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Home > Magazine Articles > Kiln Burning Systems: An Overview

Kiln Burning Systems: An Overview

BY CON G. MANIAS Mar 1, 2005 12:00 PM,

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 Cement Americas' Forecast: 2009
 Cement, Concrete and the Environment
 Kiln Burning Systems: An Overview
 Capacity Expansion Update
 Global economic crisis results in cement demand decline in CIS countries

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Once raw materials have been selected and blended, and ground and homogenized into a fine and
uniform kiln feed, they must then be subjected to enough heat to allow the clinkering reactions to
proceed. This is the pyroprocessing stage of cement manufacture, beginning with the kiln feed
material extracted from storage and weighed and transported to the kiln, and finishing with the
clinker from the cooler going to clinker storage.

The main chemical reactions to produce the calcium silicates that later give cement its bonding
strength occur in the kiln system. There is a combination of endothermic and exothermic
reactions occurring in an extremely complicated chemical reaction sequence. The raw material
composition, mineralogical composition and the time and temperature profile of these materials
in the kiln determine the ultimate composition and mineralogy of the clinker, which in turn
determines the performance of the cement produced.

The pyroprocessing stage is generally regarded as the heart of the cement-making process. It is
the stage in which most of the operating costs of cement manufacture appear, and is also
therefore the stage where most of the opportunities for process improvement exist. There are
many different kiln system designs and enhancements, but they are all in essence performing the
following material transformation, in order from the feed end:

1. Evaporating free water, at temperatures up to 100°C.

2. Removal of adsorbed water in clay materials 100° to 300°C.
3. Removal of chemically bound water 450° to 900°C.
4. Calcination of carbonate materials 700° to 850°C.
5. Formation of C2S, aluminates and ferrites 800° to 1,250°C.
6. Formation of liquid phase melt >1,250°C.
7. Formation of C3S 1,330° to 1,450°C.
8. Cooling of clinker to solidify liquid phase 1,300° to 1,240°C.
 9. Final clinker microstructure frozen in clinker <1,200°C.
10. Clinker cooled in cooler 1,250° - 100°C.

On the gas flow side, the sequence from the firing end is:

1. Ambient air preheated by hot clinker from kiln 20°C up to 600° to 1,100°C.
2. Fuel burns in preheated combustion air in kiln 2,000° to 2,400°C.
3. Combustion gases and excess air travel along kiln, transferring heat to kiln charge and
kiln refractories 2,400° down to 1,000°C.
4. Preheating system for further recovery of heat from kiln gases into the material charge in
the kiln system 1,000°C down to 350° to 100°C.
5. Further heat recovery from gases for drying of raw materials or coal.

All kiln systems aspire to optimize heat exchange between the gas streams and material streams
at various stages to minimize waste heat and maximize thermal efficiency.

KILN SYSTEMS
Wet Process Kilns — The long wet process kiln, with a length to diameter ratio (L/D) of up to
40, was the main clinker producing plant for most of the 20th century. It is a relatively simple
process, with the main advantage of slurry preparation being the eases of milling, handling,
blending, storage, pumping, and metering. It is also less prone to low level dust emission.

In wet process systems, the material preheat system is metal chains hanging in the cold end of
the kiln, which absorb heat from gases and heat the material which flows over them. The chain
actually provides a greater surface area for contact between hot gases and the material clinging to
the chains.

The main problem with long wet kilns is their poor fuel efficiency, because of the water to be
evaporated from the slurry. This became a severe problem only when the cost of fuel escalated
during the 1970s, and only a few wet kilns have been built since that time. However, there are
some rare situations where raw material moistures, cheap (waste) fuels, low technology
workforce, or other factors may still favor wet process production.

Another disadvantage of a wet process kiln is that it is limited in production rate because of
mechanical limitations on kiln size. A 1,500-tpd wet kiln is a large kiln, with 2,000 tpd being an
upper economic limit without encountering severe maintenance problems. Apart from the sheer
weight and stresses on mechanical drives and supports, shell deflection makes it increasingly
difficult to achieve acceptable refractory life.

Long Dry Kilns — Dimensionally, long dry kilns are similar to long wet kilns. These kilns were
developed and became popular particularly in North America. Their advantage over wet kilns is
potentially improved fuel consumption because the kiln feed is dry. However, without any
enhanced heat transfer fittings in the preheating zone, kiln exit temperatures of 700°C or more
meant that water spray cooling was required, and very little advantage was realized over wet
process. However, kiln internals fitted at a later stage of development included kiln chains
(similar to wet kilns), kiln metallic crosses, and ceramic heat exchangers. The crosses and
ceramic heat exchangers basically split the kiln into three or four cross-sectional areas over a
distance of about 15 to 20 m, splitting both the feed and gas flow, and providing improved heat
transfer.

With these enhancements, the kiln gas exit temperatures were reduced to 350C to 400°C, specific
fuel consumption improved some 30% and output increased by 35% to 40% compared to wet
kilns. Kiln production rates for long dry kilns are marginally higher than long wet kilns.

Travelling Grate Preheater Kilns (Lepol) — The Lepol kiln was invented in 1928 by Otto
Lellep and marketed by Polysius, the combination of names leading to “Lepol.” This was a
major improvement in kiln thermal efficiency, some 50% over the popular wet kiln process at the
time, and led to ready market acceptance of the technology. The technology reached the stage of
3,000-tpd kilns with specific fuel consumption of 3.3 MJ/kg (800 kcal/kg).

These kilns have a short rotary kiln section, L/D of 12 to 15, preceded by a travelling grate
covered by a 150 mm to 200 mm layer of nodulized raw meal. The kiln exit gases at about
1,000°C pass through this nodule layer providing preheat of material before it enters the rotary
kiln at about 800°C. The gases exit the grate section at around 100°C, implying very efficient
recovery of heat. For some grate preheater kiln systems, the kiln feed nodules experience two
separate passes of the hot gases, the first for drying and the second for preheating and partial
calcination.

The nodules or pellets formed as kiln feed can either be produced from dry raw meal mixed with
about 13% moisture in a pan granulator, or produced from raw meal slurry after it has passed
through a filter press and been extruded and sliced into cylindrical pellets.

The raw material properties are critical to the performance of the Lepol kiln system. The nodules
or pellets formed have to be strong and plastic enough to withstand the mechanical handling and
thermal shock on the grate without breaking down. Nodule breakdown causes blinding of the
holes on the travelling preheater grate, increasing pressure drop, and reducing airflow and hence
capacity of the kiln system.

The output of a particular kiln can vary by almost double depending on the suitability of raw
feed for this process and nodule formation in particular.

Cyclone Preheater Kilns — The cyclone preheater was first patented in 1934 in
Czechoslovakia by an employee of F.L.Smidth. However, the first preheater kiln was built and
commissioned in 1951 by KHD. This system utilizes cyclone separators as the means for
promoting heat exchange between the hot kiln exit gases at 1,000°C and the incoming dry raw
meal feed.

Cyclone preheater kilns can have any number of stages between 1 and 6, with increasing fuel
efficiency with more cyclone preheater stages. The most common is the 4-stage suspension
preheater, where gases typically leave the preheater system at around 350°C.
The rotary kiln is relatively short, with L/D typically 15. The material entering the rotary kiln
section is already at around 800°C and partly calcined (20% to 30%) with some of the clinkering
reactions already started.

Material residence time in the preheater is in the order of 30 seconds and in the kiln about 30
minutes. Kiln speeds are typically 2 rpm. Preheater pressure drops range from 300 mm to 600
mm water, with gas duct velocities typically 20 m/s in the preheater and cyclones.

Kiln capacities up to 3,500 tpd exist, with specific fuel consumption usually around 750 to 800
kcal/kg (3.2 to 3.5 MJ/kg). The larger capacity kilns are built with two preheater tower systems
to keep cyclone sizes to economic proportions and required efficiency.

Cyclone Preheater Kilns with Riser Duct Firing — The operation of the cyclone preheater
kilns can be improved by firing some fuel in the riser duct to increase the degree of calcination in
the preheater. The production rate can also be increased marginally, depending on the limitation
to output for a particular plant.

Preheater kilns can be subjected to flushing of material due to the fluidization of raw meal that
occurs during calcination in the kiln. Increasing the degree of calcination in the riser (to 50%)
before the material enters the kiln reduces this tendency. Furthermore, burning some fuel in the
riser duct reduces the fuel requirement and thermal loading in the kiln, thus improving the kiln
refractory life.

In this kiln system, the excess air in the burning zone is increased, and the additional oxygen in
the riser duct allows additional fuel to be burnt there. This can be an ideal place to burn some
waste fuel such as waste oils or tires. The limitation as to how much fuel can be burnt in the riser
can be limited by the geometry of the duct, combustion system design, or fuel type. However,
even under ideal conditions, the fuel quantity is limited to about 25% of total fuel because of the
limitation to the amount of excess air that can be passed through the burning zone. Too much
excess air will reduce burning zone temperature to below the levels needed for clinkering. This
reduction in burning zone temperature can be countered by oxygen enrichment, as discussed later
in the paper.

Precalciner Kilns — In precalciner kilns, the combustion air for burning fuel in the preheater no
longer passes through the kiln, but is taken from the cooler region by a special tertiary air duct to
a specially designed combustion vessel in the preheater tower. Typically, 60% of the total fuel is
burnt in the calciner, and the raw meal is over 90% calcined before it reaches the rotary kiln
section. Since the calciner operates at temperatures around the calcination temperature of raw
meal (800°C to 900°C), there may not be a flame as such.

The calciner efficiency is dependent on uniform air flow and uniform dispersion of fuel and raw
meal in the air. Typically, average residence times calculated on gas flow for early units were
about 1 to 2 seconds for coal and oil, and 2 to 3 seconds for natural gas. In recent years, though,
there has been a trend toward larger calciner vessels to reduce some of the combustion problems
of the earlier designs and provide greater flexibility for using lower grade fuels.
Precalciner kilns can have very large outputs in excess of 10,000 tpd, with specific fuel
consumption below 3 MJ/kg (700 kcal/kg). There are many different configurations, with one,
two, or three preheater towers operating with one or two calciner vessels in either an in-line
configuration or separate line configuration. Some (mostly recent) designs include a separate
precombustion chamber. An in-line calciner has kiln exhaust gases and tertiary air making up the
combustion air (reduced oxygen levels) for the calciner, while the separate line system has
tertiary air only with 21% oxygen forming the combustion air.

A separate line system therefore has a better combustion environment and may be preferred for
difficult fuels. It has a further advantage when converting preheater kilns to precalciners in that
there is minimal interference with the operating preheater kiln during the construction phase for
the new separate line preheater tower and tertiary air duct.

Precalciner kiln systems can operate only in conjunction with grate coolers, as there is no
provision for tertiary air off-take with planetary coolers. L/D ratios are typically low at 10 to 14,
and kiln speeds are in the order of 3.5 rpm. Kiln residence time is typically 20 to 25 minutes.

Other Systems — The rotary kiln has been the standard clinkering unit for cement production
over the past century. During that time, there have been various attempts to produce clinker in
other reactors including a flash calcining/clinkering and fluid bed calcining/clinkering vessels.

The motivation has been to reduce capital and operating costs or to allow smaller economic
clinkering plants to be built in remote locations.

The author was involved with one such project during the 1980s, where clinker was produced in
a fluid bed fed with raw meal. Although this did not proceed to commercialization, it was noted
that the clinker produced from this pilot plant was much more reactive than any conventionally
produced clinker, and gave cement strengths 20% higher than those produced from good quality
rotary kiln clinker. This was thought to be due to the absence of overburning in the fluid bed
clinker because of the more uniform temperature that can be achieved. The mineral structure
certainly showed much finer alite and belite crystals in the 10- to 20-µm range. This gives some
indication of the potential quality improvement possible through better control of rotary kiln
temperature.

Critical data on the kiln systems discussed above are summarized in Table 1 (see page 8). The
data reflects mechanical, operational, thermal, fuel, production, and efficiency parameters of
each kiln system.

VITAL KILN OPERATIONAL PARAMETERS

The following parameters are typical for any kiln operation and considered critical in optimizing
the performance of a kiln.

Material Residence Time — The residence time of material in the kiln is governed by the kiln
slope, the speed of rotation, and any internal restrictions either by design (dam rings) or through
kiln ring formation. The residence time, t, can be calculated from this equation:
1.77 × L × -O × F
p×D×n

Where

t = residence time, min

L = kiln length, meters

p = kiln slope, degrees

D = kiln diameter, meters

t = -----

n = kiln speed, rpm

O = angle of repose of material, (40°)

F = constriction factor (usually1 if no dams, lifters, etc.)

Kiln Degree of Fill — This is the percentage of the kiln cross-sectional area filled by the kiln
charge, and is usually in the range of 5% to 17% for most rotary kilns. It should be noted,
though, that a fill degree of more than 13% could impair heat transfer in that some of the
material in the center of the charge will not be exposed to enough heat. It is sometimes seen that
a kiln ring could coincide with high or erratic free lime in the clinker, possibly because the fill
degree has exceeded limits for ensuring that all kiln charge material is uniformly heated.

Kiln Slope — Rotary kilns slope from the feed end to the discharge end for material to travel in
that direction utilizing gravitational force. The slope is typically 2% to 4%, or 1° to 2°, and is
decided in conjunction with the kiln rotational speed. A lesser slope with a higher rotational
speed may improve heat transfer because of the greater tumbling of kiln charge.

Kiln Capacity (see accompanying “Design Parameters ” article at right) — There are design
limits for all of the above that may vary between different processes, but any of the above could
be the limitation to a kiln's output. These limitations will typically manifest themselves as kiln
instability and ring or coating buildup, excessive dust loss, poor refractory life, poor clinker
quality, or high fuel consumption. Usually, however, the limitation is found to be more a
question of a fan capacity, a burner capacity, or milling of raw materials or coal.

CLINKER COOLERS
Cooling of clinker takes place at two locations: 1) in the kiln after the material passes the burning
zone region, and 2) in the specially designed clinker coolers after the material falls out of the
kiln.
The rate of cooling can be critical to the clinker quality and performance of cement. The rate of
cooling in the kiln is determined by the flame and resulting heat flux, flame temperature, and
speed of material flow through the kiln. As the clinker temperature exiting the kiln is normally
1,200°C to 1,250°C, the clinker characteristics have been already largely established before the,
clinker enters the cooler. A long flame gives slow heat-up and slow cooling of the kiln charge
before it falls from the kiln. This will tend to produce clinker with large alite and belite crystals,
resulting in a coarse-grained clinker matrix with poor reactivity and poor grindability. Slow
cooling can also result in reversion of C2S from the α' phase to the less reactive β form, or in
extreme cases even to the unreactive γ form, and can even allow C3S to revert to C2S and CaO.
All of these have a negative impact on cement strength.

A further quality problem can arise if there are high levels of MgO in the clinker, because slow
cooling allows large periclase crystals to form such that when these hydrate slowly in concrete,
the expansion can cause the concrete to rupture.

There are two main types of coolers used in cement clinker production. These are the satellite (or
planetary) type and the oscillating grate type. The 1990s saw tremendous advances in clinker
cooler technology that greatly improved heat efficiency and potential output from a given kiln
system.

Clinker coolers perform the function of:

 Transporting clinker from the kiln to the clinker delivery system;

 Cooling the clinker to a safe temperature for subsequent transport;
 Finalizing the clinker mineralogy through rapid cooling; and
 Preheating combustion air by heat exchange with hot clinker.

Future installments of this overview of “Kiln Burning Systems” will feature information on kiln
aerodynamics, considerations in design, kiln burner types, excess air levels, gyro-therm burners,
calciner burners, oxygen injection, and thermal considerations.

Con G. Manias is managing director, FCT Group of Companies, Thebarton, South Australia;
(+61) 8-8352-9999, www.fctinternational.com

TABLE 1
Summary of Critical Data Information on Different Kiln Systems
Kiln 3P, Exit Gas,
Kiln SFC Residence
rpm tpd/m3 L/D kWh/t System mm Nm3/kg
Systems (kcal/kg) time, min
Exit T, °C H2O clinker
0.45- 30- 1300- 150-
Long Wet 1 17-25 180-240 150-230 3.4
0.8 35 1650 180
30- 1100- 150-
Long Dry 1 0.5-0.8 20-30 180-240 380-400 1.8
35 1300 200
Lepol 1.5 1.5-2.2 12- 950-1200 20-25 30 100-120 250- 2.0
 Summary of Critical Data Information on Different Kiln Systems
Kiln 3P, Exit Gas,
Kiln SFC Residence
rpm tpd/m3 L/D kWh/t System mm Nm3/kg
Systems (kcal/kg) time, min
Exit T, °C H2O clinker
15 400
Cyclone 14- 500-
2.0 1.5-2.2 750-900 25 30-40 350 1.5
Preheater 16 700
10- 500-
Precalciner 3.6 3.5-5.0 720-850 25 20-30 300-360 1.4
14 700

Design Parameters
When designing a kiln for a certain capacity, or when evaluating an existing kiln for potential
output, there are a number of key parameters that must be evaluated. These include:

 Burning zone heat loading

 Secondary air velocity
 Burning zone gas velocity
 Kiln exit gas velocity
 Kiln exit gas temperature
 Preheater tower gas velocities
 Preheater tower pressure drops
 Preheater tower exit gas temperature
 Volatile concentrations
 Material residence time
 Cooler grate loading
 Cooler air supply
 Kiln dust cycles

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Webinar
Portland Cement NESHAP: Potential Impact on Cement Industry
On Demand Webinar
This joint Cement Americas/Portland Cement Association (PCA) webinar addresses the proposed changes to the
Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) portland cement national emission standards for hazardous air pollutants
(NESHAP), and the potentially devastating impact these new standards may have on the cement and concrete industries.
Register Today!

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Interactive Products

Tune into Demo Zone TV for news, interviews and product reviews.

 Product Information

Stay up to date on the latest product news in the cement industry.

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