IKN Grate System

Horizontal air jets on the grate surface support the clinker

transport, resulting in a reduction of movable rows.
The size of the Coanda Wing® plates was selected to allow modular adaption of the
grate width for varying kiln capacity. For further information, see all sizes available.

Coanda Wing® plates, beams and mobile frames are precision machined during
manufacture and laser aligned during installation. The resulting grate surface exhibits
excellent mechanical operating characteristics with an optimal distribution of cooling air
maximising heat transfer between cooling air and clinker.

MORE DETAILS

Aeration of the Grate

The air flow into the beams and clinker bed is controlled to ensure that the gaps between the fixed
and movable rows receive more air for purging. The result is a reduction in clinker fall through and
associated wear of the movable gaps.

IKN Grate Movement

IKN clinker coolers have one movable row of Coanda Wing® plates followed by two fixed rows. The
forward movement of the grate is accomplished by a hydraulic or mechanical drive system in
combination with the LPS® (Linear Pendulum Support).
Nox reduction
Dear gks,

It sounds like you wish to make a preheater exhaust return duct to the
calciner.

If that is the case, you will bring fairly useless gas (low temp, low O2) to your
calciner that will lower temperatures and reduce calcining efficiency. Then
you will need more fuel.

NOx reduction is today done by multiple stage combustion, and your TA is

enough O2 for this to happen. Just study the concept a little. There is too
much literature about it on internet.

rawmix homo silo efficiency

Hello Emad,

I agree with Lalbatros. The FLS homogenising factor H is given by;-

H = Sin2 - San2) / Sout2 - San2))
where;
Sin = The standard deviation of one chemical parameter in the feed to the silo.
Sout = The standard deviation of the same chemical parameter in the discharge from the silo.
San = The standard deviation attributable to analysis errors.
(The IBAU calculation is slightly different but essentially the same principle.)
Generally, H values should be >5 if the degree of homogenisation is to be considered really efficient. So I
am sorry to say that a value of 1.2 is almost no blending at all.
However, this does not necessarily mean that there is a problem with the variability of the kiln feed. In the
special case where the chemical variability of the raw meal being fed into the homogenising silo is already
very low and the same as that of the kiln feed exiting the silo then the H value will be 1. This is why it is
best to test the efficiency of a homogenising silo by making sure that there is sufficient variability in the
incoming raw meal.

Regards,
Ted.
REPLY

67 posts
TimePosted 6 years ago

BK says

Re: rawmix homo silo efficiency

Dear friend,

Raw Mix homo. Silo Efficiency can calculated as follows;

Blending Silo Eff. = Input std.deviation / Output std. devation

Here: input and output means raw meal LSF.

Clinker Dust in tertiary air duct

1. If dust is generated it cannot be easily controlled. If it does not come with
the Tertiary air, it will go to the kiln or to the cooler ESP. since u do not have
to trap, Try to balance S/A to bring down the dust.

since it is better to handle the dust in the cooler vent, try to increase
Tertiary take off size to bring down the dust carry over and also see if the
cooler under grate compartment can be modified to mainatin the specific air
loading required for the increased production.

NG in his post said that the dust is "Due to heavy dust loading in the cooler
gases" , i would like to ask :

Is the cooling zone supposed to be dusty ?

If so , would it be logic to think first that the proplem is in controling the Kiln
Hood pressure , (lowering the cooler fans speed or increasing the ID fan
speed or increasing the Hood Space ) ? would it be right to think that way ?

The high dust content is due to high sulphur in the fuel as well as raw
material properties. Also, due to higher production levels being achieved
from the plant the air velocities in the kiln hood & TA duct are higher. There
is also space restriction for a dust trap near the kiln hood.

An alternative transport mechanism to convey the hot dust from the TA

duct bend below the Calciner to the cooler area, may be a more
viable solution.

The normal practice is to have some type of settlement or alternative dust

collection mechanism in the tertiary air duct. The dust collected there is
automatically transported to the clinker transport system. Do you not have
any such dust collection facility in the tertiary air duct? If you do have it is it
functioning properly, i.e. not blocked or filled up?

The other consideration is why is the tertairy air so dusty? Is there a large
excess of sulphate over alkalis in the clinker? Can the kiln feed, kiln or
cooler operation be adjusted to reduce the dust burden in the tertiary air?

Low Pressure Drop Cyclones

What is low pressure drop cyclones and why is it called ?as you find mostly
drafts (Negative Pr )in cyclones and not pressure(PositivePr) in cyclones.So
they should be called as low draft cyclones.
Low pressure drop cyclone have pressure drop across cyclone is around 50
mmwg.High pressure drop cyclone have pressure drop around 75mmwg
across cyclone.Generally low pressure drop cyclone have larger diameter
then the high pressure drop cyclone.In preheater all pressure should be in
negative only. Regards, R.M.Sahu, India
Draft is negative pressure. There is a change in pressure across a cyclone
and that change in pressure is referred to as the pressure drop, i.e. there is a
more negative pressure at the outlet than the inlet. In a cement kiln negative
pressure must be maintained on the rotary section of the kiln. This is
achieved by the induced draft fan. The higher the pressure drop across the
preheater (each of the cyclones) the bigger must that fan be to maintain
negative pressure in the kiln. So low pressure drop cyclones allow a smaller
fan to be used for drafting the kiln, or allow additional clinker production
with an existing fan.

n pyroprocessing the pressure drop will always be negative, the pressure

drop depends upon the model of the cyclones. The LPD cyclones have low
pressure compared to conventional pre heater cyclones.Due to the low
pressure drop margin will be created in pre heater fan/id fan for higher
production. Moreover cyclone efficiency will be increase and dust collection
will be improved.

Further can save electrical energy and save thermal energy min. of 4.0 Kcal/
kg of clinker.

Cyclone efficiency.
Dust collection efficiency of a cyclone can be measured by the following
formula:

Cyclone Efficiency = Dust loss at the out let of the cyclone (Tons/hour)
*100 / Dust at the input to the cyclone (Tons/hr)

Dust loss of the preheater top stage can be measured by drop test during kiln
stable condition and during Raw Mill stop condition for at least two hours
and weighig the collected dust loss.

Procedure of drop test for measuring dust collection effiiency of top stage
cyclone of pre-heater tower:

1.During steady state condition of kiln and raw mill stop condition you may
divert the collcted dust in the ESP or Bag House in downstream cicuit after
kiln ID Fan and Preheter Fan.
2.The collected hot and fine dust in any close container/tractor.Please
ensure safety of your team prior to initiate the test.

3.Collected dust should be weighed and collection time should also be

record.

4.Note down the total kiln feed TPH fed to the kiln.

5.Divide the dust collected TPH by Kiln Feed Tph and calculate the dust
collection efficiency % of the top stage cyclone.

Alternatively a less accurate way is to measure the dust concentration at the

downcomer duct of preheater tower and convert it to TPH.

A Cyclone has different collection efficiency for different size fraction

assuming the particles in sphearical shape.

1.The cylindrical part diameter,length and inlet opening length decides the
number of turns happens inside the cyclone for any air flow before leaving
through dip tube.

2.The inlet velocity ,cyclone dimeter and number of turns decide the gas
residence time in the outer vertex.

3.The gas and material density,viscosity of air,no of turns ,velocity of air

decides the cut diameter.

4.Every size fraction's individual efficieny is calculated to get the sigma

value of efficiency .

calculation of flame momentum of a multi channel

burner
Dear chari

Thanks a lot for the excel sheet but some doubts are there

1. In % PA Transport air is not considered

2.Radial Air flow is also not considered in the Momentum

3.In the coal transport air measurement what is the use of suction temp. &
pressure for flow measurement

4.What is flow function?

5.Is there any impact in flame momentum calculation if the axial & radial air
(both)dampers are partially closed.

6. In the velocity calculation of primary air you have used

velocity = 4.43*sqrt(dp/density)* static pressure but

in my openion it should be

velocity = 4.43*sqrt(dp/density)

7. How is the calculation of nozzle velocity? Please do explain.

8.What is the meaning of Nozzle coefficient?

Velocity is also always equle to pitot tube constant x sqrt( 2 * 9.81 *

dp/density)

square root of 2 * 9.81 =4.43

so velocity = Pitot tube constant x 4.43 x sqrt(dp/density)

static pressure is not taken for finding the velocity,

static pressure and temperture of gas is taken into consideration to find the
density of the fluid.

velocity of tip is found by flow in m3/sec divide by the tip area in m2..

Calcination degree of hot meal

First of all u shuld calculate the %age of Kiln dust in flue gases.
Then find the L.O.I of Kiln dust (X) then subtract it from the L.O.I of Hot
meal then calculate D.O.C

X= (L.O.I of Kiln dust* %age of Kiln dust) /100

Air required to cool 1 kg of clinker.

Calculate the specific air consumption of Cooler by calculating the Air
Velocity of all cooler fans..

Velocity... By pitot tube / anemometer

Flow rate = Velocity * Duct area

Flow rate.. NM3/h

Sp. air consumption of Cooler= Flow rate/Clinker Production..... NM3/kg. clnk.

Sp air required for cooling clinker in cooler --- 1.65 to 2.8 nm3 / kg cl

refractory consumption
Dear Azhar,

Normally the refractory consumption at 500-600 gm/Tons of clinker is

considered as good.

Bag filter design and working principle

Hi, the formulas in the excel sheet attached results in a
very high “A/C” (air to cloth ration). Typically for normal cement plant
deducting
A/C ratio of 1 to 1.2 m3/min/m2 are used. Yours formula results in an A/C of
2.2 which is very hi.

Critical parameters for Pulse jet filters are:

air-to-cloth ratio (~1 m/min) = gas flow rate / fabric area
(Critical for pressure difference )
can(yon)-velocity (~1 m/s) = gas flow rate / “tubesheet area
w/o bag area” (Critical for dust accumulation)
Over recent years, many enterprises have paid special attention to the
reduction of environmental load on the environment. Pollution of the
environment with various solid substances causing habitat degradation and
affecting human health is one of the most acute problems facing Russia
today. For this reason, requirements for dust concentrations at the outlet of
dust and gas collecting systems become more stringent.

Electrostatic precipitators and bag filters are the most common type of dust
and gas collecting equipment employed by Russian enterprises.

However, in some cases, it is impractical from an economic standpoint to

replace electrostatic precipitators with similar electrostatic cleaning
devices especially when it comes to complete replacement of worn-out
equipment or new construction. One of the most economically viable trends
in the design and manufacture of dust and gas collecting equipment is a
significant increase in the use of bag filters. Bag filter characteristics are
very close to those of electrostatic precipitators. However, bag filters
surpass ESP in terms of residual dust content.
Bag filters are used more often due to the fact that new filtering materials
with high thermal and chemical resistance appear in the market.

The use of pleated filtration materials increases filtering area several-fold,

while overall dimensions remain unchanged. As a result, they involve the
lowest possible RUB/ filtration area square meter of ratio. This all makes it
possible for our customers to save significantly on retrofitting costs and new
projects.

Strommashina Samara plant manufactures and supplies jet-pulse and reverse

air filters of different sizes and different efficiency. Residual dust
concentration at the outlet will not exceed 10mg/cubic meter. Thus,
compliance with applicable emission limit values is achieved.
Please click on the following link for more details about our dust and gas
collecting equipment

Cooler ESP high dust emission

Have you checked all collector plates for correct gap are the KV building
before colapsing to your optimum levels

is the air distrubution pannel operating correctly ,have you checked that you
have the minimal air flow across the collector ,check inside precollection
chamber prior to ESP plates for signs of none distrubuted air flows ,take air
flow measurments across air distrubution pannel and correct airflows
Here, in Switzerland our client has installed an HEC Cyclone before the gas is
entering the Boiler and therefore no problems with the emission.

Frankly the have a bag house, but our clients installed some times HEC
cyclones resp. HURRICLON before ESP in order to reach the Emission limits.

I have a good example from Turkey, let me know if you need the example

We would like to take this opportunity to introduce ourselves as one of the

leading manufacturers and solution providers of Spares for Electrostatic
Precipitators and Soot Blowers. We are a part of an ISO 9000 certified
company and have established a separate division primarily to meet the
growing need of OEM spare parts for Electrostatic Precipitators and Soot
Blowers and provide the best quality of products at extremely competitive
prices.

We are the prominent supplier to 5000+ Precipitator and Soot Blower Users’
in India & abroad especially to Power, Cement, Paper, Steel & Copper
Sectors. Our specialized field of business is, manufacturing spares for
different makes of Electrostatic Precipitators. We have in-house line for
production of Collecting and Emitting Electrodes of different styles and sizes.
Some of the fast moving Spares for ESP manufactured and sold by us are as
under:-

a) Collecting Electrodes 735, 400, CSV, ZT24, 500 series

b) Discharge Electrodes

c) Parts for Rapping System

d) Disconnecting Switch, Heaters & Thermostats

e) Shaft & Support Insulators

f) All Mechanical Parts of ESP

We have our establishment equipped with experienced Engineers from Power

Sector in India to ensure the best quality of spares and replacement parts,
which we offer. Besides supply of spares, we also offer indigenous parts by
Reverse Engineering Process in accordance with the drawing or sample of
the customer to meet their urgencies. We also carry out various jobs for
import substitution area and shall welcome all your requirements for the
items where-in you have the drawing or the drawing needs to be developed,
followed by our supplies to the developed drawing.

In this regard, we kindly request you to send us all your requirements of

various spares for equipment’s installed at your plant.

We wish you all the very best for your present and future endeavours, and
look forward to having a long and cordial business relationship between both
our organizations.

Please feel free to contact us if you require any clarifications.

vibration vertical roller mill

There are a number of reasons for high vibrations in vertical roller mills, such
as:

1. Failure of the grout or cement material under the steel beams embedded
in the foundation top, which allows oil to penetrate, further degrading the
concrete. The anchor bolts, which are typically large in diameter, continue
to exert force into the foundation, and the base starts to distort.

2. This distortion of the steel structure can lead to weld failures, which
generates additional "looseness", and the vibration increases.

3. There are additional root causes which stem from the inevitable cold
joints between pours in the foundation. These separations degrade the
vibration damping apacity of the foundation.

We have done many foundation repairs and regrouts of vertical roller mills in
cement plants as well as in power stations. Please contact us directly for
further information.

The most important factor which determines the level of vibration in a VRM
is the thickness and consistency of the grinding bed. The bed thickness may
be affected by the following variables;-

 Feed rate too low, too high or changing too quickly.

 Particle size of feed too large or too small.
  Fluctuations in moisture content of mill feed
 Sudden change in overall hardness (grindability) of one or more of the the mill feed
components.
 Large fluctuations in the quantity of one of the component/corrective materials.
 Table speed
 Separator efficiency and operation. (eg. too high internal circulation of fine material )
 Air/gas flow & nozzle ring air/gas speed.
 Overheating of the mill. (eg. insufficient water injection for cooling or mill inlet temperature
to high, in a raw mill. Or use of very hot clinker in a cement mill)
 Sudden fluctuations in grinding aid.
 Incorrect dam ring height setting.

Other factors which may cause vibrations are;-

 Grinding force/ballast (N2) pressure.
 Worn internals eg rollers and/or table.
 Tramp metal or foreign objects.

Probleme with buner

Dear N Jaye,

This is a common problem with number of plants, but any way there are a
few more types of castables in market avialable for this specific application,
but in general you have to ensure the proper procedure of castable work.
Moreover if fallowing information is sheared it can help experts to suggest
better.

 Castable type used.

 Procedure of castable work (vertical or horizontal).
 Dust circulation between cooler and kiln (high, normal, less).
 Burner pipe insertion inside kiln.
 Material buildup on burner tip (rhenohorn formation), and frequency of
cleaning
 Fuel used, and appr. plume length.

 Solving the Problem of Build-up on Preheater

ID Fans

 Greater demands for throughput and efficient use of heat in the kiln have placed greater
demands on kiln induced-draft fans. These fans have been designed with ever-increasing
volume and static pressure requirements, as well as higher process gas requirements. The
result has been larger fan rotors operating at very high tip speeds.
 One side effect has been build-up on the impeller. Typically, the build-up is an extremely
hard, brick-like substance, which can break off during operation, causing serious
imbalance. Build-up on preheater ID fans seems to be widespread, with documented
cases in Pakistan, India, Saudi Arabia, Ecuador, Mexico, Texas, and many other areas in
the United States.
 A study at Robinson Industries, Zelienople, Pa., examined each of the generally
postulated causes of build-up in kiln ID fans. The object was to determine what variables
could be adjusted to control build-up. Findings from the study were applied in the design,
building, testing, and installation of a build-up-resistant preheater fan at the Holnam
Texas L.P. plant in Midlothian, Texas.
 Holnam Texas case study Build-up forming on the blades of the preheater ID fan at the
Holnam Texas plant was requiring periodic shutdowns of about 24 hours - 16 hours for
the fan to cool down and another eight to sandblast the blades and remove the build-up.
 The original fan at Holnam was obtained from Robinson in the 1980s. Running at its
original design capacity, the fan did well, but the problems developed as Holnam
increased production. By 1994, the fan was running 30% over its intended capacity, and
Holnam was having difficulty tolerating shutdowns, which were increasing in frequency.
 Hoping for a solution to the build-up problem, Holnam turned to Robinson Industries,
which was able to design a fan that resists build-up and therefore makes frequent cleaning
unnecessary. Robinson determined that build-up can be reduced by matching the shape of
fan blades, as closely as possible, to particle streamlines, so the impact energy of dust
particles is minimized. Blade angle must be inclined enough to prevent the "hard"
buildup on the blade's front surface and yet radial enough to prevent the "soft" buildup on
the blade's back surface. Engineers determined that the best blade for the Holnam cement
plant would be the backward-curved fan.
 Robinson also determined that the new fan at Holnam would have to be larger than the
old one, not only to accommodate the plant's increased production but also to
accommodate the blade's new design. To receive the same performance for a given
application, a backward-curved fan needs to be larger than a radial blade fan.
 Holnam's parent company, Holder bank, also conducted research on the build-up
problem, which corroborated Robinson's.
 Robinson faced three challenges typical in the design of kiln ID fans. The fan would have
to: 1) handle a steady stream of dirty air; 2) tolerate high temperatures; and 3) tolerate
fast changes in temperature, from 450 ºF to 840 ºF. Robinson faced an additional fourth
challenge specific to the Holnam plant, namely that the fan would have to handle extreme
stress because of its size.
 The original ID fan at the Holnam facility was rated at 3,500 hp and designed for a speed
of 1,180 rpm. The new motor, while rated for 4,500 hp, would be designed for 880 rpm.
 The size of the fan and its weight (67 tons including the wheel, shaft, housing, inlet
dampers, bearings, and bearing pedestals) presented fabrication challenges. The rotor was
welded on a positioner so the tilt would be perfect for welding at every point. In addition,
the fan's size necessitated splice welds in the shrouds and web plates. All shrouds and
web plates were subjected to X-ray testing.
 The fan's plate steel was ultrasonically tested for defects. Before the welds, destructive
tests were conducted on sample plates. After construction, a dry magnetic particle
inspection was made of all final wheel welds. All bolts were ultrasonically tested for
 defects. The bolts were tested again during tightening to ensure that they were being
stretched to the proper length.
 Since the fan's installation in 1997, Holnam has not had to stop production because of
build-up or any other fan-related problem.
 Research behind the solution prior to the building of the Holnam backward-curved
preheater fan, Robinson had conducted an extensive study into the problem of build-up in
cement factory fans. The study entailed two approaches: 1) information gathering and 2)
a laboratory simulation of cement plant build-up conditions. In the first case, information
from several cement plants was collected to determine if a pattern of conditions leading
to build-up could be identified.
 - Theories as to build-up causes can be broken down into the following four primary
groups:
 1. Thermal: As process gas temperatures have increased over the years (from 350 ºF
only a few years ago to 700 ºF and higher today), so too have build-up problems. Some
particles carried by the gas stream have a lower melting point than others and may
become "sticky" above 500 ºF.
 2. Chemical: There are several chemical theories. Here are two of the main ones.
 a. Some believe the presence of sulphur encourages the formation of gypsum, which is a
very hard and difficult-to-remove material, formed from calcium carbonate in a
temperature range from 700 ºF to 1,800 ºF.
 b. Another chemical theory suggests that chlorine reacts with other components in the gas
stream to form lower-melting-point salts such as NaCl, FeCl subscript 3, and KCl.
 3. Electrostatic: Since the fan rotor is not grounded (due to the oil film of sleeve-type
bearings), positively charged dust particles may be attracted to a negatively charged fan
rotor (or vice-versa).
 4. Mechanical: Build-up could result from fan blade geometry. Some believe that
centrifugal force holds material in place on the back side of airfoil blades, backward-
curved, and backward-inclined centrifugal fan rotor blades. Others believe that build-up
results when dust particles impact the front side of the fan blades, melting or embedding
themselves into the surface of the steel blades.
 Laboratory test work a 32 inch diameter rotor was set-up in a closed-loop system at the
Robinson Industries laboratory. The test set-up allowed variations in dust loading, fan
speed, temperature, particle velocities, fan blade shape (rotor design), coatings, and types
of steel surfaces. By controlling most process parameters closely, it was possible to
change one variable at a time to determine its effect on the rate of build-up on the rotor.
 The first priority was to see if the field type of build-up could actually be duplicated in
the laboratory. After 168 hours of continuous operation, the rotor was stopped and the fan
casing opened for inspection. A significant build-up (to 11/42 in. thick in some areas)
was observed.
 The build-up occurred on the leading edge of the blades (pressure side) and at the blade-
to-center plate weld intersection. The build-up was heaviest at areas of high impact
between the dust particles and the rotor surfaces, and along streamlines containing high
concentrations of dust particles. In other words, the location as well as the appearance of
the build-up was similar to that in field sites.
 - Each of the possible variables was examined through experiments or field observations
to determine how best to reduce or eliminate build-up:
 1. Temperature: The operating temperature was reduced in 50 ºF increments. It was
noted that the build-up was significantly reduced (but not totally eliminated) at
temperatures below 500 ºF.
 2. Blade shape: Tests were run using radial blade rotors, backward-curved blades, and
airfoil-bladed designs. Results showed that build-up could be reduced with airfoil and
backward-curved blades.
 3. Fan speed: As the fan speed was reduced to 1,013 rpm, build-up was reduced. Lower
fan speeds (resulting in lower impact velocities as dust strikes rotor surfaces) appear to
reduce build-up.
 4. Surface roughness: The fan rotor had four blades fitted with ground finish 316 SS
blade liners. While stainless steel provides corrosion protection and an ultra-smooth
surface, build-up was virtually unaffected.
 5. Coatings: Several coatings were tried including two ceramic coatings, tungsten
carbide, alonized, polished 316L SS and 410 SS and nickel boron. None reduced the
amount of build-up on the fan wheel.
 6. Sandblasting: With build-up already on the fan rotor, coarse sand was added to the
recirculation loop, but to no effect. Either the build-up was too hard or the sand was not
striking the fan rotor surface in the same areas as the smaller particle feed dust. Texas
Lehigh reports that this method of cleaning was only marginally successful in the field,
with build-up being evened out (high spots were removed) but not eliminated. Excessive
use of sandblasting during operation can lead to rotor erosion and failure.
 7. Sonic horns: Reports from various plants indicate that sonic horns are not an effective
means of preventing build-up on preheater ID fans in cement factories.
 8. Electrostatic grounding: A grounding brush was attached to the rotor shaft of a
preheater ID fan at Box-Crow Cement (now Holnam Texas L.P.). The voltage to ground
was measured at 0.00 V. This compares to 31 mullivolts static charge when an
ungrounded rotor was in operation with feed dust recirculation at 700 ºF. There was no
noticeable difference in the amount of build-up between these grounded and ungrounded
setups.
 - Field observations Reports from 20 plant sites have added some interesting insights on
the causes of and possible solutions to preheater ID fan build-up:
  Build-up has occurred on all types of fan blades.
  Build-up has been reduced in some measure by lessening the impact velocity of dust
particles striking the fan rotor. A larger-diameter rotor operating at a reduced speed will
acquire less build-up. Reducing the operating temperature (possible by air dilution
upstream from the fan or water spray in the down corner from the preheater section)
greatly reduces build-up on kiln ID fans. While temperatures below 500 ºF (260 ºC) are
necessary to achieve the reduced build-up, temperatures at or below 392 ºF (200 ºC)
increase particle size, causing fan rotor erosion.
  In some cases, a rotor can be sized with an oversized shaft to make it less sensitive to
imbalance caused by uneven build-up. This arrangement allows for longer operating
cycles between shutdowns for cleaning.
  One or two plants have tried water sprays directly onto the 700 ºF rotating fan wheel.
Rapid cooling (quenching) was reportedly effective in removing build-up, but thermal
fatigue on the fan rotor was devastating. In at least one case, a rotor failed
catastrophically.
  Conclusions
  Build-up on preheater ID fans is definitely temperature and impact velocity related,
which would support theories about lower-melting-point alkaline forming a sticky
compound.
  Sulphur may be ruled out as a cause of build-up on preheater fans since no sulphur
was found in the fuel in the lab test, though build-up still occurred.
  Formation of FeCl subscript 3 resulting from a chlorine reaction with the rotor's steel
may also be ruled out. Build-up occurred even with stainless steel and other protective
(non-iron) coatings on the rotor.
 The recommended temperature of gas entering the kiln ID fan is 482 ºF (250 ºC). This
temperature may be achieved with water sprays in the down comer from the preheater
tower. The presence of moisture in itself may minimize build-up.
  The fan rotor should be designed for the smoothest possible flow lines. The backward-
curved and airfoil rotor designs are best for this purpose.
  Fans should be selected to achieve minimum gas/dust particle velocity at the inlet of
the fan rotor. Minimum velocity means minimum impact on the fan rotor. Consider
using:
 a) Double inlet fans instead of single inlet fans.
 b) Larger-diameter and lower rpm fans.
 c) A peripheral speed at the rotor inlet opening limited to 15,000 fpm and an inlet
velocity not to exceed 7,500 fpm.
  Oversized shafting should be used to reduce sensitivity to imbalance. The design
critical speed (including effects of bearing oil-film stiffness) should be at least 1.25 times
the operating speed of the fan including the weight of 1-in.-thick (2.54 cm) build-up on
all leading surfaces (pressure side) of the fan rotor blades. Careful attention is required to
insure rigidity of the foundation up to the fan-bearing pedestals.

how to increase C3S & reduce freelime in clinker

To increase C3S the options are increase LSF, decrease free lime, increase
silica ratio.

With 14% residue on 90 microns you probably don't wish to increase the
silica ratio so increasing the LSF seems a good idea, but if you can't reduce
free lime below 1.5% with less than 93% LSF (after ash is added from fuel)
then this may just make things more difficult. To tackle high free lime you
either may need to mill finer if the silica residue is high (check this
by measuring acid insoluble residue) or look at the temperature profile (early
formation of belite can make free lime very difficult) or see if anything is
present which may stabilise free lime (phosphate, high clinker SO3, high
alkali can all do this under some circumstances).

Microscopy will let you know which of these might be an issue and avoid
rying the wrong solution which may not help.
There are a lot of variables here to consider. It looks as though your coal
must be about 20% ash. Is this ground together with the pet coke or
separately? Is the same mix put to the calciner and the front end?

If the fuels are milled together then the petcoke will mill finer than the coal
and it may be that coarse pieces of ash are contributing to the difficulty in
reducing free lime. In this case reducing the ash content may help.

On the other hand by reducing the coal the fuel mix will be less volatile and
the burning zone in the kiln may be extended. To make good C3S the ideal
is to have a short, hot burning zone. You need some clue as to why the free
lime is high. Is the clinker lumpy?, brown centred? dusty? fine? coarse?

The differences we are looking at here are pretty small in terms of ash and
probably of volatiles as well. If the alumina modulus is in a sensitive area
and you reduce the ash you may need to adjust oxide addition if you are
using any to manage the potential to form liquid too early and make rings.

Although you are recording excess oxygen ex-kiln, with a low-volatile fuel
such as pet-coke, it is quite likely that - without careful adjustment of burner
settings - there may be sufficiently reducing conditions in the burning zone,
al least locally, to decompose calcium sulfate, so leading to increased levels
of clinker free-lime. A check on volatile cycles in the kiln system may
illuminate the situation, perhaps comparing your current percentage sulphur
retention against that seen during a trial with a different fuel mix that is
easier to combust.

Clinker is not dusty but brown core is always seen inside the big sizes. Well i
agree that brown core could be the basic reason of high free lime . To take
care for high free lime raw meal is finer as seen , coal mix residue is also
finer. The same mix is fired in calcinator along with kiln. No separate
grinding of coal mix. Same VRM with same fine fine coal bin .Our kiln system
is ILC.Further finer grinding of Raw Meal is not possible due to Raw Mill
capacity shortage.

I agree that increase in petcoke usage will lengthen the BZ & will make the
burning harder but ay the same time silica from fuel mix will come down &
will result in more lime than the previous one for the same LSF of Raw Mix.

One of the observation is that if free lime increases to more that 2% the
calcination degree of hot meal also increases to more than 98%.I do not
understand this phenomenon.
Also the comments of 123Red are not clear at all.

I do agree with your comments but when I have almost nil CO at kiln
inlet,less SO3 (1.2-1.4%) in hot meal, 93-94% degree of calcination in hot
meal , 0.8% SO3 in clinker , no coatings at kiln inlet etc.

All these suggests that the sulfur is not giving much problem nor
combustion , than why free lime in clinker is 1.8 to 2.2% .

The flame momentum is around 1800 % m/s . Brit flame , clinker litre weight
1150-1250 etc.

All parameters are normal. What is the next clue to check for high free lime.

Now my idea is to increase the petcoke ratio in fuel from 80 to 90% & let us
see the impact.

At 0.8% SO3 in the clinker your sulphur input does not appear to be
exceptionally high. (unless you have a kiln bypass system)

What is the molar SO3/Alkali ratio of your clinker?

At an SO3/Alkali ratio of 1, SO3 preferentially reacts with K2O and Na2O to

form simple alkali sulphates. As the SO3/Alkali ratio increases, the excess
SO3 forms calcium langbeinite (2CaSO4.K2SO4) which melts at 1011oC and
is stable up to 1300oC.

At even higher SO3/Alkali ratios, SO3 next starts to become incorporated in

the clinker minerals, particularly the silicates (up to about 2% with respect
to C2S and ~0.5% with respect to C3S). It is only at very high SO3 levels
and high SO3/Alkali ratios that any remaining SO3 is free to form anhydrite
(CaSO4).

In my experience, anhydrite does not appear in industrial clinkers unless the

total SO3 content of the clinker is greater than ~3% and the molar SO3/Alkali
ratio is >3.6. Therefore, I doubt that decomposition of CaSO4 is the cause
of your increased free lime. However, I agree with Arthur that you should
have your clinker microscopically examined to determine why the free lime
is high. Microscopy will tell you if the free lime is due to inhomogeneity of the
 kiln feed, for example, or oversize particles of quartz or calcite, or
decomposition of C3S due to very slow cooling, or underburning, or a host of
other causes.

Also, I don't think your idea of increasing the petcoke ratio in fuel from 80 to
90% is likely to reduce your free lime. This would increase the LSF of the
clinker, since less coal ash would be incorporated into the clinker,
potentially increasing the free lime further.

Is your free lime continuously high (ie in every sample), or does it 'spike'
up suddenly at frequent intervals?

Do the brown centres of your large clinker nodules appear underburnt or

over-burnt?

To increase C3S you will need to increase the LSF of the clinker, either by
increasing the LSF of the raw meal or using fuel with a lower ash content. If
this causes an unwanted increase in free lime, you will have to grind the raw
meal finer to counteract this.

What ted and others said is alright and okay to may knowledge, however,
some few lines from me will make it complete in some sence. A word from
others is required fot the same.

 C3S up to ±67% in grey cement clinker can be achieved by raising the lime
saturation of the clinker towards 100 per cent. Beyond 100 per cent lime
saturation the additional lime will be present as free lime and there will be
no additional C3S
 With AM higher than 1.7 there is more C3S present than indicated by the
Bogue calculation. The higher the alumina modulus above 1.7, the greater is
the increase in the C3S content above the Bogue.
 High alkali content of clinker acts as an inhibitor to C3S formation in the kiln.
 High potassium oxide in excess of sulphate is particularly problematic as a
modified C2S mineral is formed which cannot be converted to C3S. This can
effectively block the formation of C3S in the kiln, resulting in high free lime.
 Phosphate (P2O5) above 0.5 per cent in clinker leads to progressive
decomposition of C3S to form a solid solution of tri-calcium phosphate and
C2S
 Fluoride(F-) causes a widening of the primary phase field of C3S and allows
clinkers with lime saturation up to 104 per cent to be fully combined with
significantly higher C3S content.
chari

Diffrence Between XRF & XRD or chemical

analysis
Hello Mahendra,

XRF and XRD measure different things, each giving different information
about the same sample.

XRF, or X-Ray Fluorescence analysis, measures the intensity of x-rays

flouresced by individual elements in a sample, irrespective of the different
compounds present that may contain those elements. eg. in cement the
XRF analysed Ca percentage is the total Ca contributed by all calcium
compounds in the cement.

XRD, or X-Ray Diffraction analysis, measures the intensity of crystal

diffraction peaks due to the individual chemical compounds in the sample. ie
CaCO3, CaO, CaSO4 etc. The result is estimated percentages for each
compound of interest.

One method is not necessarily better than the other, they are simply
complementary techniques which, when combined, give the total picture.

XRD is becoming more popular because it can estimate the quantity of

clinker minerals more accurately than the traditional Bogue equations.
which use the XRF chemical results. And XRD can also quickly analyse
important compounds such as Free lime which are time consuming to
analyse by any other method. With advances in computer power and
programming sofware the complex calculations required to estimate clinker
phases have become faster and more accurate, enabling this method to be
used in on-line analysers for both clinker and cement.

Lastly, the formulae for calculating clinker phases can allow for free lime by
simply subtracting the free lime from the XRF CaO value and using that value
in the equation.
As you mention in XRF we mesured the % of different elemental analysis and
in XRD we analyse the different phase analysis .

can you please share some more information regarding XRF and XRD , like

1.)some details about both the technique

2.) In XRF if we detect the different element why we convert it in to it's oxide
form for bogue calculation. why we are not measuring only Ca, Al,Fe etc.

3.) Are we measure the sulphure in ( So3 form) clinker or hot meal accuretly
in XRF ?.

4.) If XRD give the different phase information presence in clinker or any raw
material so we can also measure the different phases like C2S,C3S etc in
clinker is it correct? if yes are this mesuerment give the apparox same
value as microscopy.

5.) if we want to measure total carbonate in lime stone it is possible in XRD

only, please correct me if I am wrong?

6.) Calcualtion done by XRF ( Bogue) and Microscopy, Always we get

difference in clinker phases% like C3S,C2S ets. what is the main reasons
for this? ( but mostly we get higher value in microscopy )

7.) % analyze by XRF or XRD is the volumetric or wt%?

To answer your questions;-

1.) An XRF analyser measures the intensity of fluorescent radiation given

off by the electrons in the various elements as they fall back into a more
stable state after being temporarily excited to a higher energy state by the
primary X-ray beam. The intensity of the fluorescent radiation is
measured by moving an x-ray detector (or fixing it, in the case of
monochromators) to a specific angle with respect to an analysing crystal.
This is similar to viewing the individual colours which refract at different
angles when white light passes through a glass prism.
An XRD analyser measures the intensity of x-rays which are diffracted into
wave patterns by the atoms in the crystal compounds contained in a sample.
The angles and intensities of the diffracted beams indicate a three-
dimensional density of electrons within the crystal which are unique to that
compound. X-rays work best for this because their wavelength is of a similar
magnitude to the spacing between the atomic planes within crystals.

2.) Many industries (eg. metals & alloy manufacture) use software calibration
curves that report the results of the XRF analysis in % of each element
directly. ie. Fe, Sn, Al, Cu etc

However, in the cement industry we are not normally dealing with individual
elements. The elements we are interested in are almost always present in
minerals, combined with oxygen. Therefore in the cement industry, XRF
calibration software still uses the raw intensity of the element being
analysed, but since the calibration data is input as % oxides, the instrument
converts the elemental intensity to an oxide percentage. The sum of the
oxides plus L.O.I. also adds up to close to 100%, which it would not do if
using elemental concentrations.

Oxides must be used in the Bogue equations because the elements in the
minerals C3S, C2S, C3A and C4AF are all present as oxides. eg. C3S =
Tricalcium Silicate = Ca3SiO5 = 3CaO.SiO2

3.) Some lighter elements like sulphur are harder to measure accurately by
XRF. However, if sample preparation is carefully controlled and consistent,
SO3 can be analysed quite accurately down to levels of +/- 0.01% with
modern XRF equipment. This is particularly important when using fused glass
beads are being used. SO3 is volatile in at high temperature in a reducing
atmosphere, so to minimise the loss of SO3 during the fusion process, the
flame should be maintained in a state of strongly oxidising conditions by
careful control of the O2 / Gas ratio, and by minimising the fusion
temperature. There is also the dilution factor of the sample:flux ratio in fused
bead analysis however if the element being analysed is present in too low a
concentration to accruately measure by fused bead, it can be analysed by
pressed pellet.
4.) Yes, XRD can give direct information about the different compounds such
as C2S, C3S etc present in a sample. However, due to the complex
overlapping nature of the peaks produced by the clinker phases,
differentiating them to obtain an accurate percentage of each phase present
is a very difficult and time consuming job. Special software (eg Rietveld) is
required which is usually quite expensive.

Simple peaks such as CaO on the other hand are much more straight-forward
and do not require any special spectral analysis software and can be
calibrated into most XRF/XRD analysers. If the XRD analyser is properly
calibrated and configured, the results from XRD are comparable with
microscopy.

5.) It is possible to use XRD to analyse the CaCO3 content of limestone, but
with faster and cheaper alternatives, it is normally not necessary.

6.) The differences between Bogue and XRD or microscopy are the result of
the assumptions made in the derivation of the Bogue equations. With the
Bogue calculations, the clinker phases are assumed to be pure minerals of
the form, C3S, C2S, C3A and C4AF. In practice, all of the minerals contain
various quantities of other oxides such as SO3, Na2O, K2O, Mn2O3 and
P2O5 etc.

7.) Results of XRF and XRD analysis are usually expressed in wt%.

Kiln nose ring air flow design

Dear expert ,

How to design nose ring fan for kiln outlet tip casting cooling..

Some say air volume required for cooling is based on kiln dia.

400 m3/ min for <4.0 m dia kiln

500m3/min for >4.0 m dia kiln.

Air velocity 40 - 45 m/s.

The cooling air required for the nose ring cooling ranges between 0.33 m3/s
to 0.45 m3/s per meter of kiln shell circumference. The air pressure at the
nozzole inlets shall be minimum 20 bar.

but you can notice that some kilns larger than 4.6 m dia are equipped with
two cooling air fans just to make cooling more effective.

the values you have mentioned are at higher end and you will not find this
much higher volume installed in any modern plants.

Flame Length
The Flame length depends on much more factors such as amount and
temperature of the klinker (heat adsorbance), of the type of fuel and
secondary air temperature and amount.

You can indicate the flame length (and plum length) by using a
thermographic camera beside the burner at the kiln head and you can
measure the plum length and part of the flame by the new side
thermography, beeing installed in the kiln head side.

If you are interested in more information, send me an email and I will send
you an article about this new method of increasing quality and secondary
fuel usage.

Coal mill bag filter DP high & chocking problem

1- Increase purging pressure

2- If u replace bags after 3 years, now do it after 1.4 years.

3- check ur pressure control diaphragms and pressure regulator diapghrams,

if any of them is damage replace it.

4- check leackage in air tube for controller.

5- check leackage in purging pipe joints and their damage or loseness

6- check that the high pressure pipe before and after pressure regulator is
not less then 1.25 inches diameter.

7- make sure ur pressure regulator is working properly

8- use the bags of more permiability then before as now partical size reduced
and they stuck in pours of BF.

Last thing, if ur mill is stopped and suction fan is also stopped than purging
must continue all the time.

cyclone feed pipe design

.Dear all,

After using AF like MSW, Tyre dust, plastice waste. Iam facing lower
stage cyclone kiln feed pipe , feed box and flap coating formation.
( TSR% 5.8 with 100 % pet coke)

I want increase lower two stage cyclone feed pipe dia.for avoid plant
stoppage due to cyclone cone and feed pipe jamming on basic of below
formula.

Feed pipe dia= k Sqrt tpd +2* castabe thickness in mm

ACID DEW POINT

Sir,

I need more information about Acid dew Point. While starting the Kiln,
after firing we divert the hot gas to outside by a bypass duct and not allow
the flue gas to Kiln Bag house till the preheater outgoing temp crosses
140C+ for fear of Acid Dew point and its effect on the bags.When the temp
crosses 140+ we will take it into the Bag house. What about stopping the
plant. When firing is off and cooling is going on whether the outgoing gas
henceforth going through the kiln bag house damages the bags if temp
comes down to below 140C. whether we have to divert the gas again through
bypass duct if the temp reaches below 140C

No there is no need when you are shooting it down because the dust on the
bags are dry. But when you are starting up the moistrue on the bags will
react with the SO3 and NOx in the flow gas and form acids that can damage
the BH casing and bags.

No during the operation there are no moisture on the bags so the gases SO2
and NOx will so and won’t convert to acids. As long as your temperature are
above 130 there are no acid formation, but depending on your SO2 and NOx
concentrations and moisture levels you can have the possibility to form them

Calciner air req

As you enlighten to calculate the GJ of kiln.

Here is
my
calculation of heat (In GJ) for kiln . My objective is to cal the operating parameter for Kiln
Burner

Thermal load in kiln= 6462x30000= 193GJ

6462= Combustible flow or feed rate in KG/HR

30000= Calorific value of petcoke.

As per your calc . this thermal load is required to be multiplied by 365(ie air in kg/GJ of fuel ) .
Well this Gega joule I have calculated in approach to calc the thermal load of kiln. Perhabs I may
be wrong , kindly get me in right direction .

Continuing to process envisages by you

193X365=70445kg/hr

This result does not in resonance of what I have been given from my alternate source. As per
alternate source the result is

Conveying air volume-3374 NM3/HR (@ 0°C, 1 atm).

Discharge pressure – 7900 MM WG.
Conveying Pipe Size – 200 NB Sch 40

If I convert the mass flow in volume flow than also the result wouldn’t match with the resulted air volume
ie 3374NM3/HR.

Pressure and pipesize being desin , taking site condn parameter. But my worry is , how to calculate the
volume , probably they must have considered heat value.

Iam looking forward volume flow calculation.

hanx for your concious coverage. . Enthalpy i can calculate, but concerning
to stochiometric ratios, that pose me in my calculation. Apparantly i dont
know what should be the ratio in case of cement. How ever i have below
input parameter but how to use the stochiometric ratios to calculate air req
that really needs your significant support.

Kiln spec
Dia 3.75
L 57
Fuel petcoke @ cal value 7500 kcal/kg
Heat req 1430kj/kgcl

Well by using these parameter i couldnt so likely to get my answer. Kindly

have me your response to panacea the problem
rahul
Reasons for drop in Kiln inlet temperature
Dear Mr. Ramesh,

There may be possibilities that material which enters in the Calciner, part of
material directly falling at Kiln inlet. Reason may be whatever so. 1. Please
check dispersion plate of material entering in Calciner, check the angle and
shape of dispersion plate. 2. Fuel variation also may be one of the reason
because, Raw meal feeding and coal feeding are generally near by. If you
using Screw conveyor or Rotory air lock for coal feeding, there may be
chance of wear and gape increased in system and it lead to fuel flucuation.
Some time if veocity of kiln feed hood area decreased by area increase at
feed hood and kiln inlet due to no deposition of any coating, that also lead to
drop out some of material in Kiln inlet and reduce the Kiln inlet temperature.
Leakage in the preheater system or downcomer duct expansion joints also
one of the reason to drop out material. One posibility may be there that
Materia deposition at band portion of caciner or cyclone suddenly rush also
reduce the temperature at Kiln inlet. Please note that, whenever there is
material falling directly there are definitely Calciner temperature will shut up
and you are forced to reduce the Calciner coal. Please observe this
phenomina also.

We have checked inlet oxygen and Co%, oxygen is around 3.0% and Co is
0.03%, the calcination zone area is clean and there is no coating, we have
checked shell temp profile, it has been observed that on an average there is
100 Deg drop in shell temp, our burning zone length became short, this
problem happened just 4 days after burner pipe replacement, burner is
conventional burner and we don't have precalciner in the system, we are not
clear about what coarse of action to be taken, kindly help in this regards.

Kiln inlet temp drop due to following reason

1. Heavy coating at kiln inlet - check temp. profile in kiln calcination

zone ( kiln inlet to 10. mtr )

2. Can having co formation at kiln inlet .- To avoid co formation for it.

PL send your sreen shot of kiln and calciner on same time on forum.

Thank for sharing your problem

GKS
How to grind pet coke in vertical roller mill
designed for normal coal
What Mr. GK Sharma has replied is vey correct.

1. Gradually increase the Grinding pressure to the maximum design level.2.

Nitorgen Presure of accumulator also to be increased as per the Mill
supplier guide line. 3. Gradually increae the water spray on the Mill table
from 1 Cubic Meter to 3 Cubic meter. 4. Reduction of Mill table speed upto
10% will help Pet coke to sustain on the table. 5. Reduce Coal Mill fan speed
by 10 to 12%. 6. To maintain the Pet coke residue 1.5 to 2% on 90 Micron
sieve, it almost 40 to 50% Production loss is oberved and subsequently
power consumption also will increase. Hard Grove Index (HGI) is less than 38
will further reduce the production. Damring height may reduce to minimum
level. I think, Mill optimization can be done on the base of trial. Mill outlet
temperature also can increase up to 75 to 78 C, it will help to reduce the Mill
main drive load.

As per my experience in Pfeffier Mill, Grinding Pressure may increased up to

150 Bar, and accumulator pressure can increase up to 65 to 70 Bar. Mill table
speed 92% and Mill Fan speed is 85 to 88% 35 tph capacity Mill production
fall down to 20 to 22 tph and Product residue is 1.5% on 90 Micro sieve.

Clinker litre weight

Dear Mr. Ted Krapkat,

Sir, first of all thank you for responding. I too agree with you that monitoring
of clinker litre weight is rough method to estimate the degree of clinker
quality. But we are in opinion that higher litre weights will be increase the
power consumption in cement mill. More over clinker free lime is maitaining
<0.80 % which is very less. Coal consumption will also come down, if I
maintaine free lime around 1.5 %. This is the reason we are focusing on
clinker litre weights.

I would request you is there any way to increase the free lime from 0.80 to
1.50 % without affecting the production. Is it possible to boost the cement
mill throughput by increased free lime content in clinker ?

Dear all,
My kiln capacity is 4500 TPD, but we are operating it at 5400 TPD. My
problem is clinker litre weights are higher side i.e. > 1270 g. But I want to
maintaine around 1200 g. Can any body suggest me is there any way to
reduce the clinker litre weights by changing the raw mix design, if so request
you to share the information.

In view of to reduce clinker litre weights I have tried by reducing kiln coal
consumption in tern burning zone temperature. But when ever clinker litre
weights are falling down <1250g immediately burning zone is becoming little
bit dusty and blocking the secondary air entry into kiln which resulting
reduction atmospere in kiln and causing to reduce the production. So I want
to concentrate on raw mix design.

High ash coal

Hi...

Does anyone have any experience or knowledge regarding the use of high
ash anthracite in their kilns. The coal in question is a low volatile coal
(anthracite) with 7% volatile matter and gross calorific value of 23 MJ/kg (air
dried). The problem is that the ash content is very high in the range 26-35%
(air dried). The ash constituents consist of 57% silica, 27% AL2O3, 7% Fe2O3
and 5% CaO.

Would be grateful for any insights into the use of this or similar types of fuels

High ash coal

Hi Filippo,

With low volatile matter/high ash coals you have to consider the following;-

(a) KILN RINGS: High-ash coals are more likely to result in ash rings within
the kiln.
(b) COAL FINENESS: Low volatile matter coals need to be ground finer. The
'rule of thumb' is that the R90 um target should be half of the volatile matter
content, which in your case means you would have to grind the anthracite to
~3.5% on 90um sieve. (In addition, a special burner tip design is often
needed for anthracite coal.)
(c) LIMESTONE REQUIREMENTS: Compared to low ash coals, high-ash coals
require a considerably higher raw meal LSF to achieve a given clinker LSF
target. ie more high-grade limestone from the quarry.
(d) VARIABILITY: If the ash content, volatile matter or GCV in the coal have
high variability, there will be significant impact on the flame dynamics,
clinker chemistry and kiln stability.

Clinker Strength
Hello Dipendra,

"How can I increase C3S from 52 to 65"

The C3S in clinker is controlled by the LSF of the raw meal and but will also
depend on the amount of ash in your fuels. You will need to preform a raw
mix calculation which incorporates the raw materials and the ash due to
fuels and wastes etc.

"What will happen if I Mix Slag & florospa in Raw mix"

Blast furnace slag and particularly fluorospar are strong mineralisers/fluxes
and will require care to determine the optimum addition rates and raw mix
chemistry.

ou have operate pyro on same degree of calcination on same temp.or your

degree of calcination increased on same temp.

It will dependent on jamming problem. I think your degree of calcination will

increased . When we have added Flourspar ( caf2). It will react in preburning
zone and increased quality of liquid formation and increased grain growth
rate for conversion of C3S from C2S.hence % of C3S will increasing

What concentration of fluoride did you try? You should aim to have the
clinker fluoride level at a maximum of 0.25% F for adequate mineralisation
without cement performance issues. (Fluoride levels in the clinker of
>0.25% may detrimentally affect cement setting and/or strength
performance, due to incorporation of fluorides into C3A and C3S.)

Fluorite is very effective flux, reducing the temperature of the formation of

the liquid phase, so you have a large number of the liquid phase in
cyclones. Liquid phase adhered to the wall of the cyclone and blocked it.
Add fluorite makes sense to reduce the temperature of clinker formation. Try
giving it directly to the rotary kiln after passing cyclones. In this case careful
look ring formation at the rotary kiln. Bur ring in rotary kiln remove less
complicated than in the cyclone. To remove the ring in rotary kiln just move
the gas burner.

Build-ups of spurrite and fluor-ellestadite may result if the concentration of

fluoride in the clinker exceeds 0.5% F.

Thnks For ur valuable coments and suggetions , we have not gone more than
0.2 % & Cyclone blockage we have faced in 3rd Cyclone ( 5 stage PH )

We will start feeding from kiln I/L

We have started with 0.5 % then we have come down to 0.2 % now we have
started again with 0.05 % from Kiln I/L

Raw meal to clinker ratio

Hello Arvind,

In your first example, since you are using kiln feed containing a dust
component to calculate your "raw meal" to clinker ratio, we have to take this
dust into account.

Let's say we start with 100t of fresh raw meal. In the kiln feed bin we are
adding 8% kiln dust, ie 8t of dust. So, for every 100t of fresh raw
meal passing through the kiln we will actually measure 108t of kiln feed.
Therefore, the kiln feed to clinker ratio will be the raw meal to clinker ratio
multiplied by 108/100 = 1.08

ie. if your fresh raw meal to clinker ratio is 1.55, your kiln feed to clinker
ratio will be 1.55 * 1.08 = 1.674

However, using the LOI data you have already given, we can calculate your
actual fresh raw meal to clinker ratio. eg;-

Given that;-
D = % dust in kiln feed = 8
K = % LOI of kiln feed = 35.4
L = % LOI of the dust = 38
If R = % LOI of fresh raw meal

then

R = (1 + D/100) * K - (D/100 * L)
= (1 + 8/100) * 35.4 - (8/100 * 38)
= 1.08 * 35.4 - 0.08 * 38
= 35.2
Now that we know that the LOI of your fresh raw meal is 35.2%, we can
calculate the actual raw meal to clinker ratio for fresh raw meal using the
formula;- 1 / (1 - R/100) = 1 / (1 - 35.2/100) = 1/(1 - 0.352) = 1/0.648 = 1.54

Therefore your meal to clinker ratio for kiln feed leaving the kiln feed bin is
actually;-
1.54 * 1.08 = 1.66

In your second example, with 4% bypass;-

Assuming the LOI of the bypass dust is close to zero then the kiln feed to
clinker ratio would be;- 1.66 * 1/( 1 - 4/100) = 1.73

If the LOI of the bypass dust is significant (> 10%), then this would have to be
taken into account as well, using the following calculation;-

B = % LOI of bypass dust.

Kiln feed to clinker ratio for 4% bypass = 1.66 * 1/(1 - 4/100 * (1 - B/100))

The calculations assume that are measuring the feed rate of kiln feed
which already contains the recirculation dust. ie in the situation where you
are adding the recirculating dust to the fresh raw meal in the kiln feed bin,
with the kiln feed weigher located after the kiln feed bin.
If you are measuring the kiln feed rate before the addition of recirculation
dust then there is no need to even consider the dust at all. You can just use
the standard raw meal to clinker ratio calculation. ie.;-
1 / (1 - R/100) ' where R = LOI of fresh raw meal.

In your case this calculates to;- 1 / (1 - 35.2/100) = 1.54

To answer your second question regarding the case of 4% bypass dust with
an LOI of 4.4%, the ratio will not be 1.65 it will be 1.726. If the ratio when
there is no bypass is 1.66, then the ratio with bypass can never be less
than 1.66, because you are losing dust that would potentially have become
clinker. So the ratio calculated by (tonnes of kiln feed/ tonnes of clinker)
must decrease.
So, for the your case where kiln feed to clinker ratio is 1.66, with 4% bypass
at 4.4% LOI the formula becomes;-

1.66 * 1/(1 - 4/100 * (1 - 4.4/100))

= 1.66 * 1/(1 - 0.04 * (1 - 0.044))

= 1.66 * 1/( 1 - 0.04 * 0.956)

= 1.66 * 1/(1 - 0.03824)

= 1.66 * 1/0.96176

= 1.66 * 1.0398

= 1.726

To make the formula clearer maybe I should have written it as;-

If A = % bypass dust.
B = %LOI of bypass dust.
then
1
Ratio = 1.66 * ---------------------------------
1- [A/100 * (1 - B/100)]

KILN OUTLET HOOD VELOCITY CALCULATION

calculate hood area. By cooler air balance ( Vent air- cooling air) =
combustion air*0.6 = SA
SA/ hood area/3600 = hood velocity

HEIGHT TO CALUCULATE THE FLOW IN DUCTS

Dear TENDULKAR ,
Please see the file attached. Duct measurment should be at a distance of 3-5
times the diameter after a bend and 2-3 times diameter before a bend in the
duct.
Let me know if you have more questions.

Corelation between burner and clinker

quality/strength or raw mix design

Can anybody suggest is there any corelation between burner flame with
respect to clinker quality and strength, please reply to below query.

We have conventional single channel burner with flame momentum around

1050% m/s, clinker nodulization is good, burning zone temp is OK and clinker
liter wt maintained 1200 to 1300,and clinker loss is 0.5 to 1%despite of the
above clinker strength is not attractive, when oneday strength is high, later
strength will be low and vice versa.

My question is the above problem is due to either improper rawmix design or

problem with burner flame please suggest.

Firstly, what's your clinker chemistry. In particular free lime, C3S, C2S, C3A
and alkali sulphates?

Secondly, yes the burner flame can have a big impact on clinker reactivity.
Over-burning causes a loss of hydraulic reactivity of the clinker minerals
while under-burning results in unreacted free lime and less clinker minerals
available for hydration. Clinkerisation should happen quickly and completely
in the burning zone but clinker should not spend too long at maximum
temperature, so a short, sharp, hot flame is the ideal burning zone scenario.

http://iti.northwestern.edu/cement/monograph/Monograph5_3.html

Separator performance
xxxx,

If you have residues on {212, 90 , 63, 45, 32} µm for feed, coarse and fine, and
if your product is not too fine - as compared to 32µm - , then you could
evaluate a Tromp curve.
If you have less data, you have less chances to evaluate your separator, and
vice-versa.
However, the main question is: what do you mean by "optimum efficiency"?

On a Tromp curve, you can observe the so-called "bypass level".

The bypass level indicates how much % of fine particles go to the coarse
stream.
This measures, of course, and un-wanted behaviour or an "un-efficiency".
If the bypass is 40%, and if the production is 100 t/h, then, naïvely speaking,
this means that 40 t/h of good product is returned to the mill.
This could be, naïvely, translated as an efficiency of 100/140 = 70% and
would indicate that the production could be increased by 40 t/h if the
separator would be 100% efficient. Actually, the impact of the bypass is
lower but it increases with the fineness of the product (circulation
factor). This can be understood by a model of the complete grinding circuit.
My message is: to evaluate a seperator you do need to evaluate the Tromp
curve.
The least you could get from the Tromp curve is the bypass factor.
If you don't have enough information for that, you cannot evaluate the
separator.
There is no answer to this question.
It depends on what you are producing.
For "system improvement", is it not enough to check the quality of the
product and the productivity t/h ?
If your focus is on "separator improvement", then it is all about the Tromp
curve.
Here is some sample data to illustrate my point:

finish product
3500 Blaines, (P32,P45,P63,P90,P212) = (78%, 90%, 97%, 99.3%, 100%)
where P=1-R
feed
2450 Blaines, (P32,P45,P63,P90,P212) = (53%, 67%, 80%, 90%, 99.6%)
reject
1200 Blaines, (P32,P45,P63,P90,P212) = (23%, 39%, 61%, 79%, 98.9%)
Plant
Circulating load: 1.8

Separator
bypass: 10%
cut diameter: 40µm (x50) (x75= 26µm, x50= 40µm, x25= 63µm)
imperfection: 46% (=(x75-x25)/2/x50)
Mill
residues reduction factors: (= residue mill outlet / residue mill inlet)
@32µm = 40%
@45µm = 58%
@63µm = 76%
@90µm = 87%
@212µm = 100% (!)
(this is calculated from residues and circulating load)
I don't see how you could use these data and compare them to your own
data.
What is your product?
What is the product fineness?
What is you circulating load?
To evaluate your separator, you need the Tromp curve, even with very few
points.
The bypass is one point of the Tromp curve that can be evaluated even with
few data.

High SO3 in limestone used as additive

Hello Haliff,

Yes, as Raj has pointed out, we would at least need to know your clinker
K2O, Na2O and SO3 content. The reason is that if sufficient alkalis are
present, SO3 will preferentially form alkali sulphates and/or calcium
langbeinite (2CaSO4.K2SO4) in the clinker. If alkalis are deficient, SO3
will become incorporated into solid solution with the clinker minerals
(particularly C2S).

If enough water-soluble alkali/calcium sulphates are produced, less gypsum

may be used. However, if there is a molar deficiency of alkalis over sulphur,
the excess SO3 is able to become incorporated into C2S. This would cause
the C2S to become less reactive which inhibits further reaction with free
lime to produce C3S, resulting in more C2S and less C3S in the clinker. This
would detrimentally affect cement strengths.

From the clinker K2O, Na2O and SO3 contents we can calculate the
SO3/Alkali ratio which can tell us which form the SO3 is likely to take in your
clinker.

S element in limestone change to SO2 from the mill to the cylclone 2. most
of S in limestone are FeS2 and some organics containing S element.

We have do some research of S's circle in cement industry.

If you would want to discuss more details, you could cantact me.My
email [email protected]. I work for Tianjin cement industry design and
research inistiture in China.
The attachments is S's circle in kiln in Chinses language.

Re: brown core in clk

Brown cores are quite commonly seen within clinker nodules when they are
broken. Clinker which appears to be normal, with a dark grey colour, is found
to have brown cores when the nodules are broken. This phenomena is
brought about by high temperature reduction of Fe3+ to Fe2+ at the high
temperatures in the burning zone. This happens after the C3S has been
formed and is therefore not detrimental for strength development of cement
(although colour may be affected). All clinker will be reduced to some extent
by the high temperatures in the burning zone of a cement kiln. After the
clinker passes under the flame the secondary air rising from the cooler re-
oxidises the Fe2+ to Fe3+, but large clinker nodules may not be completely
re-oxidised through to the core and remain brown in the centre. Porosity, as
well as size, is a factor determining the re-oxidation of the cores, low SM
clinker may be less porous, due to lower flux content, and therefore more
prone to brown cores.

While reduced iron can lead to the phenomenon of brown or yellow centres in
clinker nodules as described above, I have come across
another phenomenon that also causes something similar.

In some brown cores at our plant I discovered that the core material tested
negative to the fairly sensitive Maggotteaux test for Fe2+. This lead me to
examine polished sections (imbedded in epoxy) of these nodules under a
microscope.

I found that the areas which were yellow-brown to the naked eye were
physically different from the darker areas beside them in that they contained
mostly closed pores, whereas the darker areas contained open pores. This
lead me to believe that the colour phenomenon was related to the amount of
light reflected from the clinker surface.

Closed pores would act like small reflectors, wheareas open pores would
transmit the light into depths of the nodule where it would not be able to be
reflected back to the observer, rather like a fibre optic cable. Thus the area
of closed pores would appear lighter (brown) and the areas of open pores
would appear dark.

The Maggotteaux test seemed to confirm this hypothesis on almost every

nodule I tested.

I would suggest that to confirm whether or not the brown cores in your
clinker are due to reducing conditions or this reflected light phenomenon
you should perform the Maggotteaux test (reducing conditions) on the brown
centers.
 The Magotteaux test is a fairly simple but very sensitive test for the
presence of Fe2+ in clinker, although it is qualitative rather than
quantitative.

The principle reagent used is an acidic solution of 2,2'-bipyridyl in water.

Traces of Fe2+ will produce a pink colouration with the reagent, the intensity
of the colour is a measure of the relative amount of Fe2+ present.

In our plant we perform this test daily. I have attached below a short method
if you wish to try it out;-

REAGENTS:
Solution A
Weigh 0.25 g of 2,2'-bipyridyl and transfer it to a beaker. Add 90 ml of water
and 10 ml of concentrated hydrochloric acid. Stir until the reagent has
dissolved and transfer it to an amber glass bottle fitted with a dropper..

Solution B
Dissolve 50 g of tri-sodium citrate in 100 ml of water and transfer it to an
amber glass bottle fitted with a dropper.

APPARATUS:
A white porcelain tile, perferably with small circular depressions.

Analytical balance to weigh the reagents.

Timer.

METHOD:
 Place approx. 5 to 10mg of powdered sample into a depression on the tile.
 Add 2 drops of solution A.
 If there is no pink colour after 2 minutes, add 2 drops of solution B.
 Allow to stand for a further 5 minutes. If a pink colour is now apparent then
Fe2+ is present, but just above the sensitivity of the test.
 Record the result according to Table 1 below;-
Table 1: Test Results Key
Produces no discernable pink colour even after the addition of
Negative
Reagent B

Very Slightly Produces no discernable pink colour with Reagent A alone and
Positive a light pink colour after the addition of Reagent B

Slightly
Produces a light pink colour with Reagent A alone
Positive

Positive Produce a pink colour with Reagent A

Strongly
Produces a strong pink colour with Reagent A alone.
Positive

Correctly burned clinker should be nagative or very slightly positive.

The sensitivity of 2-2'-bipyridyl to Fe2+ is 1:107

REGARDING HOW TO INCREASE THE COOLER

RECUPERATING EFFICIENCY
There are many reasons of poor heat recuperation efficiency in grate cooler:

1.Lower than the desired material bed in the recuperation zone of the garte
cooler.

2.Mechanical breakdown of the seals within an airbeam system-moving rows

in modern CFG cooler.Beams and plates damaged due to high temperature.

3.Poor air distribution inside the cooler and limitation to get fine air
adjustments

4.High wear on plates

5.Very high plate velocity of air ,which lead to fludization of material

6.Poor grate speed control

7.Inappropriate control loops

8. Inadequate seal between plates

9.Inadequate seals between chambers, etc.,etc.

Heat recuperation efficiency is also depends on design of the grate

cooler,fourth generation coolers have recuperation efficiency of 75-80%,
Third generation cooler efficiency varies in the range of 70-75%,Second
generation is 65-70% and first geneartion cooler have less than 65%
efficiency.

kiln torque derivation against motor power?

In fact the kiln torque effectet by many things as follow
1- clinker visocisty if the material sticky it will be adhisive to the kiln
linning and go up with kiln rotation diriction more than the less sticky
material in this case the kiln motor torque is go up due to the motor make
more effort to push the sticky material to up.
2-If burning zone is high temp. torque also go up in this case l.P will be
more that is why ?
3- if kiln speed (less) no match kiln feed and kiln load the torque go up with
low speed and high feed and vice versa.
4- is the kiln has heavy coating alsoo you will face high kiln torque
power= torque * angular velocity

power= torque * angular velocity

angular velocity = 2pi rotational velocity

so torque = powe/ 2pi rpm

Impact of ALKALY, SULPHURE and CHLORINE in

Kiln operation and clinker quality ?
Hello Raju,

To answer your questions;-

1. The alkali/sulphur ratio is used in two ways in kiln operation. The first is to
measure if there is a molar balance between the total inputs of alkalis and
sulphur contributed by all of the raw materials, fuels and AFR streams
entering the kiln... the second is to measure the instantaneous molar
alkali/sulphur balance in the kiln/preheater system (based on hot meal)
Both use the same equation;-

{ K2O/94) + (Na2O/62) - (Cl/71) }

A/S = --------------------------------------------
(SO3/80)

However, if there is little or no chloride in the raw material and fuel inputs to
the kiln, the chloride component is often ignored when calculating the A/S
ratio of the total inputs.

For hot meal though, chloride is always subtracted from the alkali molar total
because alkali chlorides are far more volatile than alkali sulphates and
recirculate within the kiln. (Over 98% of alkali chlorides (particularly KCl) are
re-evaporated in the high temperature of the burning zone and return to
thekiln inlet with the kiln gases where they condense on the incoming hot
meal and continue to recycle.) Any K2O or Na2O tied up with the
chlorides are therefore not considered in the A/S ratio calculation for hot
meal.
The purpose of the hot meal A/S ratio is to predict the likelihood of alkali or
sulphur related buildups in the kiln inlet. In particular, sudden decreases in
this ratio can indicate lack of oxygen in the back end of the kiln and
impending sulphur buildups. A high value indicates an excess of alkalis. The
portion of the alkalis which do not combine with SO3 to form sulphates will
also recirculate in the kiln, increasing the potential for rings and preheater
buildups.

When applied to the kiln material inputs, the alkali/sulphur ratio is used to
manage raw material, fuel and AFR inputs. New raw materials, fuels and
AFRs should be chosen taking their effect on the overall akali/sulphur ratio
into consideration. Similarly, selective mining can "fine tune" the chemistry
of existing raw materials to optimise the raw mix alkali/sulphur ratio, if it is
not within the range 0.8 --> 1.2

2. If alkalis are very high and are not balanced by sulphur, it will be very
difficult for them to exit the kiln. They will therefore continue to recirculate
within the kiln/preheater system and increase the probabliity of kiln rings and
preheater buildups. Clinker quality may suffer because free alkalis can enter
into solid solution within the clinker minerals affecting their reactivity.
3. If sulphur is very high and is not balanced by alkalis, it will also continue
to recirculate within the kiln/preheater system and increase the probabliity
of kiln rings and preheater buildups. Excess sulphur in the hot meal can also
form sulphospurrite (2(CaO).SiO2.CaS04) in the middle cyclones, which forms
exceedingly hard and dense buildups which can take a long time to
remove. Clinker quality would also suffer because sulphur which is not
combined with alkalis forms a solid solution with the silicate minerals,
particularly C2S (up to 2%). Sulphur incorporated in this way stabilises C2S
and inhibits its reaction with CaO to form C3S. As a result, C2S content is
increased and C3S content is decreased in the clinker, causing a reduction in
cement strengths.

4. If chloride is very high, it will first combine with all of the alkalis present
forming alkali chlorides which will recirculate in the kiln and increase the
probability of buildups in the preheater. Any remaining chloride will then
combine with CaO to form CaCl2 which has a very low melting point (770-
780oC). This will make the hot meal extremely "sticky" at this temperature
and increase the chance of buildups higher up the preheater. Chlorides also
form eutectic mixtures with sulphates of potassium, sodium, calcium and
magnesium. These eutectic mixtures have melting points much lower than
that of the pure compounds, further increasing the likelyhood of rings and
buildups. Above 0.015%, in the raw meal, chloride recirculation is so bad
that blockages in the preheater are eventually inevitable. If the chloride does
manage to escape the kiln(ie during kiln trips, stoppages etc), too much
chloride in the clinker can accelerate the corrosion of reinforcing steel in the
concrete.

Yes, you can calculate the alkali/SO3 ratio for clinker as well. However the
clinker alkali/SO3 ratio is not greatly useful, except to confirm the alkali/SO3
balance of the inputs.

It is much more useful to check the alkali/SO3 ratio of the total inputs ( raw
materials + fuel + AFRs), and hotmeal. The alkali/SO3 ratios of these two
streams have totally different functions;-

1. The alkali/SO3 ratio of the total inputs shows if there is an excess of either
SO3 or alkalis entering the system and is used to assess and select raw
materials, fuels and AFRs, as well as monitor changes in alkali and sulphur
levels in existing raw materials and fuels.
2. The alkali/SO3 ratio of the hotmeal should be monitored regularly (ideally
every 2 to 4 hours). It will tell you if there has been a significant change in
the degree of sulphur recirculation due to reducing conditions.

angular velocity = 2pi rotational velocity

so torque = powe/ 2pi rpm

Impact of ALKALY, SULPHURE and CHLORINE in

Kiln operation and clinker quality ?
Hello Raju,

To answer your questions;-

1. The alkali/sulphur ratio is used in two ways in kiln operation. The first is to
measure if there is a molar balance between the total inputs of alkalis and
sulphur contributed by all of the raw materials, fuels and AFR streams
entering the kiln... the second is to measure the instantaneous molar
alkali/sulphur balance in the kiln/preheater system (based on hot meal)
Both use the same equation;-

{ K2O/94) + (Na2O/62) - (Cl/71) }

A/S = --------------------------------------------
(SO3/80)

However, if there is little or no chloride in the raw material and fuel inputs to
the kiln, the chloride component is often ignored when calculating the A/S
ratio of the total inputs.

For hot meal though, chloride is always subtracted from the alkali molar total
because alkali chlorides are far more volatile than alkali sulphates and
recirculate within the kiln. (Over 98% of alkali chlorides (particularly KCl) are
re-evaporated in the high temperature of the burning zone and return to
thekiln inlet with the kiln gases where they condense on the incoming hot
meal and continue to recycle.) Any K2O or Na2O tied up with the
chlorides are therefore not considered in the A/S ratio calculation for hot
meal.
The purpose of the hot meal A/S ratio is to predict the likelihood of alkali or
sulphur related buildups in the kiln inlet. In particular, sudden decreases in
this ratio can indicate lack of oxygen in the back end of the kiln and
impending sulphur buildups. A high value indicates an excess of alkalis. The
portion of the alkalis which do not combine with SO3 to form sulphates will
also recirculate in the kiln, increasing the potential for rings and preheater
buildups.

When applied to the kiln material inputs, the alkali/sulphur ratio is used to
manage raw material, fuel and AFR inputs. New raw materials, fuels and
AFRs should be chosen taking their effect on the overall akali/sulphur ratio
into consideration. Similarly, selective mining can "fine tune" the chemistry
of existing raw materials to optimise the raw mix alkali/sulphur ratio, if it is
not within the range 0.8 --> 1.2

2. If alkalis are very high and are not balanced by sulphur, it will be very
difficult for them to exit the kiln. They will therefore continue to recirculate
within the kiln/preheater system and increase the probabliity of kiln rings and
preheater buildups. Clinker quality may suffer because free alkalis can enter
into solid solution within the clinker minerals affecting their reactivity.
3. If sulphur is very high and is not balanced by alkalis, it will also continue
to recirculate within the kiln/preheater system and increase the probabliity
of kiln rings and preheater buildups. Excess sulphur in the hot meal can also
form sulphospurrite (2(CaO).SiO2.CaS04) in the middle cyclones, which forms
exceedingly hard and dense buildups which can take a long time to
remove. Clinker quality would also suffer because sulphur which is not
combined with alkalis forms a solid solution with the silicate minerals,
particularly C2S (up to 2%). Sulphur incorporated in this way stabilises C2S
and inhibits its reaction with CaO to form C3S. As a result, C2S content is
increased and C3S content is decreased in the clinker, causing a reduction in
cement strengths.

4. If chloride is very high, it will first combine with all of the alkalis present
forming alkali chlorides which will recirculate in the kiln and increase the
probability of buildups in the preheater. Any remaining chloride will then
combine with CaO to form CaCl2 which has a very low melting point (770-
780oC). This will make the hot meal extremely "sticky" at this temperature
and increase the chance of buildups higher up the preheater. Chlorides also
form eutectic mixtures with sulphates of potassium, sodium, calcium and
magnesium. These eutectic mixtures have melting points much lower than
that of the pure compounds, further increasing the likelyhood of rings and
buildups. Above 0.015%, in the raw meal, chloride recirculation is so bad
that blockages in the preheater are eventually inevitable. If the chloride does
manage to escape the kiln(ie during kiln trips, stoppages etc), too much
chloride in the clinker can accelerate the corrosion of reinforcing steel in the
concrete.

you can calculate the alkali/SO3 ratio for clinker as well. However the
clinker alkali/SO3 ratio is not greatly useful, except to confirm the alkali/SO3
balance of the inputs.

It is much more useful to check the alkali/SO3 ratio of the total inputs ( raw
materials + fuel + AFRs), and hotmeal. The alkali/SO3 ratios of these two
streams have totally different functions;-

1. The alkali/SO3 ratio of the total inputs shows if there is an excess of either
SO3 or alkalis entering the system and is used to assess and select raw
materials, fuels and AFRs, as well as monitor changes in alkali and sulphur
levels in existing raw materials and fuels.

2. The alkali/SO3 ratio of the hotmeal should be monitored regularly (ideally

every 2 to 4 hours). It will tell you if there has been a significant change in
the degree of sulphur recirculation due to reducing conditions.

Firstly let me say that even 0.22% Cl- in the rawmix is already a VERY high
input of chloride. I understand from some of your other posts that this high
level of chloride in the raw materials has forced you to install a kiln bypass.

An increase of 0.22 to 0.28 represents almost a 30% increase in chloride,

which is significant. However, whether or not this increase may cause you
problems will depend on how the kiln bypass handles this increase.

You have a molar excess of alkalis with respect to chloride, even at 0.28%,
so I would expect that you should still be able maintain your hotmeal
chloride at 0.6%, although it may require an increase in bypass dust
extraction rate.

Has the raw meal chloride level increased already or are you anticipating an
increase in the future?

Looks like you have the situation under control.

The slight drop in clinker CaO content simply means that that the loss-free
bypass dust is higher in CaO than clinker. This is because bypass dust is rich
in calcined meal dust, which is high in LSF. Also, the clinker LSF is reduced
by the adsorption of coal ash further down the kiln.

We have Cl contents :in Raw meal 0.018 %, in CKD(kiln dust which we add in
raw meal)- 0.05, in Coal 0.06 and in Kiln Feed -0.08, how can I explain such
high conten of Cl in Kiln feed.

From the data you have provided the chloride in your system doesn't balance.
There can only be two reasons;-

1. One or more of the analyses are in error.

2. Please concering this topic, in my plant we use S/A ratio and not A/S
ratio. I hope since its molar saturation is still the same trend.
3. However, we had an experience, in the kiln feed we measured S/A 0.57
4. While in the clinker we had a sudden rise of S/A from 0.56 to 0.98 for 4
hours, then it started going down
5. what could be the cause and implication (Though am aware that 0.98
S/A is okay, but why the change in our normal range)
6. you are correct. The S/A ratio uses the same calculation method, it is
simply the inverse of the A/S.
7. Sometimes the clinker sample can contain pieces of buildups from the
smokebox/calciner, which are usually very high in alkalis and/or
sulphur. This can skew your S/A ratio one way or the other from the
normal value. How long the effect last for depends on how often these
buildups are falling and the size of the pieces. Normally only one or two
clinker samples are affected, but if large pieces of buildup are falling
regularly over several hours you might notice this effect last longer.
8. Have a look at the SO3 and K2O of the clinker and plot how these are
changing (compared to normal clinker values) when this type of event
happens. Also, if the pieces of buildup passing through the kiln are
large enough you may see the Free Lime and LSF also spike up
suddenly in these samples, due to the unburnt nature of the buildup
material.
9. As long as these excursions in S/A are small, infrequent, do not affect
kiln operation and have negligible influence on clinker quality, there
should be no implications to be concerned about. However, if they
become more frequent and start to affect clinker free lime or affect
production, you may have to look into measures for reducing or
preventing the buildups from forming. ie increase O2 in the kiln inlet or
 install blasters in the area of formation and blast regularly so the
buildups do not become too large.

2. There are other chloride inputs to the kiln feed which you haven't
considered.

What is the source of the CKD you mention? Is it raw meal bag house and/or
gas conditioning tower dust?
Regards,

Both high degree of calcination and reducing atmosphere in the kiln inlet can
result in buildups in the calciner/kiln inet.

A high degree of calcination means that the temperature in the kiln inlet is
probably too high. This may lead to some liquid phase forming in the lower
cyclones, smoke chamber and kiln inlet, resulting in blockages and buildups.
If the DoC is very high clinker could actually form in the cyclones/smoke
chamber. Such buildups will generally be dark in colour, very hard and
contain the same (or just slightly higher) SO3 and alkali content as clinker.

On the other hand, a reducing atmosphere in the kiln inlet will result in rapid
formation of lighter coloured, softer, SO3-rich buildups in the calciner/smoke
chamber, which often form slabs which regulalry fall into the kiln inlet and
temporarily increase clinker free lime, K2O and SO3 as they pass out of the
kiln with the clinker.

The slight drop in clinker CaO content simply means that that the loss-free
bypass dust is higher in CaO than clinker. This is because bypass dust is rich
in calcined meal dust, which is high in LSF. Also, the clinker LSF is reduced
by the adsorption of coal ash further down the kiln.
Firstly let me say that even 0.22% Cl- in the rawmix is already a VERY high
input of chloride. I understand from some of your other posts that this high
level of chloride in the raw materials has forced you to install a kiln bypass.

An increase of 0.22 to 0.28 represents almost a 30% increase in chloride,

which is significant. However, whether or not this increase may cause you
problems will depend on how the kiln bypass handles this increase.

You have a molar excess of alkalis with respect to chloride, even at 0.28%,
so I would expect that you should still be able maintain your hotmeal
chloride at 0.6%, although it may require an increase in bypass dust
extraction rate.

Has the raw meal chloride level increased already or are you anticipating an
increase in the future?

Regards,

High MgO in limestone

Hello Haliff,

Above 2% in the clinker, MgO will appear as the mineral periclase. If the
particle size of this periclase is large, this could result in an increase of
the expansion of the cement, causing unsoundness. The particle size of the
periclase is dependent on the size and distribution of MgO within the
limestone, and on the fineness of the clinker particles in the cement.

3% MgO isn't exceptionally high though and you should be able to make
cement with acceptable expansion at this level. However, I would still try
to reduce the MgO content of the limestone as much as practically possible,
by selective mining and even wasting material which has very high MgO.
Also, you may have to grind your cement a bit finer to help counteract
magnesia expansion.

Therefore, it would be advisable to carefully monitor cement expansion by

frequent testing of production cement samples once you start using clinker
made with the higher MgO limestone.

On the positive side, a modest increase in MgO will slightly increase

both the liquid phase quantity and the mobility of Ca ions within the liquid
phase, promoting clinkerisation and formation of C3S.
Please, can you share with me the impact of high MgO in limestone used as
additive.

In recent time i noticed high initial setting time in our cement and the major
change in parameter was observed with MgO (the limestone additive
contains higher MgO than usual).

Also, does the so3 content of additive limestone have influence on setting
time (does high SO3 in additive limestone leads to reduction of gypsum
usage).

Please kindly give your expert opinion. (the chemistry responsible for the
answer will help in my understanding)

When limestone is used as a cement mineral additive, any MgO is normally

present in the limestone as dolomite (CaCO3.MgCO3). Since MgCO3 has very
similar chemical reactions to CaCO3, I would not expect that MgCO3 would
have much impact on cement properties at all.
(See http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S187770581300831X )
MgO could also be present in volcanic rock intrusions within the limestone
deposit. However, in this form MgO is even less likely to have much effect on
cement properties, since it is locked within the volcanic mineral chemical
structure.

With respect to SO3 contained in the limestone, this should not have any
effect on cement properties as long as the increased SO3 is not present as
soluble calcium or alkali sulphates. You would have to determine the soluble
sulphate content of the limestone to determine if there could potentially be
any influence on cement settin

If cement containing high free CaO and/or MgO is ground finer, the particles
of free lime and MgO are reduced in size and will then hydrate faster. If the
cement is ground fine enough, the Free CaO and MgO will have already fully
hydrated before the cement paste starts to stiffen.

It is only when larger particles of Free CaO and MgO continue to hydrate
after the cement paste has set that destructive expansion occurs.