INTRODUCTION

CEMENT: A powered substance which, made plastic with water, is used in a soft and pasty
state (which hardens on drying) to bind together bricks, stones, etc. in building

PORTLAND CEMENT: is a calcined material comprising Lime and Silicates which is

mixed sand and stone and upon hydration forms a plastic material which sets and hardens
to a rock – like material, concrete.

RAW MEAL:
Limestone (calcium carbonate)
+
Appropriate of - Calcium
- Silicon
- Aluminum
- & Iron oxides
Are crushed and milled to a fine flour like RAW MEAL.

CLINKER: Raw meal is heated in Kiln firstly to dissociate calcium carbonates to calcium
oxides with the evolution of carbon dioxide and then to react calcium oxides with the
other components to form calcium silicates and aluminates, which partially fuse at
material burning temperatures up to 1450 °C. The reaction products leave the Kiln as a
black nodular material, CLINKER.
The clinker is finally interground with a small proportion of gypsum (to control the rate
of hydration) and the fine production is CEMENT.

RAW MATERIALS:
The composition of Portland cement varies plant to plant due both to Cement
Specifications and to the Mineralogy of available materials.

Raw mix should be so, that it minimizes the heat input required for clinkering and the
total cost of raw material

An approximate analysis for raw mix on ignitated basis, or for Clinker is: -

Ca O 65 – 68 %
Si O2 21 – 23 %
Al2 O3 5–7%
Fc2 O3 2–4%
Mg O 1–5%
Mn2 O3 0.1 – 3 %
Ti O2 0.1 – 1 %
S O3 0.1 – 2 %
K2 O 0.1 – 1 %
Na2 O 0.1 – 0.5 %
It may be noted that due to substantial portion of the raw mix being CaCo3, heating of
raw mix evolves some 35% by weight a CO2, this results in a requirement of
approximately 1.5T of raw material to produce 1T of Cement (Clinker).

Kiln feed typically contains 78-80% CaCo3 so that lime stone can only fall close to this
level to the extent that it also contains the other in gradients.

MgO Should not be more than 4.5% or the cement may be expansive.

Excess alkalies (K, Na) affect both Kiln operation (build-ups) and product quality (alkali
aggregate reactivity).

Excess ‘S’ causes Kiln build-ups and limits the gypsum percentage, which may result in
setting problems.

Excess Cl causes serious problems for Preheater operation.

Materials as mined therefore are typically proportioned.

Limestone (CaO) 85%

Shale or clay (Si O2, Al2 O3 or Fc2 O3) 13%
Additives (Si O2, Al2 O3 or Fc2 O3) <1% each

Mining & Hauling are commonly monitored by,

- Blasting - Ts/Kg of explosive
- Stripping ration - Volume waste removed
Volume used rock
- Loading - Ts/hr of equipment
- Hauling - Ts/hour per truck

“A part from chemistry; grindability is also a factor in selecting raw materials”

In particular silica additives containing large-grain quartz are very difficult to grind and
can result in hard burning and high fuel consumption.
If quartz silica is employed it should; preferably, have a natural grain size of less than 30
mm.

“A knowledge of lime stone and to a lesser extent, shale reserves is necessary;

particularly when justifying investment to increase plant capacity”

Reserves are classed according to the details in which they have been explored:

CLASS ‘A’ OR PROVE RESERVES: Extensive drilling has confirmed quantity,

mineralogy, variation, mining and legal availability.

CLASS ‘B’ OR PROBABLE RESERVES: Sufficient drilling to allow presumption of

quantity and availability.
 CLASS ‘C’ OR INDICATED RESERVES: Widely spaced drilling gives extent and
same knowledge of quality.

CLASS ‘D’ OR INFERRED RESERVES: Initial exploration and consideration of

geology gives (allow) general assumption.

CRUSSING:

‘Typically feed size should be less than 120 cm”

Crushed rock should ideally be ‘-12 mm’ for feed to ball type raw mill and 30-80 mm for
roller mills or less than 5% of table diameter.

Crusher may operate by compression or by impact.

Compression machines comprise single or double jaw crushers and gyratory crusher.

DOUBLE TOGGLE JAW CRUSHER: Has a simple compression motion with jaw
angle of 15-20°. It is effective for hard abrasive materials with low (<5%) moisture and
gives a reduction ratio of 6%.

SINGLE TOGGLE JAW CRUSHER: Also has a measure of vertical jaw motion,
which adds attrition to compression. Sticky material can be handled, but wear rate is
increased.

GYRATORY CRUSHER: Operates by pressure between a gyratory cone and stationary

or spring loaded crushing ring. Hard abrasive material can be handled with reduction
ratio of about 5%.

Compression type crushers normally produce a cubic production with low proportion of
fines, being choke fed, plugging mill result with feed moisture in excess of about 5%
wear is low but reduction ratios are normally less than 8%.

IMPACT MACHINES: May be either hammer mills or Impact crusher. These are
preferred for limestone with quartz contents of less than 10% wear is greater and there is
larger proportion of fines; but moisture contents up to about 12% can be accepted and
reduction ratios up to 50% are possible.
 HAMMER MILLS (SINGLE & DOUBLE HORIZONTAL SHAFT): Operated by
material falling in to the circle of rotating hammers and being impacted both by hammers
and breaker plate. The feeder elevation and therefore the speed with which material
enters the circle is critical. If too low, the material bounces on top of hammers and if too
high it penetrates through the circle and can damage the rotor disc. The discharge is
partially or wholly screen by grates angainst which secondary reduction by attrition take
place. The grate slot size governs the discharge top size.

IMPACT CRUSHERS (HORIZONTAL OR VERTICAL): Are similar in operation

to hammer mills. Same unit involves attrition but relative wet materials can be handled.

DRYING: If raw materials are partially predried, they may cause serious handling problems.
Steam evolution from the hot material causes build-up and can plug the dust collectors.
Also the dry fine fraction is liable to flush if held in an intermediate storage.

“There are advantages in both handling and heat consumption if raw materials can be
handled up to mill feed and dried in the raw mill”

PREBLENDING: If the lime stones and clay/shale are both of high consistency; or if
differences in form would result in segregation → each can be handled separately up to
mill feed and proportioning them with the mill feeders.

More commonly, material variation are mitigated buffer stock is maintained by providing
(economically) mixed preblend piles either longitudinal or circular. The limestone (and
clay/shale if premixed) are metered and feed simultaneously to a feed conveyor.

There are few major stacking systems:

(i) CHEVRON: Stacking in layer along a single axis with the feed conveyor
sweeping backward and forwards along the length of the pile.
 (ii) WINROW: Stacking in longitudinal strips by side and then by successive
layer; this avoids the segregation, which characterizes chevron
stacking; but otherwise there is little difference in blending
efficiency. The winrow systems require a more complex and
expensive stacking belt arrangement.

Chemical analysis of material feed to storage is essential if premixed is to be done.

Preblend effectiveness (the ratio of estimated standard deviation (eds) for feed and
product) is roughly related to the numbers of layers (N)
Blending ratio = √N/2
Recovery to mill feed is either by end or side reclaim:

(i) END RECLAIM: Various systems to scrap and entire end face with a transverse
scrapper at floor level moving material to a discharge conveyor. Flow rate is not
constant.
(ii) SIDE RECLAIM: A boom mounted scraper working end to end along the side
of the pile. This gives less effective blending and recovery flow rate is not
constant.

“Length to width ratio of pile should be at least 5:1”

Total capacity of preblend pile for 7-10 days consumption is normal. Preblend
piles are usually convered, both to prevent rain fall on the pile and therefore,
absorbent material, and to contain fugitive dust.

Preblending should be monitored for compositional variation of feed and

discharge to determine the blending ratio.

MILLING & BLINDING: is done both in vertical roller mill and ball mills. Roll press are also
used for pre-grinding to increase the system capacity. Roller mill can handle material
with aggregate moisture up to 15% where ball mill are limited up to about 8%.

“Ball mills used for drying should be air swept using air velocity of 3-4 m/sec above
load”

VERTICAL ROLLER MILL: Roller mills have a lower specific power

consumption ball mill.

CONSTRUCTION: Rollers are hydraulically pressed on to a horizontal rotating

grinding table. The roller axis is inclined (say 15°) to the table, and as axes of roller and
table do not intersect in the plane of table; the relative motion involves both rolling and
sliding which enhances comminution.
MATERIAL FLOW: Feed material is directed on to center of table and is thrown
outwards by rotation of the table under the rollers and in to a rising air current at the
periphery which is directed by means of a louver ring. The air sweep passes through a
integral rotary classifier; fines passes out with the air current while course material falls
back on to table. Material drying occurs in air suspension between table and classifier.

“Circulating load is typically 800%”

Smooth running depends up on the stability of the material bed; Occasional vibration
may be due to abnormal feed; particularly dry or fine material. External circulation is
frequently employed to optimize mill efficiency.

START UP: The mill is started with the rollers lifted away from the table. When lowered
to their grinding position, actual metal-to-metal can fact should be prevented by limit
switches and consistent feed.

Material, which is not carried out upwards by air stream, falls from the table to a reject
trap. But every efforts should be made to exclude tramp metal, which can damage the
grinding surfaces.

Loesche mills are defined by grinding table diameter (dm), numbers of grinding rollers
and rollers and size, LM 41.450 is 4.1M in diameter with 4 rollers. Modules of size 50.

Primary roller mills controls are:

- Mill differential pressure which controls circulating load (usually 500-700 mmwg)
- Inlet gas temperature (normally up to 500°C)
- Inlet gas flow
It should be noted that the material cycle time of a roller mill is usually less than a
minute against several minutes against several minutes for a ball mill.

Optimum fineness of kiln feed must be determined empirically, but typically, raw
material should be ground finer that 10% + 170# (88µ) or 15% + 200# (74µ) and
adjustment made on separator.

A narrow particle size distribution is optimal because fines tend to increase dust loss by
entertainment in exhaust gas while course particles are harder to reach in the kiln and
result in high free lime and/or excessive fuel consumption.

“Specific power consumption depends upon material hardness and mill efficiency.”
For ball mills, the range is approximately 8 KWh/T (mill drive only) for soft, chalky
limestone to 25 KWh/T for hard materials. System power consumption is typically 30%
lower in roller mills, and combined power consumption may be 10-30% lower if roll
press or other machine is used for pregrinding.

Quartz particles larger than 45µ and calcite larger than 125µ will not react completely
under normal burning condition, both fractions should, ideally, be limited to not more
than 1%. Incompletely reacted silica results in belite (C2S) clusters and un-reacted calcite
result in free lime; both of which prevent alite (C3S) formation inhibit cement strength
gain.
BLENDING: Nos. of blending silo designs are there but few major types are:

(i) Turbulence Type: In this type of silo material is tumbled about by the injection of
high volume of air through air pads on the silo floor.

(ii) Controlled Flow Type: When sequenced light aeration of segments air pads causes
layers of material in the silo to blend by differential rates of descent within the silo. It
may have multiple discharge chutes, or an inverted cone over a center discharge within
which the meal is fluidized.

Turbulent mixing can be operated batch-wise or continuously. The former involves either
a filling cycle corrected progressively to average the target mix, or a sequence of filling,
mixing, sampling and analyzing, correcting, remixing and then feeding to kiln.

Continuous blending involves simultaneous feeding of silo, over flow to second silo and
discharge to kiln feed.

Modern blending silos are of continuous, controlled flow type with each silo having
capacity of more than 24 hrs. Kiln feed and yielding blending ratio 3-5. Apart from
power savings, the effective capacity of C.F.Silo is some 20% greater due to higher bulk
density of meal, which is not heaving aerated.

Blending silos should be monitored by:

- Blending ratio (esd feed / esd product)
- Compressor KWh/Tone through put. As raw meal is liable to solidity if left inactive
(during the kiln shut down for example) blending should be emptied or Recirculation
to be done when not in use.

KILN FEED: Air suspension preheater kiln loses a fraction of kiln feed by entrainment in
exhaust gas. As this fine fraction is usually of a typical composition, kiln feed analysis
must be biased to yield the desired clinker composition. The dust loss, some 6-12% of
kiln feed, is not usually collected until after the exhaust gas passes through a raw mill of
dryer; so that dust catch is not the same quantity or composition as preheater dust loss.
“Thus, even if the dust collector catch is returned directly to the kiln; it must still be
compensated.” Hence dust collect is usually stored feed to Kiln and Blending Silo.

If the kiln exhaust passes directly and continuously to dust collection, then the dust may
be returned directly to the kiln feed.

Kiln feed should be monitored by: Chemical analysis on one or few hourly grab
samples to determine statistical variation. Analysis is usually of oxides but may also be
carbonate titration. If oxides are measured, statistics should use C3S or LSF.

Kiln feed should typically have an estimated standard deviation for hourly grab samples
of less than 0.2% of CaCO3 or 3% C3S (Please note 1.0% CaCO3 is equivalent to 10-15%
C3S)
 “Kiln feed is normally conveyed by bucket elevators to the top of preheater to
minimize the power consumption. If this conveying is effected pneumatically, de-
aeration is desirable before injection as the entraining air otherwise adds to the Kiln
ID fan load and may reduce Kiln capacity”

Kiln feed = Clinker + Losses of Ignition + By Pass Dust + Down Comer Dust – Coal Ash

Where both bypass dust and down comer dust are converted to ignited basis.

BURNING AND COOLING:

Kiln feed is subject to successive reactions as its temperature increased:

100°C - Evaporation of free water.

>500°C - Evolution of combined water.
>860°C - CaCO3 → CaO + CO2.
>900°C - Reaction between CaO and Al2, Fe2O3 and SiO2.
>1200°C - Liquid formation.
>1280°C - Formation of C3S and complete reaction of CaO.

Now day’s larger kilns have two and even three strings preheater together with
precalciners (Secondary combustion vessels between kiln and preheater) allowing unit
capacities in excess of 10,000 T/day. Heat recovery has also been improved, where heat
is not required for drying raw materials, by using 5 & 6 stage cyclones, and redesign of
cyclone vessels has allowed pressure drop to be reduced without loss of efficiency.

Exit gas to, static pressure and specific power consumption for modern precalciners kilns
are typically:

6 Stage 280°C 450 mmwg 710 K cal/kg

5 Stage 310°C 400 mmwg 725 K cal/kg
4 Stage 350°C 350 mmwg 750 K cal/kg

- In cyclone preheater kiln without precalciners, the feed is 20-40% calcined at the Kiln
inlet
- Addition of calciner vessel allows up to 90% Calcinations before the meal enters the
Kiln.
- Precalcination should not exceed 95% on completion of endothermic reaction would
allow a dangerous material temperature size before entry to the Kiln with probable
build-up and plugging.
KILN BURNING:

Kiln operation is monitored by:

- Production rate T/hr Clinker
- Operation hour
- Involuntary down time hours.
- Specific heat consumption K cal/kg of Clinker
- Total fuel rate T/hr
- Proportion of fuel to precalciners / riser %
- Secondary air temperature °C
- ID fan draft mmwg
- Preheater exhaust gas temperature °C
- Kiln feed end O2 %
- Down comer O2 %
- Kiln feed end material – LOI %
– SO3 %
- Kiln power (Drive) KW

Other Kiln performance factors includes:

- Primary air tip velocity m/sec.
- Specific Kiln volume loading %
- Gas velocity in burning zone m/sec.
- Specific heat loading of burning zone K cal/hr per m2 off effective burning zone
cross-section area.
- Cooler air Nm3/h per m2 grate area.
- Cooler + primary air Nm3 per kg clinker.
- Temperature °C, P & O2 profile of preheater.

Clinker free lime should be as high as possible to avoid the problems of hard
burning; but safely below the on set of mortar expansion; typically between 0.5%
and 2%.

Having established the target; free lime if possible, to be maintained within arrange of
about 0.5%. Variation of Kiln feed rate or composition makes this control more difficult.

“It should be noted the over burning mainly resulted by variable kiln feed chemistry or
operator’s circumspection, leads to wastes of fuel; stress refractories and increase in
power consumption for cement milling and finally reduction of cement strength”

To check the free lime a conventional method is to measure litre weight more frequently.
To check the litre weigh clinker of size +5/-12mm are collected in a std. 1 litre volume
and weighed. Litre wt. Is typically 1100-1300 gm/litre.

“LITRE WT. INVERSELY VARIES WITH FREE LIME”

SECONDARY AIR TEMPERATURE: Should be as high as possible to recover the
maximum heat, usually 800-1000°C.

Maximizing the secondary air temperature involves injected to the first cooler
compartments.

It should be noted that secondary air temperature is difficult to measure unless there is a
hot gas take off from the hood for tertiary or coal mill air. An unprotected thermocouple
in the hood is liable to erroneous and misleading measurement due to radiation.

Preheater Kiln maximizes the heat input to calciner and typically 60% of fuel is feed to
the calciner while 40% is burned in the Kiln. This serves to minimize the size of Kiln and
its heat loading. But it does not reduce the specific heat consumption.

It has been widely found that preheater kilns without precalciner vessels can still
benefit from feeding 10-20% of total fuel to the Kiln riser. Kiln operation is
noticeably more stable and brick life is extended. This is also a useful means to consume
low-grade fuels or waste materials.

The limit to fuel injection at the riser depends upon its size and consequent gas retention
time; and upon fuel-air mixing characteristics. Over fuelling results in preheater operation
problems, an increase in exit gas temperature and ‘CO’ in the exhaust.

For Kiln with grate coolers, the burner tip should be in the plane of kiln nose (hot) or
slightly in side the kiln providing it does not suffer damage from falling clinker. The
burner should normally be concentric with and on the axis of the Kiln.

It should be noted that both burner position and tip velocity are intimately related to hood
aerodynamics and can not be considered in isolation.

Kiln Rings: Are sections of heavy coatings, usually in the burning zone, through
sometimes also near the back of the kiln, which can grow to restrict both gas and material
flow and eventually force shut down. Ring formation in the burning zone is commonly
attributed to operational fluctuations; through a low coal ash-fusion temperature or high
mix liquid phase will increase the risk.

Such ring growth may be countered by varying Kiln speed or by small movements
(10cm) of the burner in and out.

Rings at the back of the kiln are usually associated with the volatiles cycle; particularly
excessive sulfur at the kiln inlet.

Certain plants have raw materials, which contains significant proportions of

hydrocarbons (Kerogens); typically up to 3%, or may wish to dispose of oil-contaminated
soils. If feed conventionally to the top of the preheater, the hydrocarbons will tend to
distill at intermediate temperatures and exit with the flue gas – if they do not explode in
the EP.
 To prevent the resulting pollution, and to make use of heat potential, KEROGEN
containing materials should be injected at higher temperatures, usually to a 1 or 2 stage
preheater; if the hydrocarbons are present in the limestone.

KILN CONTROL: Kiln operation is a complex art of which the principal control variables are:

- Burning zone temperature 1500°C

or indirectly from Kiln drive
power or number
- Feed end temperature 1000°C
- Feed end oxygen 2%

Control is effected by adjustment to kiln speed, fuel rate and ID fan speed. Any Kiln
is liable upset periods due to ring building, coating loss, etc. and while every effort
should in any case to be made to minimize such problems, stability is pre requirement for
effective computer control.

Kiln speed and feed are usually controlled with a fixed linear relationship and unilateral
variations of kiln speed should at most be used as a short term expedient (example to
control Kiln flush).

It has been asserted that for many kilns speed should be kept constant in the upper range
of feed rates.

Kiln speed should be such that volumetric loading is within the range of 10-13%
typically cyclone preheater Kiln rotate at 2-2.5 rpm (50-70 cm/sec circumpherential
speed) and have material retention times of 20-40 minutes. Precalciner kilns rotate at 3.5-
4.5 rpm (80-100 cm/sec) for similar retention times. Retention in preheater is 20-40 sec.
CaO upon calcination; is highly reactive but that this reactivity decreases rapidly so that
slow heating between 900-1300°C can result in increased heat of formation of cement
compounds.

“Kiln working in the limit of I.D. fan; in this case, low oxygen must be corrected by
reducing both fuel and feed.”

Introduction of short; 2-piers Kilns for precalciner system has feed to the reduction of
material residence time before entering the burning zone from some 15 minutes to 6
minutes with resulting improvement in clinker mineralogy and grindability.

Precalciner kilns burner fuel at kiln hood using combustion air mainly drawn from the hot
end of the grate cooler and it the calciner using combustion air drawn from either the
hood or the mid-section of the cooler via tertiary duct. Most Kilns have dampers in the
tertiary duct; and same have dampers in the riser, to control relative air flows to the two
burners in order to maintain the desired fuel split.

Frequently these dampers fail and if is then essential to adjust the fuel flows to the actual
airflows.
 This is effected by maintaining oxygen at the Kiln feed and at say 2%.

The oxygen level required at the kiln inlet will depend upon kiln stability and combustion
efficiency; with a good flame; 1-2% O2 should result in less than 150 ppm Co while an
unstable flame may yield in excess of 0.1% Co with 3% O2.

An increase in O2 of more than 2-3% suggests excess in leakage.

In a precalciner Kiln an additional gas analyzer may be installed; in the exhaust duct from
the bottom cyclone and cyclone this should be operated at as low an oxygen level as is
consistent with less than 150 ppm of Co.

Normal SO3 level (typically 0.6% include and 2-3% in under flow from the bottom stage
cyclone) should be determined and maintained.

In precalciner Kilns retention time and heat loading are particularly low and alkalis (K,
Na) tend to pass through the clinker while sulfur is volatized and builds a cyclone at the
back of the kiln exacerbated by the deficiency of alkalis.

If the Kiln is burned too hot; this cyclone increases excessively until build-up or cyclone
plugging occurs. This is matched by abnormally low SO3 in clinker. Eventually if Kiln is
allowed to cool; this sulfur is released (from plugging or zam) and transient high clinker
SO3 results.

Such variation in clinker SO3 will also give rise to varying grindability in the finish mill.

“It is important to note that Kiln Stability fuel efficiency; finish grinding power
consumption and cement quality all depend greatly upon the provision of kiln feed and
fuel with min mal variation both of chemistry and feed rate.”

KILN WARM UP:

SUGGESTED INCHING DURING EMMERGENCY SHUT DOWN:

0–2 - Continuous
2–4 - 1/4 turn every 15 minutes
4 –12 - 1/4 turn every hour

If the shut down is for less than a day and does not involve entering the Kiln or preheater
then heat should be retained either by stopping the I.D. Fan immediately and shutting the
preheater dampers after two hours; or (if there are no dampers) shut down the fan after
two hours.

Changes in fuels, feed or burning conditions will affect the location of the burning zone.
REFRACTORIES: with considerable variation; installed brick thickness is related to in
normal Kiln diameter:
<4.2 M dia. → 180 mm Brick thickness
4.2 - 4.7 M dia. → 200 mm Brick thickness
4.7 – 5.2 M dia. → 225 mm Brick thickness
>5.7 M dia. → 250 mm Brick thickness

BRICK LAYING METHOD:

Epoxy Method
Ring Jack – is faster for long kiln but does not allow Kiln Rotation for any repair job.

The choice of refractory is dictated by the require services temperature, the potential for
chemical attack and the abrasion to which will be subjected.

Although provision is mode for expansion when installing refractories, retaining rings
attached to the shell have been found essential to resist the thrust resulting from rotation
and inclination of the Kiln.

One should installed approximately 1 M in from the nose casting and other has desired
further up the kiln but not within 5 M of a Kiln tyre. Conventional rings are rolled plates
40-50 mm high and slightly less then the up-hill brick is in tight contact; while the ring it
self is covered by slightly raised row of brick.

The low profile of ring results in massive loading of the contact surface with the up-hill
brick as to consequent risk of failure.

INSUFFLATION: Is the injection of duct into the Kiln flame. The dust may either metered in
to the primary air (using a venture) or it may be separately conveyed pneumatically and
injected adjacent to the main burner.

THE EFFECTS OF INSUFFLATION ARE TO:

Increase the luminosity; and hence the heat transfer; of oil and gas flame.
Reduce flame temperature and, hence thermal NOx production.
Return fine dust to the kiln with maximum chance of incorporation in to clinker rather
than re-entrainment with the exhaust gas.
Increase volatization of alkalis in the dust to facilitate production of low alkali
clinker.
Allow production of small quantities of special clinker by adjustment of mix design
without transitioning the whole blending and kiln feed system.
Facilitate the addition of small quantities of hazardous waste, which must be feed
directly to the high temperature zone of the Kiln.

“INSUFFLATION SHOULD NOT NORMALLY CONTRIBUTE MORE THAN

5% RELATIVE TO CLINKER WEIGHT OR FLAME TEMPERATURE WILL
BE EXCESSIVELY REDUCED.”
KILN BYPASS: If excess volatiles (K2O, Na2O, Sulfur, Chloride) are present in kiln feed
or in fuel; they will vaporize in the burning zone and condense in the preheater causing a
cyclone to build-up of the back of Kiln. This causes accretions of material in ducts and
plugging of preheater cyclones with the operating results. Where volatile components are
unavoidable, or significant cost saving, a bypass is installed which extracts a proportion
of kiln exhaust gas from the feed-end housing for separate quenching 2-3 times its
volume of ambient air, conditioning with water to 150-2000 C, dust collection, and
release.

Typically, the bypass takes 10-70% of the kiln exhaust gas. Dust entrainment at the
bypass take-off is 100-300mg/NM3

Chloride circulation should be limited to 5-10g/Kg clinker depending upon the degree of
---- (Farag & Abbas; ZKG; 1/1995, pg 22). Excessive SO3 in the clinker inhibits C3S
formation. Typically however kiln problems may be expected if total alkalis of SO3
exceed 1%, or chloride exceeds 0.015% relative to clinker weight. SO2 found in the stack
originates from pyrites or organic sulfur in the raw materials not from sulfate or from fuel
sulfur.

KILN FUELS:

Traditional kiln fuels are gas, oil or coal. The choice is normally based on price and
availability.

It should also be noted that the gas flame is of lowest emissivity and requiring, more
combustion air per unit of heat, is the least efficient. Kiln production typically increases
by 2-3% when gas is replaced by coal.

Fuels usually dried, ground so that the residue on 200# (75 µ) is not more than 0.5 x %
volatiles, and injected with carrying air at a pressure of 120-150g/cm2 and tip velocity of
60-80M / sec.

Gas is usually received at 10-70 kg/cm2. Primary air is not essential and the gas is
injected as axial, or a mixture of axial and swirl, flow at 3-10 kg/cm2 and a tip velocity of
300-400M/sec (injection will normally be limited by sonic velocity – 430 M/sec for
methane at 00C). Gas requires turbulent diffusion and its heat flux tends to be released
more slowly than with oil or coal; peak heat release is usually about 20M into the kiln
against 5-10M for oil.

Combustion comprises - Mixing

- Ignition
- Combustion reactions
- Product dispersion

In most industrial combustion processes, mixing is the slowest and, therefore, rate-
determining step. Hence the risk of excessively reducing primary air.
COAL FIRING: Coal firing for cement kilns falls into two basic systems (Figure 7). Direct
firing involves grinding of coal and feeding directly to the burner with all of the drying /
carrying air entering as primary air (typically 15-30% of total combustion air). Indirect
firing involves intermediate storage of ground coal and separate cleaning and venting of
the frying / carrying air.

There is a common assumption that indirect firing yields higher thermal efficiency by
reducing primary air and by excluding the water vapor from coal drying. Such claims are
largely invalid due to the poor fuel /air mixing of low primary air burners while water
vapor in the flame has a catalytic effect on combustion. Note that significant volatile
matter and hence, heat content (up to 280kcal/kg), may be lost by venting the miling
system.

Roll separation from grinding table should be maintained at 510 mm and coal feed size
should be 100% - 25 mm with approximately 30% + 10 mm. Abnormal spillage (ie.
More than 2% of mill feed) may be due either to roll clearance of more than 15 mm or to
excessive clearance between table and louver ring; if this clearance exceeds about 10mm,
the required 25M/ sec air velocity through the louver vanes cannot be maintained. Roller
mils can dry coal of up to 10% moisture beyond which the mill is derated according to
manufacturers design data. Similarly mills are normally designed for 55 Hardgrove
index and harder coals (lower HGI) will result in derating.

Mill inlet temperature should not exceed 3150C and coal should not be dried to below 1%
surface moisture. Mill discharge temperature is limited to 650C for indirect systems and
800C for direct. Carrying air velocity must be maintained above 20M/sec to avoid dust
settlement.

Vendors specify a minimum airflow, typically 1-1.5kg (0.8-1.2NM3) air per kg coal,
which must be maintained even when the drying requirement is negligible. If preheater
exhaust is used it will typically be at 300-3500C with 5% O2 and 6% moisture; the
temperature and moisture must be considered in the system design.
 With entrained coal are injected at a tip velocity of approximately 80M/sec. Tip velocity
must always be substantially greater than the flame propagation velocity which may be
up to 25M/sec. The pipe is usually narrowed near the tip to generate turbulence and
improve fuel-air mixing. For indirect firing, three channel burners of various designs are
employed (Fig 7).

To achieve adequate momentum for flame recirculation with the reduced primary air of
indirect systems, jet air may be up to 440M/sec and swirl air 160M/sec (KHD Pyro-Jet
burner). The center may be used for a second fuel.

The design of coal firing system is therefore critically important and should consider
numerous factors including the following:

Minimum ignition temperatures of air/fuel mix; coal ignition temperature range 200-
750oC though the ignition temperature of volatile products may be lower.
Minimum explosive concentration of fuel in air is about 40g/M3 (note that dust
suspensions are not homogeneous).
Maximum permissible oxygen concentration to prevent ignition is 12%.
The entire pulverized coal system must be designed to contain 3.5kg/cm2 (NFPA
85F) or with explosion relief as appropriate (NFPA 68).

Coal dust explosive tendency increases with volatiles content and with thickness and
decreased with water content and with inert dust diluent (e.g. Limestone).

CLINKER COOLING: Undergrate pressure are approximately, 600 mm in the first

compartment reducing progressively to about 200mm in the last compartment.

For conventional grates, there should be a uniform gap of 3-5mm below the nose of each
grate. Distortion of the support frame translates into uneven gaps and grate-to-grate
contact, which significantly reduces cooling effect.

On traditional grate coolers, some 2-2.5NM3/kg clinker of cooling air is required to

achieve clinker discharge at below 100oC. Modern type of cooler allows 1.5-2NM3/kg to
be used with a rating of 45-55t/m2/day and bed depth of 800mm.

The second drive is controlled at 10% faster than the first if of equal width. Red rivers
indicate a problem with grate geometry or air distribution and “blow through” indicates
excessive air flow to a particular compartment.

Clinker coolers are monitored by:

Secondary air temperature, oC
Tertiary air temperature, oC.
Discharge air temperature, oC.
Discharge air volume or fan amps.
Clinker discharge temperature, oC
KILN MECHANICAL: Proper alignment of the kiln support rollers and maintenance of tire
pad clearance are the two primary precautions for minimizing strees.

On a properly skewed set of bearings, rollers ride downhill against their thrust bearings.
When all rollers, are properly skewed, and under stable process conditions, each support
roller imparts a small uphill thrust to the riding rings and, thus, to the kiln shell so that the
kiln will contact its thrust rolls only intermittently during each revolution.

Evidence of excessive support roller thrusting can be detected by temperature

comparisons of the thrust bearings and from wear rates.

The feed end seal must protect against 4 – cm WG differential pressure compared to 1cm
or less for the discharge seal. False air at the feed end not only reduces capacity and
efficiency but, introducing cold air in the middle of any volatile cycle, tends to cause
serious build-up and interfere with both material and gas flow.

All steels used in kiln shell construction lose significant strength when their temperature
exceed 400 oC. In fact, at 500 oC most steels have only about half the strength relative to
ambient temperature. Creep should never be zero and may typically be up to about 2cm
per revolution.

Normally there are two thicknesses of shell at each tire; the thicker plate directly under
the tire is known as the tire course and the thinner plates uphill and downhill are known
as flanking plate. The plate between the sections is even thinner than the flanking plate.
The most common location for shell cracking is at the transition between the flanking
plate and the thin shell plate that spans between piers.

The most common cause of shell cracking is probably fatigue due to excessive alternating
stress generated from kiln rotation with high tire pad clearance.

The most frequent cause of excessive tire thrust loading is a slope difference between
support rollers and the kiln axis through the tire.

Motor designs provide for short term loading of up to about 2.5 times the motor rated
current and torque to overcome inertia and static friction for starting.

Before deciding to speed up a kiln, it should be verified that the drive motor has adequate
reserve capacity to accommodate increased torque demands from process upsets. Thus, a
marginal drive motor should be replaced before attempting to increase kiln speed.
During normal operation the motor should draw approximately 60% of capacity. This
provides additional torque to overcome thermal bowing, uneven coating, and kiln
misalignment.

Most kiln designers limit bearings pressure between support rollers shaft and bearing to
around 35kg/cm2 though some designs allow for higher pressures if the bearings are self-
aligning. The lubrication film generated by rotation of the support roller journal is usually
not over 125µ thick so that anything which impacts this film thickness is of consequence.
Kiln support rollers are designed to bear the weight of the kiln as well as some of the
downhill thrust acting along the axis of the inclined kiln. The support rollers on each pier
should have their axes aligned parallel to the theoretical axis of the kiln between each
pier and slightly cut to impart an upward thrust to the tire on each pier. This will result in
the support rollers lightly touching against their thrust bearings.

FINISH MILLING
CLINKER STORAGE: Partial hydration of clinker before grinding seriously
reduces strength and increases setting time.

FINISH MILLING: Finish grinding involves the largest unit consumption of power in
cement manufacture and should be optimized. It must however, be recognized that
clinker grindability is largely governed by clinker chemistry and burning conditions, so
that kiln and finish mill should be considered together. The principal cause of hard
grinding is the presence of excessive belite (C2S) in clinker; conversion of belite to alite
(C3S) is maximized if silica is not present in raw mix as coarse quartz, if the lime
saturation factor is high (97-99%), if the liquid phase is relatively high (>24%) and if the
silica ratio is relatively low (<2.5).

The final major factor is the rate of reaction in the kiln. After calcinations is complete,
transition to melt formation should be as rapid as possible to minimize growth of belite
and CaO crystals. By long, lazy flame which may be due to poor mixing, coarse coal, or
insufficient burner up momentum.

Higher clinker SO3 gives harder grinding and higher free time gives easier grinding
(increasing FL by 0.2% reduces finish mill power requirement by a ca 1%). Ball usage
should be of the order of 30-50g/tonne cement.

Air flow is typically 1-2M/sec referred to the open mill cross section above the ball
charge and separator vent air for cooling is some 23NM3/kg of mill throughput.

Ball mills normally operate at about 75% of critical speed and 25-35% volumetric charge
loading. Circulating load is typically 100-200% for semilling 200-300% for finish mills
with mechanical separators, and 150-200% with high efficiency separators.

If negligible particles in the second compartment are greater than 3mm, then the ball size
and/or loading in the first compartment may be reduced. The energy efficiency of ball
mills is very low, particularly for coarse grinding.

Roller mills employ a mixture of compression and shearing which reduces power
consumption, but the rate of wear for rollers and table in clinker grinding has been a
problem. Roller mills have been installed as stand-alone cement mills with an energy
savings of some 40% relative to ball mills (Shimoide; WC; 9/1996, pg 68)

Specific power consumption for clinker / gypsum grinding in a ball mill should be
approximately:
 3000cm2/g 24.4kWh/t
3200 26.8
3400 29.4
3600 32.0
3800 34.7
4000 37.5
Partial dehydration of gypsum in the mill, up to about 60%, increases cement strength
without excessive false set. High mill temperature also exacerbate material
agglomeration and coating of balls and liners, significantly increasing specific power
consumption.

Grinding aids (usually ethylene glycol based or triethanolamine based) may be added to
the ball mill to reduce such electrostatic agglomeration.

It is considered that the particle size fraction below 3µ contributes most to 1-day strength
though it also increase water demand, while 3.25µ governs 28-day strength. Note that
hydration only penetrates 3-4µ in 28 days. Particles larger than 25µ make a negligible
contribution to strength.
Below % Below % Below %
180µ 100 30 µ 81.6 5µ 24.9
150 99.9 20 64.8 4 21.2
100 99.3 15 53.4 3 17.2
80 98.5 10 40.4 2 12.8
60 96.0 8 34.6 1 7.1
40 88.2 6 28.4 0.5 1.9
Fine cement with a narrow particle size range (as is possible with high efficiency
separators) gives high mortar strengths but, it should be noted, may also give rise to high
water demand, which will yield low concrete strength.

SEPARATORS:
CEMENT STORAGE: Cement should, if possible, be below 60oC when conveyed to silos.
The storage of cement at greater than 80 oC causes dehydration of gypsum and reaction of
the released water with fine cement particles resulting in loss of early strength and
promotion of false set in the cement as well as build-up in the silos. If high temperature
is an intractable problem, the effects can be mitigated by reducing gypsum addition and
replacing up to half the gypsum by anhydrite.

POLLUTION CONTROL

DUST COLLECTION: Cyclones are typically 95% efficient dropping to ca 60% for
particles less than 5µ. Normal inlet/outlet velocity is 10-20M/sec, pressure drop 50-
150mmH2O, and aspect ratio (height: diameter) 3-5.

Electrostatic precipitators (EPs) comprise an array of discharge wires at 50-100KV

negative potential and earthed collecting plates. Pressure drop is about 15-20mmH2O
and power consumption 0.2-0.3 kWh/1000M3.

Efficiency varies with particle size and operation is described by the Deutsch formula-

n = 1 – e –(w.t/a)
Where n = efficiency %
t = retention time (sec)
a = gap (M)
w = migration velocity (M/sec)

Migration velocity reflects dust resistivity, particle size, field intensity, gas viscoasity,
and other design parameters and should range 0.07-0.10M/sec.

Bag filters Air to cloth ratio M3:M2/h) should be 30-50 for woven fabrics and 100-140
for needle felts. Pressure drop is typically 150-250 mm H2O and efficiency 99.95%.

POLLUTION CONTROL: CO in stack emissions is usually attributed to overall deficiency of

oxygen in the burning zone or to poor fuel/air mixing.

NOx is formed during fuel combustion by oxidation of nitrogen compounds in the fuel
(fuel NOx) and of the nitrogen from combustion air (thermal NOx).

NO produced in the kiln is related to:

Flame temperature.
Flame shape.
Type of fuel.
Excess O2.
Gas retention time in burning zone.
Load temperature.
Load retention time in burning zone.
In short, hot flame, excess combustion air, and high secondary air temperature all raise
NO, while fuel moisture dust insufflations or a high dust entrainment in secondary air
reduce NO formation. Also, a hard burning mix will lead to increased NO and certainly,
overburning is to be avoided.
QUALITY CONTROL
CONCRETE PROBLEMS: ASTM C94 specifies ready-mix concrete. A typical
concrete mix may be:
Water 7% by weight.
Cement 13%
Fine aggregate, -6mm (dry) 32%
Coarse aggregate, +6mm (dry) 48%
Water reducer (0.25% of cement weight)

Slump Loss is a normal phenomenon which takes place with prolonged mixing.
Typically, a 125mm slump will fall to 100mm after 15 minutes and 50mm after 60
minutes. Higher slump losses will occur with porous aggregates, with elevated
temperatures, and with superplasticizer incompatibility.

Surface cracking may be due to:

Rapid or premature surface drying of finished concrete
Excessive working or premature floating which causes a high cement-content
surface.
High slump (excessive water content)
Dusting on of dry cement to hasten drying.

Plastic shrinkage cracks are random, relatively deep cracks which form away from the
edge of the slab while still plastic. They are caused by:
Rapid drying of surface.
Low bleeding characteristics (mitigate with chemical admixture or by adjusting
fine aggregate gradation).
Sub base, aggregate, or formwork not pre-saturated.

Deeper cracks can be due to:

High slump concrete with consequent high shrinkage
Poor aggregate gradation.
Rusting of re-bar too close to surface.
Structural settlement from lack of footings.
Restrained concrete or inadequate relief joints
Alkali – aggregate reactivity.
Freeze/thaw of non-air entrained concrete.
Cracks, when stable, can be repaired by injecting epoxy.

Surface scaling is the breaking away of a 1-5mm surface layer and may be caused by:
Unsound aggregate
Freezing
Premature finishing
Excessive fine aggregate (100#)
Surface dusting of floor slabs is caused by:
High slump concrete
Premature finishing
Surface drying
Water adsorbing formwork.

Yield concrete is supplied by volume (M3 or yd3) but is batched by weight. The unit
weight (density) of concrete is sensitive to air content, and high air mixes may lose air
(and volume) due to contamination or to excessive mixing. Commonly however yield
questions result from incorrect measurement of volume due to uneven ground or sagging
forms.

Low strength of concrete cylinder can result from:

High air content.
Incorrect mix, most commonly high water cement ratio.
Incorrect sampling or molding.
Improper curing.
Incorrect capping.

Cement content of concrete can be confirmed by arithmetic comparison of usually, CaO

analyses of cement, aggregates and concrete. SiO2 analysis may be employed when
limestone aggregate is present.

Low strength questions usually arise from the results of breaking test cylinders. Core
samples may then be taken to confirm the strength problem, which, frequently, proves to
be due to incorrect handling or storage of the test cylinders rather than to defective
concrete.

Efflorescence is usually due to passage of water cracks carrying unreacted lime to the
surface where it reacts with CO2 to precipitate CaCO3. It is prevented by ensuring that the
concrete is watertight. Occasionally, other water-soluble salts such as alkali sulfates can
be involved.

Pop-outs are usually conical, 2-10cm in diameter at the surface, and 15cm deep. The
cause is expansion of aggregate after setting and may be due to:
Freezing of water in porous aggregate.
Alkali-aggregate reactivity.
Contamination by burnt lime or dolomite or by broken glass.
Oxidation of sulfide or magnetite in aggregate.

Lumpy or low-strength cement is usually caused by protracted or improper storage

allowing partial hydration.

False set is the result of gypsum dehydration due to overheating of cement

(CaSO4.2H2O→ CaSO4.1/2 H2O). Upon mixing with water, crystallization of reformed
gypsum causes stiffening of the mix within a few minutes. Usually this is only a problem
with very rapid mixing systems as false set can be broken up after a few minutes and no
subsequent problems result.

ACCOUNTING
PROFIT AND LOSS STATEMENTS: With some variation in terminology
(income/earnings/profit), statements are expressed.
Sales revenues
- Cost of sales → Gross profit
- Distribution costs
- Administrative expenses → EBITDA
- Depreciation / amortization → Operating income
+Other income
- Interest payable
- Foreign exchange adjustments
- Tax → Net before extraordinary items
+/- Extraordinary items → Net income
- dividends → Retained income.
EBITDA is “Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization”.
Trading income is used more or less interchangeably with operating income.

Cash flow is an important concept because a company can be profitable and insolvent at
the same time. Cash flow is variously defined and is determined from the “Statement of
Cash Flow”.
Cash inflow = Net borrowing
+ Funds from new equity
+ Operating income.
+ Sale of assets.

Cash outflow = Dividends paid.

+ Tax paid
+ Purchase of assets

Net cash flow = Cash inflow – Cash outflow

= Increase in working capital.

POWDER

SPECIFIC POWER CONSUMPTION:

Quarrying & preblend 5% 6kWh/t

Raw milling 24 28
Blending 6 7
Burning & cooling 22 25
Finish milling 38 44
Conveying, packing & loading 5 6
Total 116kWh/t
 FANS AND AIR HANDLING

FAN LAWS:

Shaft kW = Q x δp / 367,000 x η
Where Q = gas flow, AM3
δp = fan static pressure, mmH2O
η = fan efficiency
- ca 0.68 for radial tip
- 0.80 for backward curved
For a fan with fixed speed and fixed resistance, the static pressure and kW increase in
proportion to gas density.

Fan curves are for one speed, impeller diameter, and gas density only. Fans are usually
operated to the left of the curve where pressure and kW do not change greatly with
changes in flow. Curve shape depends upon impeller blade shape.

Radial blades show the least variation of static pressure with flow. Efficiency is
55-60% increasing by about 5% if the impeller is closed-sided, and decreasing by
5% with dust entrainment.
Backward curved blades provide the lowest static pressure for a given rotor size.
They are, however, the most efficient typically 75-80%, again slightly lower with
dust entrainment. Backward curved fans are now standard for kiln id.
Forward curved fans develop the maximum static pressure for a given rotor size.

FAN MECHANICAL: Fan shaft diameter is generally designed to give a rigid rotor
critical speed at least 1.4 times the maximum operating speed, which, in most cases, will
provide adequate shaft strength.

Lubricated couplings are not usually suitable for kiln system ID fans as they require
periodic recharging of lubricant, which may not be feasible with long kiln runs.
GAS PROPERTIES:
Density g/L SH cal/g/ 0 C LH Evap cal /g
Air 1.293 0.237
CO2 1.977 0.199
O2 1.429 0.218
N2 1.250 0.248
SO2 2.927 0.154
H2O (100oC) 0.581 0.482 539.5

FALSE AIR: Air inleakage through an aperture of area A (M2) with pressure differential δp
(mmH2O) can be approximately calculated from:

Volume, M3 / h = 8,900 x A x √ δp
STACK DRAFT:
Theoretical draft, mmH2O 0.46H.P(1/Ta – 1/Ts)
Where H = Stack height, M
P= Atmospheric pressure, mm Hg
Ta = ambient temp, 0K
Ts = average stack temp. 0K

CONVEYING
COMPARITIVE POWER CONSUMPTION FOR LIFT:
KWh/t/100M
Airlift 1.10
Dense phase pump 0.59
Screw pump 1.20
Bucket elevator 0.41

FULLER KINYON PUMP: For kiln feed and cement approximate pump capacities are:

Pump Capacity Conveying air

200M 100t/h 2,500NM3/h
250M 250 6,500
300M 500 13,000
8”H 120 3,000
10”H 260 6,500
BUCKET ELEVATOR POWER:
kW = k.C.H/367
Where C = load, tonnes/hour
H = height, M
k = coeft verying from 1.2 for fed buckets to 2.0 for nodular material with
high scooping resistance.

SCREW CONVEYOR POWER:

kW = 2.25(L+9)(C/530)
Where L = length, M
AIRSLIDE: Air slide are inclined at 4-100 with aeration compartment lengths of upto 5M. Air
pressure is typically 40cm H2O air volume is 2M3/M2/min and power consumption
approximately 0.01kW/t/10M (Labahn). Dust collection is required to maintain upper
compartment under negative pressure.

DRAG CHAIN POWER: kW = (C.L/220)+0.8

WATER PUMP POWER:

kW = Q.H/6.1e
Where H = head, M
Q = flow, M3/min
e = pump efficiency (typically) 0.6-0.9 for positive displacement
pumps increasing with pump size)

MILLING (BALLS MILLS)

SIEVE SIZES:
4# 4.75mm 50# 300µ 200# 74 µ
8# 2.36mm 100# 149 µ 325# 44 µ
16# 1.18mm 120# 125 µ 400# 37 µ
30# 0.60mm 170# 88 µ

MILL CIRCULATING LOAD: Samples are taken at the separator during stable operation
of feed (P), fines(F), and return ( R). Each sample is screened on 170# or 200# for raw
milling and 325# for cement milling. Then:

Circulating load, CL % = 100(P-F)/(F-R)

Where F = feed % - 200#
P = product % -200#
R = rejects % -200#
MILL CRITICAL SPEED: The rotational speed of the mill relative to the speed at which
centrifugal force just counters gravitation and prevents ball tumbling. Mills usually
operate at 70-80% of critical speed.
Cs, rpm = 42.3/√ D
Where D = mill diameter, M

CHARGE VOLUME LOADING:

Loading VL % = 100[πr2(O/360)-(Ch/2)] / πr2
Where r = mill radius, M
H = free height, M
h = H-r
C = width of charge surface
= 2√ r2-h2
O = angle subtended at mill axis by charge surface
Sin1/2 O = 2√ r2-h2/r
MILL POWER: The approximate power consumption of a mill can also be calculated
from:
kW = 7.5Gw√ D
where Gw = ball charge, t
D = mill internal diameter, M

BALL WEIGHT & SURFACE AREA:

Ømm kg/ball #balls/t SA M2/t
20 0.033 30,600 38.46
25 0.064 15,700 30.77
30 1.110 9,100 25.64
40 0.261 3,830 19.23
50 0.511 1,960 15.38
60 0.882 1,130 12082
70 1.40 710 10.99
80 2.09 480 9.61

Steel density is assumed 7.8g.cm2

Bulk density of a mixed ball charge may be taken as 4550kg/M3

Charge loss of approximately 20-50g/t

KILN & BURNING

BURNABILITY FACTOR:
A useful compromise is Miller’s empirical formula for burning at 14000C:
% Free lime1400 = 0.31(%LSF-100) + 2.18(S/R-1.8) + 0.73Q + 0.33C + 0.34A

THEORETICAL HEAT OF FORMATION OF CLINKER:

Heat in: Heat raw materials 20-4500C 170kcal/kg

Dehydration of clay at 4500 40
Heat materials 450-9000 195
Dissociation of CaCO3 at 9000 475
Heat materials 900-14000 125
Net head of melting 25
1030
Heat out: Exothermic cryst. Of dehydrated clay 10
Exothermic formation of cement cmpds. 100
Cooling clinker 1400-200 360
Cooling CO2 900-200 120
Cooling and condensing steam 450-200 20
610
Net theoretical heat required to form 1kg clinker, Q = 420kcal

Heat of formation for specific mix designs can be calculated:

(Q = 4.11A1 + 6.48Mg + 7.646Ca – 5.116Si – 0.59Fe)
KILN HEAT BALANCE (referred to 200C):
Kcal/kg Typical
(4-stage SP)
Heat in:
Kiln feed (_ kg x _ 0C x 0.22) ____ 15
Fuel(_ kg x kcal/kg NCV) ____ 835
Total air (_ NM3 x 1.293 x 0.237 x _ 0C) ____ 0

Total kcal/kg clinker in ____ 850

Heat out:
Theoretical heat of clinker burning ____ 420
Moisture evaporation (_ kgKF x _ % x 5.40) ____ 5
Kiln exhaust (_NM3 x D SH x 0C) ____ 180
Entrained dust (_kg x 0.22 x 0C) ____ 3
Bypass gas (_NM3 x D x SH x 0C) ____ -
Bypass dust (_kg x SH x 0C) ____ -
Cooler exhaust (NM3 x 1.293 x 0.237 x _ 0C) ____ 100
Clinker (1kg x 0.20 x _ 0C) ____ 14
Radiation, preheater ____ 35
Kiln ____ 90
Cooler ____ 3

Total kcal/kg clinker out ____ 850

Note:
1. All weights and gas volumes are relative to 1kg clinker.
2. Temperature (0C) are relative to 200C (or ambient)
3. Kiln feed, kiln dust, and clinker specific heats can be calculated from
standard values for components and temperatures, confirmed
empirically, or typical values may be used (kcal/kg/0C):

200 20-5000 20-7000 20-9000 20-11000 20-14000

Kiln Feed 0.21 0.249 0.259 0.265
Clinker 0.91 0.220 0.229 0.236 0.242 0.262

KILN GAS VELOCITIES:

Upper limits:
Hood 6 M/sec
Under cooler bull-nose 10
Burning zone (14500C) 9.5
Feed end transition (10000C) 13
Riser 24
Preheater gas ducts 18
Downcomer 28
Lower limits:
Tertiary duct 25
Pulverized coal conveying 20
KILN HEAT LOADING:
 Heat Loading, kcal/M2 / h = F x GCV / π(D/2) 2
Where F = kiln fuel rate, kg/h
FCV = gross calorific value of fuel, kcal/kg
D = effective kiln diameter, M

Heat loading should not normally exceed 5x106 kcal / M2 /h but can be upto 6x106

Note that heat loading calculation requires gross calorific value and excludes fuel burned
in riser or calciner.

KILN RETENTION TIME:

The US Bureau of Mines formula for retention time (mins) gives;
T = 11.2L/r.D.s
Where L = kiln length, M
r = kiln speed, rpm
D = effective diameter, M
s = slope, 0

KILN VOLUME LOADING:

Kiln volume loading is typically 10-13% and can be approximately calculated:
% loading = 1.5 W.t/L.A
where W = clinker production, t/h
A = effective cross-sectional area, M2

Note that volumetric loading depends upon estimated retention time and upon the degree
of precalcination of material at the kiln inlet.

Alternatively, the specific kiln capacity is expressed in relation to the effective kiln
volume as kg clinker produced /M3 / hour with typical ranges:

SP without riser firing 80-90kg/M3 / h

ILC or SP with riser firing 100-130kg/M3 /h
SLC 120-150kg/M3 /h
Very large SLC kilns are now being designed with over 180kg/M3 /h.

KILN DRIVE POWER:

kW = πL(D/2) 2 / 4.7
Installed power should be twice the calculated or normal operating value.

COOLER EFFICIENCY:
E % = C1 – (V + C2 + R) / Ct
Where C1 = heat content of clinker from kiln.
C2 = heat content of clinker out.
V = heat content of cooler vent air.
R = cooler radiation.
Typical efficiencies are 60-70% for conventional cooler and 70-80% for an airbeam
system.
KILN EXHAUST GAS (COAL): Total gas = 1.24 NM3 / kg clinker or 1.52 kg/kg clinker

Thus, total combustion air required (primary, secondary, tertiary and false air) can be
approximately estimated from:

NM3 / kg clinker = kcal/kg/1000x1.122

Where kcal/kg = net specific fuel consumption
Kg air/kg clinker = NM3/kg x 1.494

Total kiln exhaust gas can be approximately estimated from:

NM3 / kg clinker = [kcal/kg/1000x1.122) + 0.274] [1 + (%O2 x 4.76/100)]

CIRCULATION OF VOLATILE COMPONENTS:

K, Na, S and C1 are all subject to partial evaporation at kiln burning zone temperatures:

KCI NaCl CaCl2 K2SO4 Na2SO4 CaSO4 K2CO3 Na2CO3 CaSO4

0
MPt, C 776 801 772 1069 884 1450 891 851 896D
B Pt, 0C 1500s 1413 1689