Md TOT TITUS Cement Seminar Process Technology Kiln Systems‘SUMMARY Beside some rare exceptional forms, all kiln systems for burning cement clinker of major importance are based on the rotary kiln principle. At first classification can be made according to the water content of the kiln feed (raw meal): < 1% water —_dry-process 10... 12% water semi -dry-process 17... 21% water semi-wet-process 25... 40% water wet-process Dry-Process - Precalciner kiln with 4 to 6 cyclone stages: Separate tertiary air duct 50 - 60% secondary fuel Newest technology Large capacities > 10000 t/d Up to 4000 t/d in 1 string Heat consumption < 3000 kJ/kg Sensitive to circulating elements eI 4-stage cyclone preheater kiln: Cyclone stages (co-current flow) for raw meal preheating Large application world wide Capacities of up to 4500 t/d technically possible Heat consumption: 3150 to 3350 kJ/kg cli Very sensitive to high amounts of circulating elements (sulphur, alkalis, chlorine) in raw mix -> “Bypass" required in case of high concentrations2-stage cyclone preheater kiln: Less sensitive to circulating elements than 4-stage preheater Higher heat consumption than 4-stage preheater Shaft preheater kiln: Long-dry-kiln: Grate preheater kiln (LEPOL, ACL): Wet-Process Long Countercurrent heat exchange between hot gas and raw meal Efficiency inferior to a 4-stage cyclone preheater Self supporting structure resulting in reduced civil costs Rather simple equipment High dust emission from kiln tube Without internal heat exchange equipment: very high heat consumption of up to 5100 kd/kg cli With chains and/or crosses: heat consumption of 4200 kJ/kg cli achievable Suitable for semi-wet and semi-dry process Raw meal must be suitable to be nodulized with water (semi-dry) Nodules are fed to a travelling grate (LEPOL) Low heat consumption of approx. 3450 kJ/kg cli, but virtually no waste heat available for primary raw material drying wet kiln: Fed with raw meal slurry of approx. 32 - 42% water content Internal heat transfer improved by chains High heat consumption of 5300 to 6300 kJ/kg cli due to evaporation of water Heat consumption can be reduced by slurry thinners allowing for a slurry water content of 25 - 30% Slurry preheaters can reduce kiln size and improve heat exchangeeo pes WOW wwww wow w wo pep oe wana wow Rb bah bn PROCESS REQUIREMENTS FOR KILN SYSTEMS TERMINOLOGY OF KILN SYSTEMS Some Elements of Kiln Systems Characteristical Figures PROCESS TYPES General Wet Process Long Wet Process Kilns Wet Process Kilns with Slurry Preheaters Semi Wet Process Long Semi Wet Process Kilns Semi Wet Process Grate Preheater Kilns Semi Wet Process Suspension Preheater Kilns Semi Dry Process Long Semi Dry Process Kilns Semi Dry Process Grate Preheater Kilns Dry Process Long Dry Process Kilns Raw Meal Suspension Preheater Kilns Precalciner Kilns ROTARY KILN General Kiln Dimensions Mechanical Design of Rotary Kilns CYCLONE PREHEATER General Thermodynamical Limits Number of Stages Cyclone Preheater Design Preheater Operation 18 18 18 19 20 20 21 21 22 22-4- PROCESS REQUIREMENTS FOR KILN SYSTEMS The kiln system has to be able to allow a chemical process to take place which converts raw meal into clinker. Since this process as a whole is endothermic and takes place at. temperatures up to 1450° C, it is also referred to as pyroprocess. Type of reaction and temperature development are compiled in the table below. Temperature range (°C) Type of reaction Heating Up 20 - 100 Evaporation of free 20 100 - 300 Loss of physically adsorbed water 400 - 900 Removal of structural He0 (H20 and OH groups) from clay minerals > 500 Structural changes in silicate minerals 600 - 900 Dissociation of carbonates (COz driven out) > 800 Formation of belite, intermediate products, alumina- te and ferrite > 1250 Formation of liquid phase (aluminate and ferrite approx. 1450 melt) Completion of reaction and recrystallization of ali- te and belite Cooling 1300 - 1240 Crystallization of liquid phase into mainly alumina- te and ferrite TABLE 1: Sequence of reactions occurring in a rotary kilnQUANTITY -5- Another graphic method of display is the quasi-qualitative variation of minerals with temperature: QUASI- QUANTITATIVE VARIATION OF MINERALS WITH TEMPERATURE CacO, C38 ‘SPURRITE — QUARTZ — eels C22 Emma a 1. 400 600 800 7000 7200 1400 1400 1200°C UPHEATING COOLING The task for the kiln system where the raw meal (input) is converted to cement clinker (output) can be subdivided into the following five steps: 1. Drying 2. Preheating 3. Calcining 4. Sintering 5. Cooling For more than 200 years process and equipment development has been aimed at realizing these steps with best possible reliability, efficiency and economy. A brief history of cement manufacturing is compiled in appendix 1.2. 2.1 2.2 TERMINOLOGY OF KILN SYSTEMS Some Elements of Kiln Systems Expressions and terms used for kiln systems are listed below based on the example of a precalciner kiln. Annex 20 shows the location within the respective system. (It must be mentioned that synonyms are often used for several items). 1, Kiln feed 1. Girth 21. Cooler dedusting 2. Preheater 12. Kiln lining 22. Cooler waste air fan 3. Cyclone 13. Kiln burner 23. Downcomer duct 4. Riser duct 14. Nosering 24. Conditioning tower 5. Meal pipe 15. Kiln hood 25. Kiln ID fan 6. Transition chamber 16. Kiln outlet seal 26. Precalciner (PC) 7. Kiln inlet seal 17. Cooling air fan 27. Tertiary air duct 8. Kiln tyre 18. Undergrate compartment 28. Tertiary air damper 9. Kiln support roller 19. Clinker crusher 29. Settling chamber 10. Kiln drive 20. Cooler grate 30. PC burner Characteristical Figures Process Type wet > 25% He0 in feed | slurry semi wet | = 20% HeO in feed | modules fr. slurry semi dry | 10 - 12% Hz0 in feed| modules from meal dry < 1% H20 in feed — | raw meal Product. Capacity} batch+cont. continuous <200 t/d 300 t/d - 10'000 t/q shaft kilns rotary kilns Heat Consumption 2900 kJ/kg cli (= 700 kcal/kg cli) to > 6000 kd/kg cli (> 1400 kcal/kg cli with state of the art system with long wet or dry kilns and not op- timum operation Power Consumption 20 kwh/t cli to 65 kwh/t cli from kiln feed to clinker cooler3.1 PROCESS TYPES General There are four basically different, frequently applied process types in use for the burning of clinker: - the dry process, where a dried raw meal is fed (H20 < 1%) - the semi dry process, where moist nodules (Hz0 = 10 ... 12%) are fed the semi wet process, where extruded nodules (H20 = 17... 21%) are fed - the wet process, where a pumpable raw material slurry is fed to the kiln (HO = 25 <.. 40%) Annex 22 gives a general survey of the various rotary kiln systems which currently are in operation for the production of clinker. The rather rare or the experimental forms such as shaft kilns, sintering grates, fluidized beds etc. are not considered in the scheme. We can distinguish two main groups of systems: a) Long kilns with or without internal preheater systems; b) Short kilns with external preheaters e.g. suspension preheaters, grates or external slurry preheaters Besides these, also combinations like medium size rotary kilns with smal] preheater parts exist. The given typical specific heat consumptions illustrate that the thermal efficiency of burning is strongly influenced by the water content of the kiln feed. This can also be seen in Annex 3. The fuel consumption of wet kilns is nearly twice as high as for modern dry process suspension preheater kilns. A comparison of the heat economy within each group of processes (dry or wet) shows clearly: The more intensive the heat exchange is in the drying (wet process) or l preheating (dry process) part, the lower is the heat consumption. ; The selection of a burning process may be influenced by the following main factors - Raw material: - moisture content - composition (trace compounds) = grindability - filtration properties of slurry, etc. Plant installation and operating costs Special requirements for clinker quality (e.g. low alkali clinker) = Aspects of environmental protection = Technical standard of the country etc. Not only the present situation but also the possible future developments of all these factors should be taken into account. Nowadays, new plants are practically exclusively dry process plants with preheaters and precalciners.3.2 miei The table below shows the importance of the various processes within the Holderbank group: Capacity % - Dry 49 51 56,2 58,7 = Semi -Dry 5 7 43 5,1 ~ Semi -Het 16 12 7,5 6,2 ~ Wet 30 30 32 30 Total Capacity Mio. t/y 40,0 40,9 47,2 46,6 Kiln Systems - Preh./Precalc. 8 = Susp. Preheater| 35 37 44 36 = Grate Preheater} 13 12 10 8 = Long Dry 7 8 7 | 8 = Long Filtercake 3 2 2 2 = Long + short wet 40 42 54 45 Total Kilns 98 101 17 107 Long, wet (and dry) rotary kilns are the simplest types among the common cement production installations. The clinker is burned in a long rota~ tion tube, sometimes even without any additional heat transfer equip- ment. Therefore, heat exchange between the material and the gas is rather poor and heat economy of long type cement kilns is usually quite bad compared with modern preheater plants. Also dust production can be very high, e.g. up to 100% relative to clinker production. Wet Process The disadvantage of the wet process is the considerably higher heat con- sumption. Compared to e.g. a suspension preheater kiln, the difference is exceeding 2000 kJ/kg clinker or 60 to 70% more. The wet process was used in the past mainly due to nonavailability of dry blending technology for the kiln feed material. Stirring of a liquid slurry was relatively easy to perform. Grinding in slurry mills consumes 30% less energy than in dry bail mills, however, at a higher wear rate of lining.3.2.1 -9- The wet process is normally not recommended for new plants. Instaliation as well as operating costs of wet systems are higher than for dry systems. Wet kilns might only be considered as an alternative in very rare special cases such as e.g. extremely high original moisture content of the raw material like at Obourg, with up to 30% of water in the Time- stone. But even then, energy can be saved in many cases if the wash milled raw material is filtered (semi wet process). Another reason for preferring the wet process in the past was the production of low alkali cement (alkali content < 0,6%) and the fact that difficult circulation problems are easier to control in wet kilns. Today secondary firing, bypass installations, tertiary air systems etc. are possibilities to solve these problems also in suspension preheater kilns. Concerning the installation costs the following aspects may illustrate another advantage of modern dry systems: Because of the lower specific gas volume and the shorter rotary part, kiln dimensions for dry prehea- ter kilns are much smaller than for the wet ones, which means that a considerable amount of mechanical equipment is not necessary. Long Wet Process Kilns Long wet kilns have been the most customary burning reactors for a very Jong time, but because of the high water content of the feed, their heat consumption is up to twice as high as for modern dry systems. The milled and homogenized raw material is pumped as a slurry to the kiln inlet and has a water content of 32 to 42%. In the first zone heat transfer for the evaporation of water is always increased by means of chain systems (extended surface, higher relative velocities, increase of turbulence). These chain systems should also reduce the dust losses and clean the kiln shell. All these internal heat exchanger installations with more details are subject of a separate lecture "chain systems". One possibility to decrease fuel consumption is to reduce the water con- tent of 42 to 32%, Circulation problems are quite easy to solve because the dangerous tem- perature ranges lie within the rotary part of the kiln (see also sepa~ rate lecture “circulation phenomena") and dust emission is high. Low alkali clinker can be produced simply by discharging as much of the enriched kiln dust as necessary. the rest of the dust (e.g. that from the first precipitators compartments) may be reintroduced to the system again. The methods of dust reintroduction is also discussed in the lecture “circulation phenomena". Annex 4 gives a schematic view of the elements of a wet kiln system, Annex 3 shows typical temperature curves along a wet kiln and Annex’ 5 operating figures.3.2.2 3.3 3.3.1 =TiOie Average technical data for long wet kilns with chains and crosses: 6'300 kJ/kg cli Heat consumption q orale) were : cal/kg cli Kiln exit gas temperature 150° ... 260° C System Pressure drop 500 ... 1000 N/n? Dust emission relative to clinker production 5... 100% The probably largest wet process line in the world is installed at the Clarksville plant (USA) of Dundee Cement Co., Dundee (Mich.). This kiln has a diameter of 7,6 m and a length of 232 m. Its daily capacity is about 37600 t. Wet Process Kilns with Slurry Preheaters External Slurry Preheaters In order to improve the heat exchange between gas and slurry and to re- duce the kiln size, external slurry preheaters have been developed by MIAG (Kalzinator) and Krupp (Konzentrator), see Annex 6. Both of them are revolving drums with special internal packings. These drums have about the same diameter as the kiln, its length being slightly smaller than the diameter. The capacity of these machines is limited to 800 to 1000 t/d and frequently operating problems arise. Very often, external preheaters were large sources of false air. Internal Slurry Preheaters F.L. Smidth designed a slurry preheater system integrated into the kiln compartment (Annex 6), which should avoid the disadvantage of external slurry preheaters. In’practice, this construction turned out to be very sensitive to clogging. A better system was developed by Fives Cail- Babcock, installed in three kilns at Obourg. Lifting buckets and chain curtains produce a slurry curtain that keeps back a high amount of dust and improves heat exchange. Semi Wet Process A process is considered semi-wet if the kiln feed is produced from a wet slurry. Normally, the water content of the feed is 17 to 21% resulting from a mechanical dewatering process, e.g. in a filter press. Semi Wet Process Long Kilns Italcementi use long kilns with heat exchanger crosses which are fed with filter cakes.3.3.2 3.3.3 -ll- Semi Wet Grate Preheater Kilns The most often used semi-wet system is the grate preheater kiln A grate preheater system consists mainly of a short rotary kiln (similar toa four stage preheater kiln) and a travelling grate in front of it. Here drying, preheating and some calcining is done by the kiln exhaust gases. To be able to be treated on a grate, the raw material has to be Prepared in a special way: A pumpable slurry is as a starting material is fed to filter presses where the moisture content is reduced to approx. 20% applying a filtra- tion pressure of 15 to 20 bar. In a special type of extruder (Siebkneter), from the filter cake cylindrical nodules are formed (diameter 15°... 20 mm, length 30 ... 50 mm) and directly fed to the grate preheater. The economy of this way of preparation is strongly de- Pendent on the filtration properties of the slurry. Further operating and performance data are like for the semi-dry grate preheater systems described under 3.4.2. Characteristic data of a semi-wet grate preheater system: Nodiles made from jsture Content of the Feed Heat consumption q 3770 kd/kg cli (= 900 kcal/kg cli) Exit gas temp. after grate 100° ... 120°C System pressure drop 2,6 kPa Example of a semi-wet LEPOL kiln: Lagerdorf plant of Alsen-Breitenburg Zement- und Kalkwerke GmbH (BRD) = Maximum kiln capacity 3'600 t/d - Kiln dimensions @ 6.0/5.6 m x 90 m - Grate dimensions 5.6 x 61.7 m At Lagerdorf, a secondary firing system fed with Fullers earth is in- stalled. Semi_Wet Suspension Preheater Kilns The principle of suspension preheater kilns is explained in 3.5.2. There are some rare cases where suspension preheater kilns are fed with nodules prepared from slurry. These modules should not be too strong be- cause they must be cracked by thermal shock or abrasion before it can be fed to the kiln system via top stage of the preheater. A two-stage preheater kiln operated with semi-wet nodules was e.g. the Liesberg plant. there, the nodules were cracked in a vertical dryer pre- ceding the preheater.3.4 3.4.1 3.4.2 -12- The newest plant of this principle has been built by FLS in Denmarks only cement plant RORDAL. It is a three stage two string kiln system with precalciner. With a capacity of 4000 t/d it was built in the late 1980's because of the moist raw material available. More details are shown on Annex 7. Semi_Dry Proce: The semi dry process is characterized by the kiln feed nodules made from dry raw meal. Water is added in order to get nodules with 10 - 12% moisture. Semi_Dry Process Long Kilns There are long kilns with heat exchanger crosses which are fed with no- dules. This system has been applied by Italcementi and looks like the installation for semi wet feed material. ‘Semi Dry Process Grate Preheater Kilns By far the most popular semi dry system is the grate preheater kiln. The principle of the grate preheater system for the semi-dry process is identical to the one used for the semi-wet process. What is different is the feed preparation: The dry raw material is mixed with water (10 ... 15%) and nodulized in a drum or preferably on a rotating plate (pan nodulizer). This system can be used only for raw materials containing plastic components, which per- mit the formation of nodules that are resistant against thermal shock and abrasion. The main factor influencing plasticity is the mineralogi- cal composition, especially the presence of montmorillonite. On the grate, heat exchange from the gas to the nodules forming a fixed bed layer of approx. 20 cm thickness is excellent. In some grate prehea- ters, precalcination is done successfully, often using even waste fuels (such as Fullers earth, acid sludge, waste lubricating oils etc.) utili- zing secondary firing. The only successfully working travelling grate preheater was developed by Polysius and became famous under the name LEPOL system (American li- censee: Allis-Chalmers, ACL system). The Annex 8 is a principle sketch of a LEPOL kiln fed with nodules made out of dry raw meal. In contrast to the kilns before 1945, the exhaust gas is led twice through the nodule bed from top to botto The hot kiln gas passes first through a bed of dry and preheated nodules and subsequently, after an intermediary dedusting once again through a layer of moist incoming nodules.3.5 3.5.1 -23- With this kiln system a very uniformly sized clinker can be produced. Dust load in the kiln atmosphere and dust emission out of the system are low. The nodules on the grate let only pass the fine dust while the coarse particles are retained. In cases of increased trace compound con- centrations (especially alkali) in the raw material, the fine dust sepa~ rated in the electrostatistic precipitator is largely enriched with them. Therefore, only a small amount of dust has to be eliminated to re- duce the balance of these compounds in the kiln system. This effect makes the LEPOL kiln quite suitable to produce a low alkali clinker with a rather low heat consumption. For this reasons, it has been chosen in many cases. The following disadvantages have to be considered: - Only plastic raw material can be used or if filter cake nodules are fed, good filtration properties are needed. - The grate chain is subjected to a certain wear. = Unequal temperature distribution across the grate can cause diffi- culties. - Additional theoretical heat consumption due to the water content of the feed. This effect is partially compensated by a low exit gas temperature. - Exhaust gases cannot be used in drying and grinding systems. Finally some of the characteristic data of a semi-dry grate preheater system are summarized (see also Annex 9): Feed nodules made from dry raw meal Moisture content of the fed nodules, 10... 12% Specific heat consumption q 3450 kJ/kg cli (= 820 kcal/kgcli) Exit gas temperature after grate | 100... 120°C System Pressure drop 2.6 kPa Dry Process ong Dry Kilns The most simple kind of dry process installation is the long dry kiln without any internal heat exchange equipment. With a heat economy of 5100 kJ/kg cli (1200 kcal/kg cli) or about 90% of the wet process it must be considered very uneconomical. The only advantages might be its simplicity and insensitivity to heavy circulation problems.3.5.2 pia Long dry kilns with internal heat exchange equipment such as chains or crosses from steel or ceramic material represent a better solution. Pressure loss along long dry kilns amounts about 0,3 to 0,5 kPa depen- ding on the internal installation. More typical operating figures are contained on Annex 10. aw Meal Suspension Preheater Kiln General During the last thirty years, the suspension preheater kiln became the dominant clinker manufacturing system. This system is fed by dry raw meal which is preferably prepared in a grinding and drying plant, using the kiln waste gases as a drying medium. This ground and dried meal is afterwards homogenized and then fed to the preheater. As it is evident out of the designation of the system, the raw meal is suspended in the kiln gas flow where an extremely effective heat trans- fer takes place. We can distinguish between counter current and co-current heat exchangers for suspension preheaters. Their principle is shown in Annex 11. In a counter current suspension heat exchanger the raw meal falls through the upcoming gas stream. Heat exchange takes place during the retention time of the meal in the system. Theoretically, the counter current heat exchange is the superior princi- ple because it maintains a certain minimum temperature gradient. However, due to non-ideal effects like backmixting or turbulence, real installations did not perform as expected. This principle was applied in shaft stages. In a co-current suspension heat exchanger, the heat exchange takes place while the raw meal is transported parallel with the hot gas. The tempe- rature gradient is gradually reduced during this heat exchange until it reaches zero, which would be ideal. This principle is used in cyclone preheater stages. After the heat exchange is completed, the meal is separated from the gas in a cyclone. In real operation this type of heat exchanger showed superior perfor- mance. Most of the dry process systems in operation have a suspension preheater with four such units, called stages. New plants are designed with five or even six cyclone preheater stages. Older plants with one or two stages are still in operation. Cyclone Preheaters Qne_and two Stage Cyclone Preheater Kilns Before precalcining and bypass systems were developed, circulation pro- blems were very often avoided by the use of a one or two stage preheater kiln. The temperature range of clogging formation lies here int the ro- tary part of the system. Therefore, the tendency to form build ups is reduced by "stirring" the meal. If nevertheless build ups are formed, they are quite often destroyed again by the movements of the kiln shell.Oia If there are no circulation problems (explanations see separate paper), the rotary part is sometimes equipped with additional internal heat exchangers (chains, crosses) to improve fuel economy. Quite frequently one or two stage preheater kilns are converted long wet or dry kilns. Dust production of both systems under discussion is higher than for a four stage preheater, ‘Annex 12 shows the arrangement of a one and a two stage cyclone prehea- ter preceding a long or a medium rotary kiln. Characteristic kiln data: one stage Heat consumption 3750 ... 4000 kJ/kg cli pron 900 ... 950 kcal/kg cli Kiln Gas Exit Temperature 400°... 500° C System Pressure Drop 1,5... 2,5 kPa two_stages: Heat consumption q 3500 ... 3750 kJ/kg cli 850... 900 kcal/kg cli Kiln Gas Exit Temperature 400°... 450° C ‘System Pressure Drop 1,5... 2,5 kPa (See also Annex 13) Examples One stage preheater kiln: = Portlandcement AG, Olten (Switzerland) 1000 t/d, diameter 4,55/5,25 x 105 m Two stage preheater kil = Dudfield (South Africa), AAC 2500 t/d dimensions of the rotary part: diameter 5,75 m, length 190 m Four Stage Cyclone Preheater Kilns Until the mid 1980s, this arrangement belonged to the systems with the Jowest fuel consumption. It was offered in several configurations with capacities up to 4500 t/d, most of them being combinations of single or twin cyclone stages. The elements of a 4-stage preheater system are ex- plained on Annex 14. The kiln exit gas includes stil] enough heat to dry raw material up to a moisture content of 8% if the mill is running during all the kiln opera- tion time. From this point of view, the remaining relatively high exit gas temperature cannot be considered fully as a loss, because it can substitute an auxiliary firing for raw material drying. The preheater system is installed in a steel or concrete tower which reaches usually a height of about 60 to 120 m (6 stages) above the kiln inlet.- 16 - The four to six stage preheater is most susceptible to circulation problems (see 5.5) at presence of excessive concentration of circulation compounds causing clogging problems in the preheater system. Annex 15 contains principle sketches of conventional four stage cyclone preheater systems. In the 70ies, for production lines with more than approx. 2000 t/d usually two parallel preheater strings used to be installed. Today up to 4000 t/d can be done in 1 string which has 5 or 6 stages (see Annex 16). Characteristic operating figures of 4-stage preheater kilns (see also Annex 17): Heat_consumption q smal] units 3350 ... 3550 kd/kg cli (= 800... 850 kcal/kg cli) large units 3150... 3350 kJ/kg cli (= 750 ... 800 kcal/kg cli) kiln exit gas temperature 320° ... 360° C kiln exit gas volume approx. 1,5 Nm3/kg cli system pressure drop 4... 6 kPa kiln dust relative to clinker 8... 15% transition chamber kiln gas temperature approx. 1100° C material temperature approx. 800° ¢ inations of Shaft and Cyclone Preheaters (Annex 18 The system includes a counter current stage (Buhler-Miag). A comparison of the temperatures after the different stages shows, that there is no advantage in applying this arrangement. Experience has proven, that heat exchange is even worse in a counter current stage than in a cyclone one because of the backmixing effects. Another, somewhat different design is the system of Prerov (old CSSR) with a double stage cyclone separator on the top of the suspension shaft. ft Si nsion Preheaters (Annex _19' Four stage cyclone preheaters require a relatively expensive tower structure and the complicated gas and material flow need rather large pipes and ducts. Therefore, different suppliers have developed more sim- ple, self supporting preheaters, which mainly consist of some vertical towers or vessels. Heat exchange occurs here in counter current and one or two cyclone stages on the top of the tower dedust the kiln gas.3.5.3 ana One of these systems designed by the Krupp cement division now incorpo- rated into Polysius is the GEPOL shaft preheater. The main advantage of this system is that it does not need a supporting tower. However, heat exchange is worse than in a four stage cyclone preheater and heat con- sumption is slightly higher. Quite a similar preheater was offered by VEB, Zementanlagenbau, in the old DDR, which was the successor of the former Polysius company at Dessau. As with the cyclone preheaters, also here similar systems have compa- rable characteristic data: Specific heat consumption q: approx. 3600 kJ/kg cli (= 850 kcal/kg cli) Kiln exit gas temperature 380° ... 400° C system Pressure drop approx. 2,5 kPa Precalciner Kilns The tendency of shifting an increasing portion of the process from the rotary part into the stationary part is not yet completed with the sus- pension preheater technology alone. It is possible for the process of dissociation of COz called calcination to take place in a special reactor outside of the rotary kiln. About 60 to 65% of the total fuel are required to achieve a calcination degree of > 90%. It is not desired to achieve 100% because clogging problems occur if clinker formation starts in the stationary part already. Because the development of this reactor started with a secondary firing in the kiln riser duct sufficient for 35 to 40% calcination of the meal, it was referred to as precalciner (PC) or now just calciner. Hot cooler air (= tertiary air) for the PC fuel (= secondary fuel) is taken to the calciner in a separate duct, the tertiary air duct. The elements of a precalciner kiln system are explained on Annex 20. The strongest boost of calciner development was in the seventies in Ja~ pan initiated by the demand for very large units exceeding the potential of conventional kilns with suspension preheaters. Only precalciner technology makes todays largest units of 10'000 t/d possible. Two process alternatives of precalciners are used: = in-line calciner (calciner installed in kiln gas flow) = separate-line calciner (calciner not passed by kiln gases) Nore details on calciner technology are contained in a separate section.4. 4.2 - 18 - Characteristic operating data The operating data are basically like the ones of the corresponding pre~ heater system. In-line calciners have a tendency to higher gas exit tem- perature and system pressure drop. Characteristic operating data of a 4 stage separate-line precalciner are contained on Annex 21. ROTARY KILN General Like many other great ideas, the rotary kiln was invented towards the end of the 19th century. The first successfully working unit was develo- ped in the USA by Hurry and Seaman in 1897 (see Appendix 1). Being used for the clinker burning process for almost a century, the ro- tary kiln is still the most suitable type of machine for the clinkeriza- tion process. Even though clinker has been produced using fluidized bed technology without rotary kiln, the suitability of the rotary kiln remains unsurpassed for the time being. It is worth to be mentioned that even though the rotary kiln is a simple piece of equipment, as far as we know nowbody has developed a theoreti- cal/mathematical model of its behaviour and process which would allow correct process simulation and equipment design. Kiln Dimensions The kiln dimensions are defined with diameter D (for kilns with diffe- rent diameter: burning zone D) and length L: D [m) x L [m] bt A limiting factor for the diameter is the mechanical stability of the "arch" of the brick lining. Maximum diameters which can be safely realized with standard size bricks are about 6,5 m. The largest kiln in the "Holderbank" group is 232 m (wet process, 3750 t/d). The L/D ratio ranges from 40 for long wet kilns to 11 for modern short kilns with calciner. It has to be mentioned that the diameter D is the inner diameter D; of the kiln (steel-) shell. Dimensioning of a kiln is entirely done by use of empirical figures and experience from existing installations.4.3 aor The following dimensioning criteria are mainly used: Specific Volume Load Clinker Production Net Kiln Volume Specific Burning Zone Load = Clinker Production Net Burning Zone Cross Section Specific Thermal Load 1 MJ = 1 my = Burning Zone Heat Input s Net Burning Zone Cross Section Specific volume load and therming zone load have no physical signifi- cance. They are merely defined to make existing installations compa- rable. Annex 27 includes specific volume and burning zone load figures for ro- tary kilns with most process types. The specific thermal load is indirectly a gas velocity because it is known (see "Combustion Engineering") that generating a certain amount of thermal energy by fuel combustion results in a corresponding gas flow. The specific thermal load per cross section is considered the limiting factor for a modern kiln system, because for a certain length/diameter relation which is typical for each kiln type it is proportional to the heat load on the inside lining surface which is one of the main influen- cing factor on brick life. The limit usually respected is: 6 MW/m? = 6000 kd ms (= 5.16 x 108 kcal /m? h) So far, limiting values of all the three factors are not known yet. Each supplier seems to have his own rules of kiln dimensioning. Since no theoretical formulas have been derived to calculate the kiln size on an analytical basis, it is possible, that the present limits of the dimensioning criteria may be surpassed even for the conventional processes. Mechanical Design of Rotary Kilns A rotary kiln should be designed as cheaply as possible, yet it must still be rigid and guarantee minimum wear of the lining. This require- ment can be met, if the deformation of the kiln shell is reduced to a tolerable limit.ANNEX 3. ee a 4 ee : inal ot I a = —- & Yaa aera ae a a ae Bunuyarateg 2 eke , Savane es. 8 vierlooy| a8 gee 8 ead Ta5.2 5.3 -a- The principle of the cyclone preheater has been explained earlier: a series of 1 to 6 co-current heat exchangers each with a subsequent dust separation cyclone. Thermodynami cal Limits Regardless of the type of heat exchange, there is always a thermodynami- cal unbalance between hot gases from kiin and calciner and cold raw meal: The heat available in the gases exceed the heat required for hea~ ting the meal to calcination temperatures. Even if the heat at a tempe- rature level above 850° C is used for partial calcination (= 30%), there is still excessive heat in the gas (see Figure below). Temperature tc) 80°C Heat transferred (or heat content) (kd/kg cli) That is why even with a perfect heat exchange, heat is lost for the bur- ning process (not for the entire process -> drying/grinding!) via ex- haust gas. Number of Stages For many years, the pressure drop across one preheater stage was up to 1,5 kPa (15 mbar). The reason for the 4-stage preheater being so widely used is, that it represented an optimum between investment cost (structure height, foundation), pressure drop and heat consumption. The pressure drop occurs mainly in the cyclones and depends on their shape/design and the size which is a determining factor for cost. New cyclone designs are now on the market with only 0,5 to 1,0 kPa (5 - 10 mbar) pressure drop per stage. Considering increasing energy cost, it is justified to install 5 or 6 preheater stages for new or modified kiln systems.