11 OTHER KILN TYPES LONG WET, LONG DRY, GRATE PREHEATER, VERTICAL SHAFT & FLUIDISED BED The earliest cement kilns were vertical shafts in which mixtures of raw materials and solid fuel were burned in a natural draft of combustion air. Ransome introduced the rotary kiln in the 1880s and this allowed more uniform heat transfer and controlled clinker burning. Initially rotary kilns used slurry feed ~ the wet process ~ as this facilitated raw material grinding and homogenising. In certain areas of the United States, shortage of water led to a variant, the long dry kiln, which required, and resulted in, improved pneumatic blending systems. It was acknowledged that, while the rotary kiln was an excellent device for heat transfer and materials handling at clinker burning temperatures, it was inefficient for preheating and calcination. The first alternative approach to preheating was the Lepol, or grate preheater, system where nodulised raw materials are conveyed on a travelling grate permeated by hot kiln exhaust gas; with appropriate raw materials this process is successful. Ultimately, however, it was determined that the most effi- cient low temperature heat exchange and calcination can be effected in air suspension and this led first to the cyclone preheater and later to the addition of separately fueled precalcination. These last two systems now predominate and have been the substance of this book. Typical comparative data, with considerable variation, is as follows: Maximum rating Specific fuel Length:Diameter (tpd) (kcal/kg) Shaft kiln, 200 900-1000 Long wet kiln 2,000 1200-1500 32-38, Long dry kiln 2,000 900-1200 32-38 Lepol kiln 2,000 800- 900 14-16 Cyclone preheater kiln 2,000 800-900 14-16 Precalciner kiln 11,000 700-850 11-16 Cement Plant Operations Handbook ¢ 161 °o =| = mM = =) a | = vl =e a] au "2It has also been observed that the grindability of cement differs signifi- cantly with kiln type. Relative power consumptions for clinker types are: Lepol kiln 100 (softest) Cyclone preheater kiln 107 Long wet kiln 112 Long dry kiln 117 (hardest) 11.1 Long Wet Kiln Long wet kilns were predominant until the appearance of cyclone pre- heaters in the 1950s. They are now obsolescent though they may still justify their existence where they are fully depreciated, where the mar- ket demands only a small production capacity and where fuel is cheap. Wet kilns also avoid the need for drying of naturally wet raw materials and the homogenising of slurry is still usually more effective than the blending of dry raw meal. Raw materials are milled with addition of water to a total of, typically, 30-35% by weight, to form a slurry which is stored and blended in tanks with continuous agitation (rotating rake augmented with air jets) before feeding to the kiln. Water is adjusted to produce a consistency which allows ease of conveying without segregation. As evaporation of the water involves a considerable heat penalty, use of water reducing agents may be justified; 1% water reduction is equivalent to about 15kcal/kg clinker. An approximate correlation of slurry density to water content is: 30% water by weight = 1220kq/M? 32% = 1160 34% = 1100 To enhance evaporation of water by increasing surface area for heat exchange, to facilitate the handling of feed as it transitions from slurry through plastic material, and to detrain dust from kiln exhaust gas, chain systems are hung within the kiln shell (Figure 11-1). A typical sys- tem would comprise one to two diameters of bare shell followed by one diameter of curtain chains as a dust curtain (curtain chains are lengths of chain about 75% the diameter of the kiln and attached at one end only in successive circles around the circumference of the shell). Next come some five diameters of spiral curtain chain to break up and convey the 162 + Cement Plant Operations HandbookFigure 11.1: Kiln Types & Chain Systems GARLAND CHAIN GAS DUCT NODULIZER__/ GRATE ry fn, exis SS as. eee lea ee J KILN a BULKHEAD J - GRATE PREHEATER KILN COOLER CHIMNEY ~~ ROTATING FEED CHUTE 09.08 S89] S823 Sa 3 8 205 Fe 5S ce S Sreed By OLINKER MELLAIR VECTORS DISCHARGS VERTICAL CHUTE” SHAFT KILN ROTATING DISCHARGE GRATE 2 Cement Plant Operations Handbook * 163 jo} pa = Ue a a a = =_ =< UV uu Nndrying (plastic) feed down the kiln (Figure 11.1). While curtain chains are easier to manage, garland chains have been claimed to give better efficiency (garland chains are attached to the shell at both ends; the attachments should be 90° apart in a spiral down the axis of the kiln and the chain should hang slightly below the centre line). Usually there is a second section of bare shell near the down-hill end of the chains to reduce circumpherential imbalance in gas temperature and material conveying, Duda recommends chain design parameters of 12% of daily clinker production for total chain loading and surface area of 6-8.5M?/MP of chain section volume; de Beus (ICR; 12/1997, pg 41) sug- gests 15% and 6-10M?/M® respectively. Chain consumption is about 100g/t clinker. The feed material leaves the chain section at 5-10% moisture and pro- ceeds to the preheating, calcining, and burning zones of the kiln. Total material retention time in a long wet kiln is approximately 3 hours and gas is discharged at 150-200°C. Dust loss with exhaust gas should ideally be 8-10% but is often much higher as kiln production is increased with resulting increase in gas velocity. Return of dust to the slurry system is inadvisable as it fre- quently causes agglomeration and sedimentation. Up to 5% relative to clinker weight can be returned by insufflation into the kiln flame; beyond this quantity, flame cooling becomes unacceptable. Alternatives are separate slurrying in a vortex mixer and parallel injection with the main feed, and return using scoops which inject the dust slightly down- hill from the chain section or into a bare section of kiln near the down- hill end of the chains. The basic causes of high dust loss, however, are gas velocity and chain design and condition. 11.2 Long Dry Kiln Long dry kilns differ from wet kilns primarily in raw grinding and han- dling and in their lower specific fuel consumption. Within the kiln itself, dry kilns use only curtain chains as the requirement is for heat exchange and dust detrainment rather than for conveying. Usually, 6-7 diameters of curtain chain are employed below about 2 diameters of bare shell at the feed end; approximately half is hung in rings perpendicular to the Kiln axis and the lower half is hung ina spiral arrangement. Chain load- ing is some 10% of daily kiln production. The gas discharge tempera- ture of long dry kilns is typically in excess of 300°C and, if available, 164 * Cement Plant Operations Handbook.water is sprayed into the feed end to reduce gas temperature before dust collection. 11.3 Lepol (Grate Preheater) Kiln Polysius introduced this system during the 1930s and achieved a dra- matic reduction in specific fuel consumption from the wet process. Nodulised feed is conveyed on a travelling grate through which the hot kiln exhaust gas is passed, originally once but, in a later development, twice. The material was preheated to approximately 900°C before enter- ing the kiln while the exhaust gas was cooled to below 150°C, humidi- fied for dust collection, and filtered by the material bed to a low dust concentration. Raw materials may be either wet milled and filter- pressed to yield a cake of about 20% moisture, or dry milled and nodulised in an inclined rotating pan with a water spray to a moisture content of 11-15%. Wet milling offers the possibility of extracting solu- ble salts such as chloride which may then be removed with the filtrate. If the cake or nodules do not possess good mechanical and thermal sta- bility — usually associated with clay ingredients ~ there is excessive dis- integration on the grate and loss of efficiency. The second (low temperature) exhaust gas pass through the grate dries and preheats the material. The first pass involves an initial gas temperature of about 1000°C and a final temperature below 500°C; this serves to condense volatiles exhausted from the kiln and it was found that if the gas were passed through cyclones between the first and second pass, the collect- ed dust contained a high concentration of volatiles, thereby providing an effective bypass. The material is discharged to the kiln inlet at incip- ient calcination and the short kiln thereafter operates similarly to a cyclone preheater kiln (Figure 11.1). 11.4 Vertical Shaft Kiln Shaft kilns originally constituted the only available technology from the beginnings of lime burning which can be traced at least to Greece in the 5th century BC. Since the beginning of the 20th century they have been largely superseded by rotary kilns. However, there remain areas where, due to lack of infrastructure, very small production units are appropriate and where relatively simple construction methods do not demand high cement quality. Such conditions can still favour shaft kilns and many are to be found in China, India, and in a number of developing countries (Reiter; AC; 11/1997, pg 23). Cement Plant Operations Handbook * 165 oO pear = uu = a ae = a oa a”) oa ~”nTraditional shaft kilns were basically holes in the ground using mixtures of unground feed roughly mixed with solid fuel and burned in batches with natural draft. The lack of feed homogeneity together with non-uni- form ventilation gave rise to widely varying temperature and oxidising conditions so that quality was low and erratic. Considerable advances have been made and Rajbhandari (WC; 1/1995, pg 65) describes Spohn's black meal process as one of the most advanced shaft kiln tech- nologies presently available (Figure 11.1). Practical unit capacities are 20-200t/d. Raw materials and solid fuel are ground together and nodulised (black meal process). Alternatively, but less effectively, raw mix and fuel can be ground separately and then blended and nodulised (white meal process). As with the Lepol kiln, stable nodules are important and usu- ally require both a clay component and a solid fuel with less than 16% volatile content. The fuel may be coal, charcoal, coke, or petroleum coke. The kiln shaft is filled with the prepared mix and air is blown into the shaft at and near the base. The material is in turn heated, calcined, and burned at progressively higher temperatures as it moves down the shaft counter-current to the combustion air. Near the base the clinker, with fuel already consumed, is rapidly cooled by the injected air and is discharged through a gate. Production is continuous with new feed added at the top to balance discharge. The process is, therefore, basically similar to that of rotary kilns. The principal difference is in uniformity; the rotary kiln ensures that the material is constantly agitated and that all material is subject to the same retention time and heat transfer. In the shaft kiln, however, there is a definite thermal gradient with the core material reaching a maxi- mum temperature of ca 1450°C, some 200° higher than material at the walls. Differential melting of the material tends to increase air flow velocity at the walls which reinforces heat loss through the walls to exacerbate the difference. More sophisticated shaft kilns can compen- sate for this with increased peripheral fuel concentration and reduced wall heat loss. Retention time above 1250°C is typically 30 minutes. Increasing the air flow through the bed both increases production rate and clinker quality; the necessary air injection pressures (1000-2500mm WG) require an efficient air lock on the clinker discharge; either a triple gate or a controlled choke flow (seal leg). In practice, the seal leg is too dependent upon clinker bulk density and porosity to be effective and 166 * Cement Plant Operations Handbookthe triple gate is preferred. In recent years there has also been a trend to increased diameter and reduced height to an aspect ratio of 2.5-3.0 but the diameter is usually limited to about 2.4M as increasing diameter makes uniform air distribution more difficult to achieve. Modern shaft kiln designs can be fully instrumented and PLC controlled. 11.5 Fluidised Bed Kiln Kawasaki has been working to develop a fluidized bed kiln and has reported on the operation of a 200t/day unit (Hashimoto; ZKG; 1/1999, Pg 1). The equipment comprises a cyclone preheater, calciner, granula- tion fluidised bed, clinker fluidised bed, and packed bed cooler all in the same tower. The granulation bed is controlled at 1300°C and the clinkering bed at 1400°C. Advantages of the process are: low heat consumption due to high cooler efficiency and low radiation loss B low NOx emission BH low CO? emission due to reduced specific fuel consumption B low capital cost & flexibility for the production of different clinker types. Problems are still being addressed in controlling the granulation process, in avoiding coating build-up, and in achieving stable opera- tion. If these obstacles can be overcome, commercial application may be attractive. Cement Plant Operations Handbook © 167 fo) pr = mat = is rf = a =< a”) oa 2)