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A VITAL UNIT
FEATURE  /  JUL 2016
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For critical project activities like capacity upgradation, there has

to be an increment in the capacity of existing coolers.

Aclinker cooler has two equally important objectives. First, it

cools the clinker down to 150oC - 200oC to make the clinker
acceptable for downstream transport equipment and cement
grinding equipment. Second, it is used to recuperate heat as
much as possible to save fuel consumption for clinkerisation.

Though there are many types of coolers for cooling the clinker,
the state-of-the-art coolers are either grate coolers or cross bar
coolers. As cooling is a heat-transmission process, cooling
e ciency is greatly dependent on the temperature di erence
between two media, in this case air and the clinker.

In a cross current cooler, the di erence in temperature is

pronounced at the start of the process and cooling is thereafter
slightly faster and more abrupt (air quenching). Due to this fact,
grate coolers, in which the clinker is cooled by air forced up
vertically through a thick clinker bed, have become popular in
modern large capacity calciner kiln systems. Mechanically as
well as operationally, the clinker grate cooler may be considered
to be the most complex unit in the clinker burning process.

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6/6/2019 The clinker cooler has a very
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consumption of the entire pyro installation. Heat consumption
in making clinker comprises the following:
-Heat of reaction;
-Heat loss from exhaust gas;
-Surface loss from preheater;
-Surface loss from kiln;
-Cooler loss; and
-Free heat in materials.

Most of the exhaust gas heat is normally used for the drying of
the raw materials and fuels and therefore this heat is not
wasted. The surface losses of kiln and preheater can probably
be reduced to the minimum possible by extensive use of
insulating refractory materials in the kiln and preheater. Since
the speci c heat of air at about 1400oC is a little higher than
that of clinker, the cooler loss can be brought down to the
surface loss of the cooler, 7 to 10 kCal/kg clinker; the amount of
cooling air from the cooler is over 1.0 kg air/kg of clinker (almost
the same as required combustion air quantity), if ideal heat
exchange conditions are provided. The cooler thus o ers a
great potential for improving the overall heat economy of a kiln
installation. In the course of the rapid development in coolers in
recent years, new generations of grate coolers have come into
the market. In fact, it has become di cult to keep track of the
current cooler generation. However, no great improvements
have been made with regard to cooler e ciency and the cooling
principle. At the same time, the grate load has typically been
increased from approximately 40 to 50 t/d clinker per m2,
considering the same clinker temperature, though the widely
accepted value is ~45.

Cooler Sizing Vis-a-Vis Operation

Normally, grate coolers are designed considering an operating
cooling air ow of 2.2 - 2.4 kg (1.8 - 1.9 Nm3)/kg clinker to
achieve clinker temperature of 65oC above ambient at the
cooler outlet. However, in many plants, especially at a lower
production level than rated, the operating cooling air quantity is
found to be on the higher side.

The minimum operating cooling air quantity can be achieved by

proper cooler optimisation, which is an art. With proper cooler
optimisation during operation stage, the following can be
achieved:
-Maximum possible secondary and tertiary air temperatures by
using little more than 1 kg air/kg clinker, required for
combustion in the recuperation zone where the clinker remains
as red. Placement of observation doors on either side wall and
on the roof at the right points is found to be very useful during
optimisation stage;
-Minimum cooler exhaust air quantity at around 300oC;
-Clinker temperature of 65oC over ambient temperature at the
cooler outlet by using total cooling air quantity of ~ 2.2 - 2.4 kg
air/kg clinker, or even lower.

Cooler optimisation can be carried out by maintaining:

-Maximum possible clinker residence time in the cooler to
achieve the best possible distribution of clinker and cooling air.
The clinker retention time in the cooler is determined by the
grate surface loading and clinker bed depth;
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6/6/2019 -Proper cooling air Indian
ow distribution;
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-Proper tuned PID controller (grate speed vis-a-vis under grate
pressure) plays an important role.

Plant Upgradation and Cooler Retro t

The standard design norms normally followed by most OEMs
are given as under:

In India, due to raw material characteristics and cement

manufacturers´ aggressive attitude, kiln volumetric loading
goes for calciner kilns, as high as ~ 7.0. When during the later
stage, pyro section upgradation is planned to utilise maximum
available capacity of the rotary kiln, cyclone preheater and
clinker cooler pose a major problem. Depending on the extent
of upgradation modi cation of existing cyclones, installation of a
new preheater or an additional preheater is considered. Again, a
new calciner in case of existing SP system and increase in
calciner height in case of existing calciner system is considered,
if the layout permits. The preheater ID fan is changed to handle
higher gas ow and increased pressure drop across the
preheater.

Often, the clinker cooler becomes a major bottleneck to support

capacity upgradation. Almost all capacity upgradation projects
involve increment in the capacity of existing coolers. Even with
some extent of compromise with clinker temperature increase
at cooler outlet, extra grate area requirement comes out to ~
50-60 per cent for upgradation, in existing calciner kiln system.
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6/6/2019 Indian Cement Review Magazine | A Vital Unit
For upgradation of older SP plants, the cooler grate area
increment goes to even 150 per cent. Grate area can be
increased only if free area is available within the cooler itself or
by extending cooler longitudinally or by both methods. In most
of the cases the existing layout limits the cooler expansion and
thus limits the upgradation scope. It is always advisable to keep
a provision in the layout for cooler expansion, by keeping a little
longer horizontal length for clinker pan conveyor.

Introduction of new fans or changing cooler fans for higher

capacity does not become a major problem.

In most upgradation projects, coolers are retro tted, mainly

aiming at:
-Better cooler e ciency by reducing the amount of heat in the
cooler vent air and decreasing the speci c fan drive powers;
-Reduced or no clinker fall through; and
-Easy cooler maintenance.

The range of possible conversion measures comprises the

following:
-Installation of static inlet grates (speci c heat consumption of ~
15 kCal/kg clinker saving is expected);
-Modi cation of existing grate plates with new generation plates
and improved grate seals;
-Installation of new grate drives and grate bearing assemblies;
-Optimisation and replacement of fans; and
-Improvement of the cooler control system, e.g., by installing
clinker bed height sensors as part of the stroke frequency
control loop.

Clinker Cooler Exhaust Gas for WHR Boilers

Typically, clinker coolers release large amounts of heated air at
250 to 340¦C, which can e ectively be used in WHRS system.
The steam turbine based waste heat recovery boilers (WHRB)
are placed between the cooler and the de-dusting system.
Depending on situations/ requirements, various con gurations
are considered which are shown below. If no modi cation is
made to the cooler and the excess gas is ducted from the cooler
exit to the WHRB, then the vent fan should have enough
margins to take care of the pressure drop in the heat recovery
boiler. If the WHRB is considered later, part of the vent fan size
has to be increased accordingly or booster fans have to be
provided.

As shown in options 2 and 3, mid taps can be taken from the

cooler such that hot gas at 400-450°C is taken to the WHRB,
whereas the rest of the cool gas at 100-115°C is sent directly to
the ESP. In this case hotter air is available and steam can be
generated at higher pressures, improving the e ciency of the
waste heat recovery system. Hence up to 15 per cent more
power can be generated for cooler systems with mid tap. The
mid tap is positioned after the tertiary air take-o point and
dampers are controlled in such a way that pressure is balanced
within the clinker cooler. However, in these cases, an additional
booster fan may be required to pull the gases from the cooler
mid-section. Hence this reduces the net power generation from
the waste heat recovery system. Part of the hot gases can be
utilised for coal drying as shown in options 1 and 2.

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6/6/2019 Indian Cement Review Magazine | A Vital Unit

(This article has been authored by Jayanta Saha, a Cement

Process Consultant based in Navi Mumbai)

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