over pressure i.e. positive pressure can be
detected in this area
 The kiln torque starts to change and fluctuates.
Consequences:
 Overloading cooler with a mix of clinker and unburned materials.
 Flow of big amount of materials to the kiln burning-zone.
 The possible of damage to cooler drives and cooler components will be there.
 Cooler crusher may jam.
 Very hot clinker may leave the cooler.
Actions that can be taken:

When the quantity of materials is very high
a) Reduce kiln speed to minimum to protect the cooler from over loading.
b) Reduce I.D. fan speed and reduce fuel rate in the same time to control the temperature
of kiln inlet.
c) Reduce grate speed after change control to manual.
d) Increase the airflow to the cooler to ensure that the maximum cooling will be reached
with cooler charge, but keep in mind that never permit overpressure in the kiln hood.
f) Keep vigilant watch over cooler to be sure that it will work smoothly and control the
operation of the cooler in such a way to avoid possible overloading, overheating or
jamming of cooler crusher.
How to prevent it from happening again:

 The main burner should be used to prevent such cases by manipulating it.
Repositioning the flame inside the kiln from one day to another can do this, if the
occurrence of such ring is frequent in the kiln.
 The lab must be contacted to evaluate the chemistry of the kiln feed.
 If the kiln stops for any long period and there was a ring inside the kiln, destroy it.
14. Power Failure

In any cement plant the possibility of power failure is not frequent but still can happen.
When the power is cut suddenly, it means all the equipment are fully loaded.
In order to protect it, there should be an emergency source of power to supply power to
certain number of equipment in the plant:
This include the following:

 Kiln auxiliary drive to prevent deformation of kiln shell. It can take the shape of
banana or the shape of crank if it is left for long time without rotation. This is very
damaging to kiln shell and its pile stations. The operator should start rotating the
kiln, in less than ten minutes after the power failure one third of a turn or one
quarter of a turn .
 Primary air fan to cool the main burner lance
 Cooling fan of nose-ring segment in the kiln outlet area.
 Cooler’s first fan giving air for the compartment directly receiving material from
the kiln.
 Control units in central control room such as the computer of data logger.
 Cooling unites of the X-ray spectrometer in the lab.
 Cooling unit for the TV camera in the kiln hood.
 Lighting system in the plant in the critical areas such as control room and MCC
rooms contain electrical equipment.
When the power supply is on again:

The kiln department equipment should be started in its normal sequence to empty it from
materials, and it starts with the clinker conveyor and the cooler. Then followed by other
equipment.
The kiln should properly heated up before start feeding.
ATTENTION: the plant EMERGENCY POWER GENERATOR should be tested
once per week to test its reliability. This is a must in any cement plant. Or there will be
severe consequences.
15. Loss of Kiln Feed

Loss of feed in the kiln can happen in the kiln as a result of the following:
 No available kiln feed in the storage silos.
 Extraction from storage silo is either hard or erratic due to problem in the system.
 Transportation system of raw meal from silo to kiln feed bin is out of order.
 Kiln feed dosing system facing problem either mechanical or electrical.
 Transportation system of kiln feed from the dosing system to the preheater top
cyclones is facing problem.
When the flow of material is erratic:

That means there is flow of material but not constant and continuous. This is very
dangerous to the kiln-burning zone and to the heat profile in the preheater.
The operator always keeps fuel rate in the kiln-burning zone in the range that is keeping
the burning-zone thermal load in the range that permits liquid phase formation in this area
regardless the amount of feed introduced in kiln at that time. If he decreases this fuel rate
the kiln can cool down.
The reason behind this is that he wants to be sure that in the end he will have clinker.
Therefore he introduces fuel rate enough for that purpose. That is O.K., but in reality the
kiln is over heated since the kiln will face intermittent shortage of feed due to unstable
and changeable feed rate.
The direct result is over heated burning-zone.
In such condition it is important to judge the situation correctly and rationally.
If this situation continues for long period of time then it is the duty of the operator and his
team to find quick solution to the problem. If this is not possible then he must stop the
kiln to protect the burning zone refractory from possible damage.
If preheater cyclones are over heated then the possibility of jamming of the cyclones will
be there.
Since over heating, especially of lower most cyclones, leads to cake formation in their
cones and eventual blocking of these cyclones.
When there is no feed:

The operator must not operate the kiln without feed for more than 10 minutes.
If he continued to operate the kiln as if the kiln is in normal conditions, then the coat in
the burning zone will start to melt and washed out and the brick may be severely
damaged and the kiln will end having red spot.
The second reason for this is that the top most cyclones will have extreme high
temperature and can exceed 450C and this will damage the I.D. fan impeller and shaft.
This is unacceptable in any case or situation.
16. Preheater’s Cyclones Blocking

Short dry kilns with preheater and with precalciner can’t work in any way possible
without the preheater or the precalciner. The proper condition of these parts of the kiln is
vital to achieve the maximum capacity.
One of the main problem in the preheater is not loss of a flap gate or inner pipes. This is
rarely happen in any cement plant but the blocking of cyclone or more with kiln feed
materials.
This blocking can also starts at the flap gate mounted on the feed pipe coming out of the
cyclone.
The blocking can start in the area of elbow in these feed pipes.
Also the area connecting the feed pipe to the cone of the cyclone is frequently prone to
create problems ending with cyclone blocking.
Indicators for this case:
 Loss of negative pressure in the cone of the cyclone i.e if the pressure in the cone
is 230 mbar. It will go down to 30 mbar or even 0 mbar.
 Temperature increases in the riser duct receiving the material from this cyclone .
 Temperature increases in the cyclone receiving the gas and the feed materials
transported to it by the above mentioned riser duct.
 And gradually the temperature of the cyclones under the blocked cyclone will start
to go up.
 Also in the cyclones in the upper area above this cyclone will start to increase.
Consequences:
If the operator is not able to detect or continue to work and ignores different signals that
indicate the presence of blocking, the situation will go from bad to worse.
The kiln can be shut down for day or days.
In some instances the blocking is so huge that complete cyclones are full to the level of
inner pipe at the roof of the cyclone.
Why blocking is happening in cyclones?

1- Overheating of the lower part of the cyclones which can be caused by
a) Absence of flap gate mounted in the feed pipe receiving the materials collected in the
cone of the cyclone.
b) The absence of material for some time from the preheater tower different parts for
any reason without taking proper measures to control the temperature.
c) In case of the precalciner don’t have materials for any reason, then the cyclones that
receives the material from it will suffer from high temperature conditions.
This type of blocking in many cases will not be hard but easy to remove.
2- Build up due to the circulation phenomenon.
This build up will be found in the kiln inlet, kiln riser ducts, feed pipe out of each
cyclone, and the cone of the cyclone.
This type of blocking can be very quick in the rate of build up of the material. This
type of blocking the material will be hard and sometimes very solid and hard to break
3- Structural problem inherited in the preheater from the start up of kiln system. There
will be some faulty structures that will make the build easy to start. This type of
Problem can be found in the upgraded kilns.
This type of problem can continue for very long time with the system until a solution
is found.
Possible actions to be taken:

If the build up that leads to blocking in not discovered and detected, then it is always very
late to take action.
In most cases the kiln will be shut down to clean the cyclone or any other part that is
affected by this blocking.
Preventive measures
 The kiln should be stopped immediately or maximum after 10minutes when there
is shortage of materials.
 The by-pass system should be always cleaned and operating in the proper way.
 Lower most cyclone must not have sulfur concentration more than 2.0%.
 Flap gates mounted on the feed pipes must work properly.
 Preheater must be in operation and calibrated.
 Air canon can be installed in the different parts where there are frequent
blockages.
 This can help but it will not cure or eliminate the problem.

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Table of Contents

1. Red Spot on the Kiln Shell

How to make it never or rarely happen again?

2. Refractory fall down or lost in a part of kiln system

3. Burning Zone Temperature Dangerously Very High

Results of such conditions will be the following:

Actions that should be taken in such conditions:

How to prevent this phenomenon:

4. Dangerously High Kiln Inlet Temperature

Consequences of such condition are:

Actions that should be taken are:

How to prevent such condition from occurring:

5. Unburned Raw Materials in the Kiln Outlet or in the Coolers

Reasons behind this phenomenon are

Consequences of such conditions:

Different actions that should be taken during this condition are:

How to prevent such condition:

6. Main Burner Flame is Distorted

That can be indicated by the following phenomena:

How to avoid such case:

7. Failure of Precalciner Burners

Reasons for such case:

How to prevent such conditions:

8. Failure of By-pass System

The by-pass system can fail for the following reasons:

The consequences of working with blocked by-pass:

What should be done?

What to be done to prevent such condition?

9. High Kiln Hood Positive Pressure

Possible reason for high kiln hood positive pressure:

10. Red-hot Clinker coming out from the Cooler

How to prevent such condition?

11. Cooler Drive or Clinker Transportation Stopped

How to prevent such case:

The snowman can be formed due to the following reasons:

How to prevent such cases:

13. Rush of Clinker Materials in the Kiln

The presence of such phenomenon can be known by:

Actions that can be taken:

How to prevent it from happening again:

14. Power Failure

This include the following:

When the power supply is on again:

15. Loss of Kiln Feed

When the flow of material is erratic:

When there is no feed:

16. Preheater’s Cyclones Blocking

Why blocking is happening in cyclones?

Possible actions to be taken:

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