TRANSPARENT ENERGY SYSTEMS >

WASTE HEAT BY ASMITA ATRE

RECOVERY SYSTEMS
AND
POWER PROJECTS
FOR CEMENT PLANTS
HOW CAN HEAT EXCHANGERS TURN THE SPECIAL DEMANDS AND
CONDITIONS OF THESE ENVIRONMENTS INTO OPPORTUNITIES?

C
ement making is an energy intensive
process. Therefore, increasing de-
mand for energy and water requires
even more energy efficiency for the
cement making process. Also, the
cost of energy is a significant factor in the cost of ce-
ment, so improving the energy efficiency of a cement
plant will dramatically improve its bottom line.
The hot exhaust gases are available for heat recov-
ery in cement plants. However, these gases are highly
dust-laden and offer challenges for recovering heat in
traditional heat recovery heat exchangers. Transparent
Energy Systems (TES) has been successful in overcom-
ing these challenges with over 31 installations of heat
recovery heat exchangers, globally producing a cumu-
lative 80.82 MW of power. The patented technology
of TES has also been recognized by the Department
FIGURE 1 STEAM RANKINE CYCLE BASED WHRPP
of Scientific and Industrial Research (DSIR, Govt. of
India) with an award for In-house R&D efforts in the
clean energy and climate change category in 2008.

TECHNOLOGY
As shown in Figure 1, the hot, dust-laden exhaust gases
from the cement plant can be tapped from two sources
— namely, clinker cooler and preheater cyclones. The
hot gases are passed through the waste heat recovery
boiler (WHRB) to generate medium-pressure super-
heated steam to drive the steam Rankine cycle-based
power plant. The WHRB on preheater exhaust gases is
generally installed parallel to the downcomer before
the preheater fan. In select cases, it could be installed
after the preheater fan. WHRB on clinker cooler is in-
stalled either on mid-tap or vent gases.
In cases where preheater exhaust gas temperature
is typically above 360ºC, the clinker cooler WHRB is FIGURE 2 ORGANIC RANKINE CYCLE BASED WHRPP

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W W W. ABM A .COM T O D AY ’ S B O I L E R
 TABLE 1
The waste heat recovery heat exchanger
LOCATION PLANT CAPACITY POWER GENERATION (HE) explained above has a vertical con-
RAJASTHAN, INDIA 7200 TPD 7 MW struction, which occupies very little floor
ANDHRA PRADESH, INDIA 4400 TPD 9.05 MW space. Usually, the preheater cyclone as-
ANDHRA PRADESH, INDIA 3600 TPD 6.5 MW sembly of the cement plant is around 75
SLOVAKIA, EUROPE 3600 TPD 5 MW
to 100m in height; therefore, the vertical
design saves huge costs of supporting struc-
ANDHRA PRADESH, INDIA 7000 TPD 7.3 MW
ture and ducting for conveying gases to the
MAHARASHTRA, INDIA 4350 TPD 5100 TPD 13.22 MW
inlet of the HE. Also the vertical HE re-
GUJARAT, RAJASTHAN 3500 TPD 8.25 MW quires only a single dust collection point. It
RAJASTHAN, INDIA 2 X 3000 TPD 13.2 MW allows natural circulation of water through
RAJASTHAN, INDIA 3000 TPD 5 MW boiler tubes, eliminating the requirement
of an additional circulation pump. With
ANDHRA PRADESH, INDIA 7500 TPD 4 MW
these features, it easily retrofits in the run-
ANDHRA PRADESH, INDIA 1750 TPD 2.3 MW
ning cement plant without affecting the

ABOVE: THERMAL OIL HEATERS ON

PREHEATER CYCLONES EXHAUST INSTALLED
IN SLOVAKIA. RIGHT: THERMAL OIL HEATERS
ON CLINKER COOLER EXHAUST INSTALLED
IN SLOVAKIA.

generally installed on cooler vent gases. If
the preheater gas temperature is lower, the
cooler WHRB is installed on mid-tap gases
to maximize temperature of superheated
steam, resulting in enhanced power out-
put. Gases with high-grade heat are avail-
able if they are tapped at the middle of the
clinker cooler. The high temperature and
low quantity of gasses offer thermodynamic
advantages for the generation of steam at
higher pressure and help achieve a smaller
sized boiler. Depending on the gas tem-
perature levels, typical steam pressure is in
the range of 10 to 30 bar, and the superheat
temperature is in range of 300ºC to 400ºC.
The waste heat recovery based steam
Rankine cycle power plant can be engi-
neered with the option of condensation by
either air cooler condenser or water cooled
condenser. The option of an air cooled con-
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T O D AY ’ S B O I L E R SPRING 2 014
denser is preferred in cases of scarcity of
water. In case of abundant water availability,
the option of a water cooled condenser is at-
tractive since it offers higher power output.
As shown in the Figure 2, the hot gases
can also be tapped for heating thermal
oil or generating pressurized hot water
to drive an organic Rankine cycle based
power plant.
Hot gases from modern cement plants
have lower temperatures than those from
old cement plants. ORC based power gen-
eration, which operates on organic fluid
instead of steam, offers better outputs over
steam cycle. Also, it has lower O&M costs
because critical water treatment facilities
are not required. ORC systems are gaining
increasing popularity and are expected to
take larger market share over steam Ran-
kine cycle based systems.
production capacities and quality of cement
produced. The reliable high-temperature
resisting guillotine dampers installed in the
inlet and bypass ducts make it possible to
isolate the HE for maintenance without re-
quiring production shutdown.
POWER POTENTIAL TAPPED
TES has served about 11 cement plants in
India and overseas, details of which appear
in Table 1.
This highly successful award-winning
technology is well poised to tap en-
ergy saving potentials of cement plants
across the globe. TB
Ms. Atre is Assistant Vice President, Cor-
porate Business Processes for Transparent
Energy Systems Pvt. Ltd in Maharashtra,
India (www.tespl.com).