Burning zone refractory failure K.P.

PRADEEP KUMAR

The coating is thin and washed away from the brick Surface. Around 9 meter area. High variation in chemistry when OPC clinker is switched over to Oil well cement or sulfate resistant Cement. The second reason is Formation of distorted flame which Eroded the coating and brick. With Petcoke firing the liquid becomes more Viscous and destruct the bricks.

SDCCL

The mag chrome got eroded due to high thermo-chemical load. Some how alumina bricks retain the coating and prolonged condition of this condition would have damaged the alumina bricks too.

Perilex-83

Lofal -70 9 m area

SDCCL

SDCCL

Perilex bricks at 11.5 m. Bricks undergone severe thermal and Thermo chemical srtesses due to variation in clinker Chemistry.Petcoke under reduced conditions further aggravate the situation.

groove formation due to shell deformation Or wrong installation of key bricks. Key bricks must be just fit in .Too much hammering can cause damage. Not more than two Shims must be inserted in a ring with a gap of 3 to 4 bricks.

SDCCL

Severe thermo-chemical ( high liquid % attack on the brick( lava formation)

Crack on the cold face shows that the brick was under severe mechanical stress too Shell distortion at 9 M causes mechanical stresses on the brick.

SDCCL

Grooves on the shell At 9 M length

Bulged portion of the shell at 9.0 m

Mortar application to correct the lining at 9.0 m

About 30 mm it has bulged inwards which is well beyond the toleralance limits. 9.0 m area. Maximum tolrence Limit is +/- 10 mm.

SDCCL

Refractory failure in burning zone SDCCL

Causes Very high variation in clinker chemistry when converted OPC clinker to oil well cement and sulfate resistant cement. Petcoke firing reduces the Viscosity of the liquid and further damage the bricks . Reduced conditions when petcoke is fired is extremely harmful to magchrome bricks. Oil spillage on the refractory bricks and damaged the magchrome bricks. Coal particles was also falling on the bricks while heating. Kiln was rotated in the cold conditions for maintenance purpose Shell was bulged in the burning zone area. Remedies Frequency of change over from OPC clinker to SRC and OWC can be reduced by properly planning. The burner needs replacement. Burner tip was damaged. Oxidised conditions must prevail esp. when petcoke is fired. Kiln shell need replacement at 9 M area No job must be done after the lining is over for kiln rotation.

Melting pit

This happended during start-up , high percentage of liquid forms. The hot aggressive liquid (Lava) attacked the bricks , and washed the brick surface.

GCW

Bricks got soften and eroded due to high liquid formation during kiln start-up ( lava)

GCW

Bricks got softened and eroded. Very high Percentage of melt Formation( lava)

GCW

Thermo chemically attacked magchrome bricks. Sulfur penetrated the bricks.

APCW

APCW

Even the spinel brick is Penetrated by liquid ,in burning Zone, 8 15 M. Calculated liquid % is 33 .

Burning zone refractory failure at GCW

Causes Excessive liquid formation, Lava during startup Thick coating formation due to high liquid % in clinker High thermal loading , >5.8 Gcal/sq M/hr Petcoke was tried for some time. Magchrome bricks with petcoke firing gives less life due to formation of low viscous liquid. Remedies Care must be at the time of start-up. Flame intensity can be reduced in the beginning to avoid over-heating. When thermal load is high the kiln is very sensitive to chemistry variation Hence variation in chemistry esp quartz must be controlled. If Pet coke is used spinel bricks are better choice.
Note: If kiln runs stable with minimum variation in chemistry thermal load does not matter as coating on the bricks protects the bricks. But if the thermal loading is high and coating dislodges due to variation in chemistry or operational instability the consequent thermo-chemical load is more detrimental than the thermal load. .

Refractory failure at 12 m After 4 months of operation. The spinel bricks underwent severe aggressive liquid attack.( 33 % liquid)

APCW

Liquid penetrated the spinel brick

Slice of the spinel brick At 60 mm from the surface.

Hercynite based bricks are senstive to redox conditions. The white coloration is due to redox conditions prevailing In the kiln. Flame needs attention. Picture taken at 7 M area

APCW
Avoid reduced conditions. Shape the flame to get convergent and hot flame Optimize the momentum . Momentum with low % primary and high velocity is always better than Momentum with % primary air and low velocity.

Burning zone refractory failure at APCW

Excessive liquid , > 33% causes liquid penetration deep into the bricks and destroy the texture of the brick , even the conventional spinel bricks. Reduced conditions make the coating very unstable. During coating dislodgement it took away part of the brick.

Remedies Optimise the liquid at around 30 -31 %. Use fused spinel bricks Like Almag AF and Ankral R2 Shape the flame to avoid reduced condition Dislodge the rhino horn by installing proper shock blasters.

Installation Errors

APCW

Installation error

The brick rings are not straight. Though We use pnemato-o-ring this error can occur. Human skill is also needed. This spinel bricks can undergo mechanical stresses and reduce the refractory life. The lining was opened and was corrected.

After correcting the lining

APCW

HCW At 11 M

After starting the kiln within two days hot spot appeared. This V-gap formed due errors in installation. The brick ring must be perpendicular to the axis.

HCW

Thanks for your kind attention K.P.Pradeep Kumar