PREHEATERS &

PRECALCINERS

State of the art design

LUCY - Low pressure drop cyclones
NOx reduction
Burning of solid secondary fuels

Preheaters
In modern cement kilns, the sintering
temperature is achieved by burning fuels in the
rotary kiln and precalciners. The raw meal is
preheated in the suspension preheater.

One of the benchmarks for any kiln is the

efficiency of heat transfer within the system.

PSP Engineering covers all of the equipment needed in a modern cement production plant:

Low pressure drop cyclones for modern

preheaters

Low NOx calciners suitable for the

combustion of a variety of fuels including
difficult to burn solid secondary fuels

Rotary kilns with two or three support

configuration

Floating frame technology for kilns with

three or four roller stations

The introduction of precalciner technology

successfully increased clinker production
while keeping the rotary kiln at a manageable
dimension. Precalcination rates in excess of
90% are achieved with roughly 60 % of the total
fuel directed to the precalciner.

Kiln line for 1100 tpd with calcining system

KKN/AS for low NOx

Ancillary components such as by-pass

systems, kiln inlet & outlet seals, chutes,
splash boxes, flaps, vortex finders and
dividers

State-of-the-art Pendulum Clinker Coolers

for optimum heat recuperation supplied in
association with IKN

Modern firing systems for single fuels or for

a combination of fuels

Since combustion and precalcination of raw

material takes place outside of the rotary
kiln, the heat loading of the rotary kiln can
be reduced. The use of shorter rotary kilns is
made possible.

PREHEATERS
The governing factor for the heat consumption
of any modern kiln is the performance of
the suspension preheater together with its
precalciner. Heat is released from the burning
process in the rotary kiln and precalciner and
transferred to the raw meal within the parallel

flow through cyclone stages. This heat transfer

is dependent on optimum meal distribution into
the riser ducts and the separation from the gas
stream in modern low pressure drop cyclones.
Each cyclone stage is sealed against gas short
circuiting by a pendulum flap.

LUCY-type cyclone preheater with low pressure drop cyclones

Heat transfer takes place in the connecting
ducts among the various cyclone stages and is
dependent on:

3D model of a high separation cyclone for the

top stage of the preheater

Optimum meal dispersion into the gas

stream

Adequate residence time of the raw

material within the hot gas (parallel /cocurrent flow pattern)

Efficient separation of raw meal at each

cyclone stage at lowest possible pressure
drop

While the number of cyclone stages

determines the specific fuel consumption, it
still is a compromise between the efficiency
of the preheater and drying requirements of
the raw meal. Cyclones with a high separation
efficiency and low pressure drop are typically
used as the top-most stage, where separation
efficiency of 95 97% is required.
3D model of a cyclone with low pressure drop
designed for the lower stages of the preheater

3D model of a five stage LUCY-type preheater

with calcining channel

Preheaters
One criterion for designing the top-most
cyclone stage is applied to the lower cyclones
with the emphasis on minimising pressure
drop. The latest generation of PSP Engineering
cyclones reduces the overall pressure drop
by 20% compared with cyclones of traditional
design. Modern six-stage cyclone preheaters
can be operated with heat consumption below
690 kcal/kg.

Left: Where strong climatic differences cause

fluctuations in raw material moisture during
the kiln campaigns, split raw meal feed points
to the top and second up most cyclones is
considered. This switch over the lower fresh
feed points makes higher temperature exhaust
gases available by bypassing the top cyclone
stage.

Preheater LUCY with KKN/AS calcining system

in a 2700 tpd kiln line

Splash box

Cyclone flaps

Segmented vortex finders

Adequate design of the splash boxes

ensures good distribution of raw meal
into the riser duct gas stream.

Flaps with counterweights seal off the

bottom of each cyclone to avoid short
circuiting of process gases through
the cyclones, where the gas would reentrain material up to the next cyclone
stage. The flaps are designed for easy
access and flexible adjustment. For
easy movement the flaps and their
counterweights are supported by knives

Vortex finders are placed eccentrically

into the spiral of the cyclone. The
vortex finders for cyclones of the lower
stages are made of cast segments with
a special alloy capable to withstand the
high temperature and chemical attacks
from the kiln gas

Precalciners
PRECALCINER
The modular design of the precalciners of PSP
Engineering permits a tailor made solution to
meet specific process requirements.

The design is ideal for the burning low grade

fuels or solid waste materials while providing
an efficient tool to control NOx emission.

The range of possible precalciner configurations:

Calcining channel
type

Tertiary air duct

Burning of
secondary fuels

NOx reduction
capability

No. of calcining
stages

KKN-AT

Partially

KKN-AS

Yes

Partially

Yes

KS-AS-W

Yes

Yes

Yes

Calcining channel KKN-AT

The preheated material enters the calcining
channel at the inclined bottom part where the
burners are located. The shape of this lower
part of the inlet chamber warrants an efficient
mixing of raw meal and fuel within the gas.
Recirculation ensures that heavier particles of
raw meal and/or fuel clusters remain here for
a longer period of time. The gas flow carries
the raw meal particles upwards to the middle
part with its circular cross section.
This circular section transitions into a swirl
head. The swirl head forms the upper
part of the calcining channel. Combustion
and precalcination of the raw material
are completed in this intensely turbulent
recirculation zone.

Apart from the simple operation, the

arrangement of the precalciner channel
reduces overall heat consumption. The
temperature is controlled by introducing raw
material.
Advantages of the KKN-AT calcining channel:

Modular design allows for firing in the riser

duct of up to 25% of the total fuel and easy
upgrading to precalciners with tertiary air
duct

Innovative arrangements in a birds type

extension of an existing preheater tower
make KKN precalciner ideal equipment for
small scale upgrading projects.

Calcining channel KKN-AT contains the

characteristic of a classic AT (air through
calciner) where all the combustion air is drawn
through the kiln.

Calcining channel KKN-AS

A separate tertiary air duct supplies oxygen-rich
combustion air to the lower part of the calcining
channel. The shape of this lower part of the
inlet chamber warrants an efficient mixing of
tertiary air, material and fuel. Recirculation
extends the residence time of heavier particles
of material and fuel clusters.
In case of NOx reduction, tertiary air supply is
split into the lower part and an additional supply
is introduced into the transition zone below the
swirl head.
The adjustable split ration between these two
entry points helps to control the generation of
thermal NOx within a reducing and an oxygen
rich atmosphere in the upper part of the
calcining channel.

The swirl head forms the upper part of the

calcining channel. Combustion is completed in
this intensely turbulent recirculation zone under
oxygen rich conditions.
Advantages of the KKN-AS calcining channel:

Firing of up to 60% fuel

NOx reduction

Innovative design allows to easily upgrade

an existing preheater tower

Maximum flexibility due to several fuel feed

points

Upgradeable with SNCR (Selective NonCatalytic Reduction)

Calcining channel KKN-AS with separate
tertiary air duct and with combustion air supply
above meal and fuel feed points

Precalciners
Two-stage calcining system KS-AS-W
The increasing demands for using different
types of fuels including solid waste materials
led to the development of precalciners that
reliably burn these types of fuels.
The KS-AS-W calcining system from
PSP Engineering is a two-stage system,
combining off-line and in-line calciner
technology. The combustion chamber is the
first calcining stage, designed as an off-line
calciner suitable for the combustion of almost
any type of fuel, including hard-to-burn-fuels
such as larger size alternative fuels. Burning in
oxygen-rich air with a hot core in the centre of
the chamber ensures quick ignition.
The walls of the combustion chamber are
protected by recirculating material. The
calcining channel together with its swirl head
is the second calcining stage. The kiln exit
gas mixes with the gas and material streams
from the combustion chamber. Additional fuel
is introduced into the calcining channel. The
layout of the calcining channel ensures long
residence time for optimum heat transfer and
good burn out rates, and NOx reduction.

Due to the high temperature core in the

combustion chamber a fuel mix of shredded
tires and a wide mixture of processed recycled
material such as plastics, wood, paper and
cloth can be fired. Temperatures of 11001200 C are measured in the core. Intensive
heat transfer in the chambers centre ensures
quick ignition of solid fuels. A meal curtain
maintains lower temperature along the wall
lining.

A reconstructed preheater of a 4000 tpd kiln

with calcining channel and swirl head

Calcining channel KS-AS-W with combustion

chamber and tertiary air duct for burning of
solid alternative fuels

3D model of the KS-AS-W calcining system

A combustion chamber with solid alternative

fuels feeding system

www.pspengineering.cz

PSP Engineering a.s. is a leading

supplier of specialized equipment
and complete production plants
for the building material and
mineral processing industries. PSP
Engineering has been involved in the
design and construction of cement
plants, lime works, quarry and crushing
plants, as well as gravel and sand pits
for more than 50 years.

Kiln systems/Preheaters & Precalciners_EN01/05

The producer reserves the right to modify products and/or their parameters without prior notification.
2005 PSP Engineering a.s.