Pyroprocessing 3.

Solid Fuel Dosing Systems

Pyroprocessing in cement kilns

3. Dosing Systems for solid fuels

At this stage it is important to reiterate the point made in the last two sessions
that the reactions between free CaO and SiO2 to form C2S and C3S in a cement
kilns are energy releasing or exothermic reactions, and that this makes a major
contribution to heating and maintaining the temperature in the kiln. Because of
this exothermic reaction, a cement kiln is partially self-fuelling, provided that the
temperature is kept above 1400°C, which is the threshold temperature for C3S
formation. If the temperature falls below 1400°C the C3S formation stops, the
exothermic contribution is lost and the kiln very quickly cools down and blacks
out.

This is the reason why accurate feeding systems

for kiln feed and fuels are vital for cement kilns.
The picture shows Pfister rotor weigh-feeders for
delivering precise amounts of finely ground coal to
the precalciner and main burner of a modern, dry
process cement kiln. We must accurately balance
the thermal energy input in the fuels with the
energy requirements of the process for the
conversion of the raw minerals in the kiln feed into
the clinker minerals. We must also ensure that
there is sufficient thermal energy input to maintain
the heat capacity in the system and the
temperatures in the burning zone of the kiln at
above 1400°C so that the C3S formation takes
place releasing thermal energy to partially fuel the
kiln.

For dosing solid fuels to the kiln the type of firing system is an important
consideration.

In a direct fired system the feed

Raw Coal rate of raw solid fuel to the grinding
Bin system determines the amount of
Kiln
thermal energy delivered to the kiln
Firing Fan
and therefore it is the accuracy of
the raw solid fuel feeding systems
Raw Coal which are of paramount
Feeder
importance. However, such direct
fired systems are increasingly rare
Coal Mill due to the inherently higher kiln
thermal energy consumption which

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 Pyroprocessing 3. Solid Fuel Dosing Systems

they entail. We must remember that the solid fuel is dried in the grinding mill as
well as being finely ground. If all the gas sweeping the mill is vented to the kiln
then the moisture dried from the solid fuel will be vented to the kiln, increasing
the kiln exhaust gas volume and the thermal energy losses in that kiln exhaust
gas.

In a semi-indirect firing system the hot Raw Coal

Fine Coal
Collection
gases sweeping the solid fuel firing mill Bin
Cyclone
are vented to the kiln after the finely Firing Fan Fine Coal Bin
ground solid fuel has been collected. An Fine Coal
advantage of such a system is that the Feeder
Raw Coal
amount of combustion air delivered to Feeder
the kiln with the finely ground solid fuel Kiln

can be controlled to limit NOx formation.

Coal Mill
But considerable safety provisions have
to be introduced around the fine coal
collection cyclone and fine coal bin, as
discussed in the CemNet Grinding and
Milling course. The fine coal feeder now becomes the most important feeder for
kiln control. However, the problem of venting the moisture dried from the solid
fuel in the grinding mill to the kiln remains. It also means that a relatively
constant, but unknown amount of fuel is delivered to the kiln with the gases
exhausted from the mill. In such a situation it is not sensible to install an overly
accurate, expensive, finely ground solid fuel dosing system.

Mill Filter We are going to return to firing

Fine Coal systems and burners when we
Raw Coal
Bin
Collection
Cyclone
Mill Fan progress to discuss precalciners
and the rotary section of the
Fine Coal Bin
Fine Coal
kiln. At this stage of the course it
Feeder will suffice to say that the
Raw Coal
Feeder
majority of modern, dry process
Kiln cement kilns are provided with
fully indirect firing systems. This
Coal Mill
entails the gases sweeping the
solid fuel grinding mill having
their separate dedusting system
and those gases being vented
to atmosphere. Again the fine
coal feeder is the important
feeder and now it is worthwhile
installing an expensive,
accurate feeder.

In these indirect solid fuel firing systems essentially the same principles are
applied for dosing finely ground solid fuels to the kiln as for kiln feed. If the fine

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Pyroprocessing 3. Solid Fuel Dosing Systems

coal dosing bin is mounted on load cells and the

coal extracted by a volumetric screw feeder then
the loss-in-weight of the fine coal dosing bin can
be used to calibrate the volumetric screws. Load Cell Load Cell
Variation of the speed of the screws provides for
the adjustment of the amount of finely ground
coal delivered to the kiln. This is an example of
“feed-forward” control where the measurement
of the amount of coal being delivered is ahead of
the delivery device.

Alternatively an impact weighing device can

be installed after the volumetric coal screws
to monitor the mass of coal being delivered
by the screws in a form of “feed-back”
control. This will involve a small time lag
Load Cell Load Cell before any deviation in the amount of coal
being delivered to kiln is corrected. An
impact weighing device alone will only give
+/-2% accuracy, which is insufficient for the
Load Cell control of fully indirect fired, modern, dry
process cement kilns. However, such a
system will be adequate for semi-indirect
firing system.

1. Horizontal rotor feeder Schenck’s combination of their

(Starfeeder).
Multicell feeding and Multicor
measuring systems also work on
a form of “feed back” control. The
finely ground solid fuel is
extracted by their Multicell
horizontal rotary feeder, while the
2. Multicor Coriolis amount of solid fuel being
measuring device. extracted is measured by their
Multicor measuring system which
measures the Coriolis force which
acts on particles passing over a
rotating wheel. These systems
provide the +/-0.5% accuracy that
is required for solid fuel dosing to
modern, dry process cement
kilns.

In contrast the Pfister rotor weigh-feeder consists of a horizontal rotary feeder

with integral weigher and control electronics. The equipment therefore fulfils the
dual tasks of (i) feeding the material into the process, and (ii) metering that feed

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Pyroprocessing 3. Solid Fuel Dosing Systems

via weighing and adjustment of the feeding rate. These compact systems also
provide the +/-0.5% accuracy that is required for solid fuel dosing to modern, dry
process cement kilns.

1. Pulverised coal
flows into the rotor 2. Weight of coal
feeder. in rotor feeder is
sensed.

3. Speed of rotor feeder

is adjusted to
compensate for any
deviations before the
coal is discharged into
the process.

The fact that solid fuel feeders to a cement kiln work on gravimetric principles,
delivering an accurately controlled weight or mass of fuel to the kiln can lead to
problems with kiln stability if the calorific value of the fuel being delivered is
changing for any reason. What would ideally be required would be to deliver a
carefully measured and controlled amount of thermal energy to the kiln. This is
not possible as there is no feeder for solid fuels currently available which will
simultaneously and instantly measure the weight of fuel and its calorific value.

Variations in the calorific value of solid fuels delivered to a cement kiln are not
uncommon, with the most common cause being variations in the ash content of
the solid fuels. Some coals have inherently variable ash content and in this case
a coal blending bed should ideally be provided to smooth out such variations. It
should also be remembered that the cement kiln process also artificially
increases the ash content of the solid fuels burnt on the kiln.

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Pyroprocessing 3. Solid Fuel Dosing Systems

In the preceding session of the course we said

that some of the preheater exhaust gas is ducted Fuel Exhaust
to the coal mill for drying the coal in inert coal Preparation Gas
Cleaning
grinding systems, and then to its own exhaust
gas filter. That would be the case with an inert
coal grinding system, meaning that the exhaust
gas used for drying the coal in the mill contains Preheater
less that 10% oxygen due to being preheater
exhaust gas.

Equally cooler exhaust excess air could be used

for drying the coal in the coal mill, in which case
the grinding system would be non-inert and there
would be a greater danger of explosions in the
coal grinding system. Such an arrangement
would be most likely to be found with a direct
firing system where the finely ground coal was
blown directly into the kiln with the cooler air
used for drying the coal in the coal mill.

In either case the gases used for drying the coal in the coal mill will contain dust
which will be entrained into the finely ground coal and thereby increase it’s ash
content. In the case of an inert grinding system the dust will be kiln feed, while in
a non-inert grinding system the dust will be clinker. There might or might not be a
cyclone in the duct to the coal mill to collect some dust, but this will increase the
pressure drop across the coal mill and the size of coal mill fan that is required.

The fact that dust is entrained into the finely ground coal increasing its ash
content presents no problem when the whole system is operating. The amount of
dust entrained into the finely ground coal remains virtually constant and therefore
the ash content and calorific value of the coal delivered to the kiln also remain
virtually constant. In that situation a gravimetric fine coal feeding system is fully
capable of delivering the required amount of thermal energy into the kiln.

However, problems can arise if there is any reason to operate the whole system
abnormally. Very severe kiln blackouts have been experienced when hot gas
generators are used intermittently to dry the coal in the coal mill. When a hot gas
generator is used there will be no dust entrainment into the fine coal, the ash
content will be correspondingly lower and the calorific value higher. Problems of
insufficient thermal energy being delivered to the kiln can then be experienced
when the system is switched back to drying the coal in the coal mill with
preheater or cooler exhaust gas. These do contain dust, which is entrained into
the fine coal, increasing its ash content and lowering its calorific value. The
gravimetric fine coal feeder has no means of measuring this change in the
calorific value of the coal. Insufficient thermal energy is delivered to the kiln
unless the operator intervenes and manually increased the weight of fine coal

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Pyroprocessing 3. Solid Fuel Dosing Systems

delivered to the kiln. The kiln operator also has no means of knowing when the
calorific value of the coal changes as the fine coal is stored in silos with an
indirect firing system.

The foregoing illustrates the complexities of designing and operating a cement

kiln. All operating modes and their potential impacts on the process must be
taken into consideration. In particular the implications of changing from one
operating mode to another.

Transport of the finely ground solid fuel to the burners of the kiln is normally by
pneumatic means. There are no concerns regarding increasing the amount of
false air in the kiln, as air must be provided for the combustion of the solid fuel.
There is the consideration of safety where transport equipment for finely ground
solid fuel must be explosion resistant. This is more readily achieved with a
pneumatic transport system than a mechanical transport system.

However, there are certain important design considerations attached to these

finely ground solid fuel pneumatic conveying systems. The amount of conveying
air required is dependent on the distance over which the finely ground solid fuel
must be transported. For short distances of <30m then ~0.2 kg of air per kg of
fuel is sufficient, but as the conveying distances increase so the amount of air per
kg of fuel must increase. The dimensions of the pneumatic pipework must also
be such that a minimum of 25 m/s conveying velocity is maintained and ideally in
excess of 30 m/s. This velocity is required to prevent settling out of the finely
ground solid fuel in the pipelines and attendant pulsing of the fuel into the kiln.
Also important in this regard is that the conveying pipe layout should have the
minimum of bends. Ideally the pipe should consist entirely of straight horizontal
and vertical sections with diverting pots at each change of direction.

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