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DIRECTION I
-BARREL
LINING
Fig. 11.1 Heat, passing through the shell of the kiln, must be constantly
replenished by the flame in order to maintain a condition of equilibrium
necessary for coating formation.
There is a temperature drop between the coating surface (CS) and the
kiln shell (KS), the heat flowing in the direction indicated by the arrow in
Fig. 11.1. (Heat always travels from a place or body of high temperature
to a place of body of lower temperature.) This heat transfer is governed to
a great extent by the conductivity of the refractory and the coating. The
better the conductivity of the refractory, the better the chance of coating
formation, explained by the fact that the more heat that travels in the direc-
tion of the arrow, the lower the temperature will be at the surface of the
coating. Because the coating consists of particles that have changed from a
liquid to a solid state, the amount that any kiln feed liquefies at clinkering
COATING AND RING FORMATIONS IN A ROTARY KILN
Operating Conditions.
Operating conditions are just as vital for coating formation as all the
other factors mentioned above. Assume that a kiln will be operated from
one extreme of temperature to the other, that is, a cold, a normal, and a
badly overheated kiln; that the same kiln-feed composition is burned in all
three examples; that the solidifying temperature is 2400 F (1315 C); and
that 24% liquid is formed at the point of investigation, under ideal oper-
ating condition.
First, consider the cold kiln (Fig. In this case almost no coat-
ing is formed The coating surface temperature as well as the feed tempera-
ture is too low to produce the necessary amount of liquid matter that would
promote coating formation. The condition in this example is commonly
referred to by kiln operators as the kiln being in a “hole.” This example
also supports the widely known fact that no new coating can be formed
while the kiln is cold.
out with an industrial gun. The system has been successfully used
for many years in Europe on several kilns to remove such rings. These
devices affixed to the kiln shell in strategic locations and use
cartridges to blast the rings while the kiln has only to be stopped for a
short interval to load and trigger the cartridges.
Much research work has been done on the probable causes of these ring
formations in the burning zone. The possible causes are many and no one
single factor has yet been found that would be the main cause for all the
rings formed. What seems to be true for one particular kiln might be
wrong for another kiln. This is clearly explained in the fol-
lowing example: On many coal-fired kilns, operators have found a relation-
ship between the fusion temperature of the coal ash and the frequency of
ring formation. There appears to be more ring formation when the fusion
temperature is low, i.e., when the ash contains larger amounts of fluxing
iron and alumina and less silica. However, this could not be the only
cause for such ring formations because natural gas- and oil-fired kilns,
which have no ash deposits in the burning zone, can have just as many
ring problems as the kilns, Hence, solutions for the elimination
of rings in the burning zone are predominantly found by a process of
elimination. First, all probable causes are listed and then each suspected
cause is eliminated or changed until hopefully an answer is found. From
personal experience, the author has found the following factors to be
possible contributors to ring formations in the burning zone:
g) Kiln speed too slow and feed loading too high in normal
operation.
h) Excessive variations of flame temperature and length during
normal operation.
i) Frequent changes in secondary air temperatures.
j) Excessive frequency of kiln-operating upsets (burning zone
temperature and location varies too frequently and by too large a
range).
k) Increased volatility of, and frequent changes in, alkali and sulfur
contents in the fuel and feed.
Others have found other reasons for ring formation in the burning zone.
Thus, the list could possibly be expanded to over 30.
It is of interest that half of the cited factors can be somehow controlled
by the kiln operator and action taken to stabilize the flame and the kiln
operation that might be beneficial in lessening the frequency of ring
formation.
Less frequent but nevertheless equally troublesome are the so-called feed
rings that form in the calcining zone of the rotary kiln. Wet-process kilns
often experience so-called formations in the chain section too.
Finally, many preheater kilns and Lepol kilns experience ring formations
and build-up problems at the feed inlet and in the lower preheat cyclone
stage.
In investigations on this subject it has been found that the majority of
these rings and heavy coatings in dry- and wet-process kilns are associated
with one of the following factors:
a) Internal cycle of the volatile constituents the kiln feed and
fuel (alkalies, sulfur, chlorides).
b) Kiln-feed fineness.
c ) Irregular and insufficient control (frequent fluctuations) of the
end temperature and kiln draft.
d) Excessive dust generation within the rotary kiln proper.
THE ROTARY CEMENT KILN
References