I

n 1999, officials at what is now the Argos USA plant decided to build a new cement line to help
meet the demand for more production at a lower cost. Over time, the 1960s technology that had
been installed was seeing an increase in maintenance costs, a decrease in reliability and a growing
number of issues with equipment, including dust collection.
While the team at the plant set out to build a more efficient line, there was an important lesson
learned the hard way. There may be ways to save money initially, but the most efficient and the least
expensive thing to do in the long run often requires consulting with experts and finding equipment
that is right for your plant.
Without a doubt, said Nick Trout, Maintenance Manager at the 1.5 million tpa plant, you have to
look at the entire system it cant be just individual components. Were big on partnering with suppliers.
It needs to be a win-win.
Andy Winston, GE Energy,
USA, together with insight
from Nick Trout, Argos USA,
describes events and lessons
learned from the start up of
a cement plant to meeting
looming environmental
regulations.
Dust
Collector
Optimisation
Reprinted from [Jan 12] worldcement.com
Production bottleneck, maintenance
nightmare
As part of the overhaul, the Alabama plant decided to add
a rotary preheater/precalciner kiln, the fifth that had been
installed on site. It would have enough capacity to replace
four smaller kilns two there and two in Atlanta, Georgia
and also have capacity for an additional 100 000 tpa. The
company wanted a plant that was so efficient it would create
the additional capacity. They also wanted to be the lowest
cost producer.
However, plans changed. The cost of construction soon
needed to be reduced by 30%, and the kiln/raw mill dust
collectors were among the targets for cost cutting. The
dust collector was resized for the absolute minimum air
volume, not taking into consideration in-leakage and false
air. Additional compartments (air volume) would then have
to be added at a later date if required. Sure enough, initial
operation of the plant found higher air inputs than design
and air in-leakage in the region of 5%.
We had to compromise, Trout said. We knew the
baghouse design was marginal. We just didnt know it would
cause the problems it did. We thought it would be more of
a production bottleneck. It ended up being a maintenance
nightmare, almost from the get go.
Initial set of filter bags
The initial set of filter bags and cages were supplied by
GE Energy. Within the first two years of operation, fears
that the baghouse would be too small were proven correct.
In production, air volumes were more than 20% over the
baghouse design surging to 520 000 acfm in a collector
sized for only 454 000. It pushed the air-to-cloth ratio to the
limit, prompting a dramatic increase in filter bag cleaning
cycles due to the falsely elevated differential pressure
resulting from the additional air volume. The plant also saw
abrasion of the filter bags because of the increased volume
and high velocity in the ductwork and the hoppers. The net
result was that after 18 months of operation, all of the bags
and cages were replaced due to premature failures.
Second set of filter bags
The second set of filter bags and cages were supplied by an
alternate supplier based on price. The bags and cages were
replaced compartment by compartment, with the kiln still in
continuous operation, and it was quickly apparent that the
plant was experiencing problems of a different kind.
This stemmed from multiple issues, including:
l A lighter-weight filter bag as measured in ounces/yd
2
.
l Poorly chosen snapband materials and construction that
were insufficient to keep a proper seal, so they fell from
the tubesheet into the hopper.
l A poor bag-to-cage fit.
l Cages tapered at the top and bottom and constructed of
a lighter gauge material.
The construction left a lot to be desired, Trout said.
Detail to very important specifications was not there.
Trout knew he needed to add to the existing kiln/raw
mill dust collector, but how would he make it fit? To help
find a solution, GE was selected to look at all the different
configurations, addressing duct velocity and abrasion issues.
GE carried out engineering studies and used computational
fluid dynamics modeling to arrive at the right solutions for
the myriad of problems associated with the original dust
collector design.
The analysis showed that many of the problems
stemmed from the original equipment purchased at the
start-up. Trout says today that the plant should have
received more feedback on the original design of the overall
dust collector system.
It was a big lesson learned, Trout said. Every area
where we compromised, we had to go back and revisit and
reengineer.
Ultimately, plant leaders chose to:
l Add four new compartments, expanding from 10 up to
14.
l Enlarge inlet and outlet plenums to accommodate a 27%
air volume increase.
l Redesign the inlet plenum to evenly distribute airflow,
based on the Computational Fluid Dynamics analysis.
l Modify the inlet ductwork in each module and the
hopper baffling.
l Provide 9016 filter bags and cages.
The biggest thing, Trout said, was to have a complete
package. GE had better industry knowledge rather than just
dust collector knowledge. Because of their specific cement
expertise they were aware of the conditions their products
would see or be exposed to.
Theres more to a good filtering system than just bags
and cages, and GE helped us find the solution and also
continued to help monitor to make sure it was working.
Today, the plant has the right equipment, but including
the initial purchase, the net total was 50% higher than
necessary.
Filter bag options
It is important to remember that the filter bags and cages
are just a component of the kiln/raw mill dust collector.
They alone cannot make up for shortcomings in the
system, but they are critical for several factors that must be
considered, including:
l Efficiency.
l Durability.
Raw mill/kiln baghouse.
Reprinted from [Jan 12] worldcement.com
l Construction.
l Bag-to-cage fit.
l Cage construction.
Efficiency and durability work hand in hand. One
without the other will result in higher emissions, short filter
bag life and higher operating and maintenance costs.
Performance hinges largely on the ePTFE membrane,
which handles efficiency, and the backing fabric, which
plays a key role in both efficiency and durability. The
correct weight for the application and the proper bonding
of the ePTFE membrane to the backing fabric is vital. One
of the most frequently selected fabric bags for US cement
kiln/raw mill dust collectors has been a 22 oz./yd
2
woven
fibreglass laminated with GE Energys Preveil expanded
PTFE membrane, formulated for this application. During
the life of the filter bag, it is under great stress from online
operation and cleaning. The bond of the membrane to
the backing fabric (in this case fibreglass), must maintain
its integrity under this stress and not separate or crack.
This plant has had several sets of filter bags installed from
different companies, but with the last one, which was
furnished by GE Energy, the stack tests for the three years
have been below the new particulate standards that will take
hold in 2013. The fourth-year results were slightly above,
but the results were affected by rust scale from the clean air
plenum, not leaks in the filter bags.
Construction can make or break filter bag quality, and,
unfortunately, this is an area where many manufacturers cut
corners. Snap band materials must match the application,
from stainless steel band material to the proper gasket
materials. Proper sewing thread is also key. It should match
the backing fabric, in this case fibreglass.
Bag-to-cage fit is another area greatly ignored. It is
challenging and takes accurate manufacturing to maintain
the fit from the first filter bag and cage to the last, but
the relationship is very important to filter bag cleaning
efficiency. If too tight, the filter bag cannot flex and will not
break off the dust cake. If too loose, the bag over flexes and
leads to filter bag failure due to flex fatigue. Manufacturing
both components in the same manufacturing plant is
extremely helpful, and GE Energy is the only supplier that
has this capability. At a minimum, at least one cage must be
on-hand when the filter bags are manufactured to check fit
during the production run. In addition, the inside diameter
of the cage top must fit properly with the outside diameter
of the filter bag, as well as a snap band top to keep the filter
bags and cages from swaying during operation. This was a
huge problem in this dust collector with the second set of
filter bags, before the plant switched to bags provided by
GE.
Cage construction causes several areas of concern,
starting with the gauge of wire. Most kiln/raw mill dust
collectors use 11 gauge wire, but this plant decided on
9 gauge. The 9 gauge gives a little more support and stands
up better to handling and shipping than the 11 gauge.
The number of wires is also important when it comes to
supporting the filter bag properly in this case, a minimum
of 20 vertical wires and the horizontal rings at a minimum
of 8 in. spacing to accomplish the proper support. The
cages should be the same diameter top to bottom without
any tapering. All welds should be to the inside, not in any
filter bags contact area, and there should be no sharp areas
that make filter bag contact.
Corrosion
The third set of filter bags provided by GE worked well at
the Alabama plant, helping to resolve the production and
environmental issues.
In time, though, new issues with corrosion emerged that
tied back to operating procedures.
Todays kiln/raw mill kiln dust collectors, in the raw mill
on condition, operate at much lower dust collector inlet
Large amounts of rust scale on the tubesheet.
Corrosion on the tubesheet.
Corrosion on the compartment walls and ceiling.
Reprinted from [Jan 12] worldcement.com
temperatures. In this plant, the inlet temperature to the
dust collector is below 300 F (150 C), meaning the dust
collector often operates in or near the acid dew point. In
addition, if a good start-up procedure is not followed, the
dew point condition only worsens.
At the Alabama plant, sulfur was present in the
gas stream and, with temperatures below 300 F,
condensation ensued. The filter bags were well-
protected, but the metal surface areas made of carbon
steel were not. Excessive corrosion caused rust to flake
off the walls, and clumps landed inside the filter bags.
What this plant now normally does to help during
warmup, when the full volume of the dust collector
is not needed, is have two compartments online at a
time. With the reduced volume, the velocities through
the dust collector are also reduced. If the entire dust
collector is online, it takes quite a while for the collector
to come up to temperature, and the compartments
operate for a considerable amount of time in the dew
point.
The plant now starts with two compartments online
and the cleaning system off. As the differential pressure
reaches 6 in. (150 mm) across the dust collector and
the inlet temperature reaches 300 F (150 C), the next
two compartments get added. This procedure continues
until all compartments are online, and the cleaning cycle
does not start until feed is put to the process equipment.
The new procedure brings the temperature in the
compartments up rapidly, passing through dew point
quickly.
The fourth year stack test that was slightly above
0.04 lb/t of clinker was elevated due to the rust scale going
out the stack (see below). Early in the fourth year, filter bags
started to fail from the rust being pulsed down into them.
The dust particles came to rest between the cage and the
clean side of the filter bag, creating an abrasive condition
where the bags contacted the cage wires and eventually wore
holes in the woven fibreglass. Over time, this has created
more and more failures. It is important to note that the
rust scale and dust was the initial mode of failure. Had it
not been for this condition, the filter bags would likely have
lasted an additional two to three years.
Immediate corrective action
Going forward, the Alabama plant will sandblast and apply
a corrosion resistant coating, replace some roof sections and
add a fourth set of bags and cages from GE. It should be
finished early this year in time to meet the regulations that
take hold next year.
There are plans to monitor all aspects of the dust
collector operation, and one advantage of the new
monitoring system is that it will help with corrective action.
When something happens out of the norm, it needs to be
addressed promptly. Operators need to anticipate what
might lead to bag failure. After all, each compartment has
644 filter bags.
We dont necessarily have to call GE, Trout said. They
call us to check whats happening. Its an extra set of eyes to
analyse whats happening and make sure things are running
smoothly.
Reprinted from [Jan 12] worldcement.com