Computers and Chemical Engineering 27 (2003) 813
/825

www.elsevier.com/locate/compchemeng

A model of a rotary kiln incinerator including processes occurring

within the solid and the gaseous phases
F. Marias *
Laboratoire de Genie des Procedes de Pau (EA 1932), ENSGTI, Rue Jules Ferry, 64000 Pau, France
Received 2 April 2002; received in revised form 19 November 2002; accepted 19 November 2002

Abstract
This paper presents a new development in the study of a rotary kiln incinerator. The modelling of the furnace has been divided
into two parts. On the one hand, a model describing the physico-chemical processes which occur within the burning bed of
municipal solid waste (assumed to be a mixture of wood, cardboard and PVC) has been set. This model mainly relies on the
assumptions of plug flow and macroscopic pyrolysis kinetics of burning waste. On the other hand, C.F.D. has been used to describe
the processes occurring within the gaseous phase of the kiln and of the post combustion chamber (turbulence, combustion,
radiation). A data processing tool has been built to automate the data exchanges between the two parts of the model. Some results of
the overall model are shown in two different situation (working with and without extra burner).
# 2002 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.
Keywords: Rotary kiln; Incinerator; Simulation; CAPE; CFD

1. Introduction
The complete and detailed model of a rotary kiln
incinerator should describe the processes that occur at
different spatial scale and in different phases. For
example, the pyrolysis of waste is mainly driven by
intra-particle heat and mass transfer (Gronli & Melaeen,
2000; Jia, Galea, & Patel, 1999; Patisson, Lebas,
Hanrot, Ablitzer, & Houzelo, 2000a), by heat transfer
within the burning bed, which in turn, is controlled by
bed motion, combustion of the volatile matter issued
from pyrolysis, and the subsequent radiation (Patisson,
Lebas, Hanrot, Ablitzer, & Houzelo, 2000b; Lester et
al., 1991; Leger, Cook, Cundy, Sterlimg, Deng, &
Lighty, 1993; Leger, Cundy, & Sterling, 1993; Leger,
Cundy, Sterling, Montestruc, Jackway, & Owens,
1993a,b; Chen & Lee, 1994; Jackway, Sterling, Cundy,
& Cook, 1996). Such influences, due to interaction of
one phase with the other, have already been drawn for
the resolution of classical chemical engineering problems (crystallisation reactors (Urban & Liberis, 1999),
* Tel.: /33-559-722-079; fax: /33-559-722-081.
E-mail address: frederic.marias@univ-pau.fr (F. Marias).

bubble column reactors (Bauer & Eigenberger, 1999),

. . .). Indeed, in such configurations, one idea is to build
a coupling between Computational Fluid Dynamics and
Computer Aided Process Engineering tools. This software association is able to solve the problem and might
moreover allow the control and the optimisation of the
overall process.
CFD has already been pointed out as relevant tool for
the description of gaseous phenomena occurring within
a rotary kiln (Leger et al., 1993; Jackway et al., 1996;
Khan, Pal, & Morse, 1993). Unfortunately, it does not
allow for the modelling of the burning bed of waste.
More precisely, because of the dispersed nature of the
solid bed (constituted of a wide range of chemical
elements and of a wide range of particle sizes) classical
Navier
/Stokes equation, which governs the gaseous
fluid mechanics, cannot be applied in this case. Thus, a
CAPE tool (namely gPROMS TM) has been used to
numerically solve the burning bed model which is going
to be described below.
The aim of this paper is not to give insights into the
modelling of the burning bed or gaseous turbulence
combustion and subsequent radiation. Actually, a
simplified model is developed for the burning bed and
the standard models of the CFD tool (namely Fluent TM)

0098-1354/02/$ - see front matter # 2002 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/S0098-1354(02)00268-5

814

F. Marias / Computers and Chemical Engineering 27 (2003) 813
/825

Nomenclature
Cpk
Dk
Dp,0
Dp
0
/h
f;k/
Hs
L
/m
dry/
/m
pyro/
N
Qw
Ss
Ts
Us
V
yk
Yk
z

heat capacity of element k (J kg 1 K 1)

kiln diameter (m)
diameter of waste particle at the furnace supply (m)
diameter of waste particle in the furnace (m)
standard enthalpy of formation of element k (J kg 1)
enthalpy of the bed (J kg1)
cross length of the upper limit of the bed, see Fig. 3 (m)
specific mass flux of dried moisture from the bed to the gaseous phase (kg s 1 m 2)
specific mass flux of pyrolysed matter from the bed to the gaseous phase (kg s 1 m 2)
concentration of particle in the furnace (m1)
waste flow-rate (kg s 1)
cross section area of the bed (m2)
bed temperature (K)
bed velocity (m s 1)
volatiles velocity component normal to the bed surface (m s1)
mass fraction of k in the equivalent waste (
/)
mass fraction of k in the waste (
/)
axial position (m)

Greek symbols
a
os
8gas
8wall
rs,0
rs

bed interception angle, see Fig. 3 (
/)

bed porosity (
/)
specific heat flux from the gaseous phase to the bed (W m 2)
specific heat flux from the kiln wall to the bed (W m2)
density of the waste at the supply of the furnace (kg m 3)
density of the waste in the furnace (kg m 3)

Subscripts
Ash
C
Card
Moist
PVC
Vol
Wood

relative
relative
relative
relative
relative
relative
relative

to
to
to
to
to
to
to

ashes
unburned carbon
cardboard material
moisture
PVC material
volatile matter
wood material

are used. Instead, the main subject of this paper relies on

the coupling between these two tools, that is to say, the
definition of the relevant exchange variables, and also
relies on the automation of the exchange process.
Within the frame of this study, the first two parts of
the paper are devoted to the description of the models
used by each of the data processing tools. Then in a
third part, insights into the coupling procedure are
given, and, finally, some results are shown.

2. Bed modelling
According to literature, several models exist for the
description of the physical
/chemical phenomena occurring when a bed of solids is dried or burnt inside a rotary

kiln chamber (Patisson et al., 2000a; Patisson et al.,

2000b; Leger et al., 1993; Leger et al., 1993a; Leger et
al., 1993b; Chen & Lee, 1994; Boateng & Barr, 1996a,b).
The objective of this paper is not to give insights into
such a modelling process, but into the way such a model
can be coupled with CFD analysis. That is why, a simple
model describing the main phenomena (Roquet, 1999),
has been used and introduced in the software
gPROMS TM.
Before attempting to build a model of the bed, it is
essential to characterise the solid matter, which is fed to
the furnace. Following the work of Marias (1999) a
model waste composed of wood, cardboard and PVC
has been used as a representation of municipal solid
waste. As this waste is to be processed through the
furnace, it is going to dry and devolatilise.

F. Marias / Computers and Chemical Engineering 27 (2003) 813
/825

815

2.1. Drying and pyrolysis of the waste: equivalent waste

2.2. Bed modelling

During its evolution, from the input of the furnace to

its output, the waste will partially be transformed from
solid material to gaseous material. This paragraph
focuses on the description of this transformation.
According to literature (Gronli & Melaeen, 2000; Jia
et al., 1999; Patisson et al., 2000a; Bilodeau, Therien,
Proulx, Czernick, & Chornet, 1993; Graham & Bergougnou, 1984; Shafizadeh, 1982), many studies relative
to the drying and pyrolysis of coal, wood, biomass,
exist. All of these studies show that this process is
entirely temperature and heating rate dependant, and
that the composition of the gas issuing from the solid
matrix depends on these two parameters and also on the
material intrinsic characteristics.
In this study, a balance approach (chemical element
and energy) is used in order to characterise the
composition of this gas. Given the initial nature of the
waste (proximate and ultimate analysis) an equivalent
waste is built (Marias, 1999). Eventhough during its
progression inside the furnace the conditions of pyrolysis are going to be modified, it is assumed, in order to
simplify, that the composition of the pyrolysed matter is
constant and equal to that of the equivalent waste. Fig.
1 sums up the concept of equivalent waste. As an
illustration, and given an initial composition (Ywood /
0.5, Ycard /0.45, YPVC /0.05), the computation procedure leads to an equivalent waste composed of:

Once the input of the furnace is defined, it is possible

to build the model which permits the description of its
transformation throughout the kiln. Nevertheless, assumptions are required.

. moisture (water vapour evacuated during drying),

ymoist /0.1425;
. volatiles (mass composition given on Fig. 2), yvol /
0.66231;
. unburned carbon, yC /0.17051;
. ash, yash /0.024675.
The composition of the volatile matter is given on Fig. 2.

2.2.1. Assumptions
The different assumptions involved by the bed
modelling are the following:
. The waste is fed to the furnace with a mass flow-rate
Qw(t ), with a composition Ywood(t ), Ycard(t), YPVC(t),
in spherical pellets of diameter Dp,0(t) and density
rs,0(t).
. The bed is in plug flow, its properties are given as a
function of its axial position (z ).
. The bed receives a specific heat flux from the gaseous
phase (8gas(z , t)) and a specific heat flux from the
kiln wall which is in contact with the bed (8wall(z , t)).
. During the drying of the bed material the particle
diameter (Dp(z , t )) remains constant while particle
density is variable (rs(z, t)). During this step, a
specific mass flux is extracted from the bed to be
transferred to the gaseous phase (/m
dry (z; t)):/
. During the pyrolysis of the particles the density of the
bed remains constant while the particle diameter is
variable. During this step, a specific mass flux is
extracted from the bed to be transferred to the
gaseous phase (/m
pyro (z; t)); the shrinkage in the
particle diameter leads to a reduction of the bed
section (Ss(z , t )).
. Bed velocity (Us(t )) is constant within the furnace.
. Bed porosity (os) is constant.
2.2.2. Geometrical considerations
Fig. 3 sums up the different geometrical variables
used in the model.

Fig. 1. Representaion of the concept of equivalent waste.

F. Marias / Computers and Chemical Engineering 27 (2003) 813
/825

816

Fig. 2. Volatile composition of the equivalent waste (mass fraction).

These different variables are linked by the following

formulae (1), (2) and (3). In the following, N (z , t ) stands
for the local particle concentration (in terms of the
number of particles per unit of length).
Ss (z; t)

D2k
8

(a(z; t)sin(a(z; t)));

L(z; t) Dk sin

Ss (z; t)




a(z; t)

k1

yC (z; t) h0f;C (Tref )



h0f;ash (Tref )

(2)

2
pN(z; t)D3p (z; t)
6(1  o s )

(1)

NoX
Comp
yk h0f;k (Tref )
yvol (z; t)

Cpk (T) dT



Tref

CpC (T) dT yash (z; t)

Tref


Cpash (T) dT :

(4)

Tref

(3)

2.2.4. Balance equations

2.2.4.1. Enthalpy.

2.2.3. Definition of the bed enthalpy

The enthalpy of the bed is computed by the following
formulae (4) using the equivalent waste composition.



T
Hs (z; t)ymoist (z; t) h0f;H2 O (Tref )
CpH2 O (T) dT

Tref

(1o s )

@(rs Ss Hs )
@t

(1o s )Us

@(rs Ss Hs )
@z

(8 gas  8 wall  m

dry HH2 O  m
pyro Hvol )L;

Fig. 3. Geometrical variables used in the model.

(5)

F. Marias / Computers and Chemical Engineering 27 (2003) 813
/825

HH2 O (z; t) h0f;H2 O (Tref )
NoX
Comp

Hvol (z; t)

yk


CpH2 O (T) dT ;

Ts (z; t)
Tref

h0f;k (Tref )

k1

(6)

Ts (z; t)

Cpk (T) dT

(7)

2.2.4.2. Mass. Because of the density modification

induced by the drying step on the one hand, and the
diameter modification induced by the pyrolysis step on
the other hand, two equations are derived from the mass
balance:

(1o s )Ss

@Ss
@t
@rs
@t

(1o s )Us rs
(1o s )Us Ss

@Ss
@z
@rs
@z

 m
pyro L;

@t

(1o s )Us

@N
@z

 m
dry L:

yC (z; t)

(10)

rs;0 (t)(1  ymoist;0 (t))

rs (z; t)

rs;0 (t)yC;0 (t)D3p;0 (t)

;
rs (z; t)D3p (z; t)

rs;0 (t)yash;0 (t)D3p;0 (t)

;
rs (z; t)D3p (z; t)
ymoist (z; t)yvol (z; t)yC (z; t)yash (z; t) 1:

yash (z; t)

(11)
(12)
(13)
(14)

2.2.6. Drying and pyrolysis fluxes

Drying is supposed to be heat transfer limited, that is
to say, the heat it receives from the gaseous phase
controls the drying process:
m
dry (z; t)

(16)

2.2.7. Boundary conditions

The value of the relevant variables must be assigned at
the inlet of the furnace:
Ts (0; t)Tref ;
rs (0; t)rs;0 ;
Dp (0; t) Dp;0 ;
N(0; t)

6Qw (t)
:
prs;0 D3p;0 Us (t)

(17)
(18)
(19)
(20)

(9)

2.2.5. Equivalent waste content equations

In this part, equations governing the evolution of
moisture, volatile, unburned carbon and ashes are
derived:
ymoist (z; t) 1

RTs (z; t)


:

2.3. Results

2.2.4.3. Particle concentration.

@N

kp exp

Ea

(8)

These processes are computed simultaneously in this

model.

(1o s )

L(z; t)

Tref

Dr Hpyro :

(1o s )rs

m
pyro 

pD2p (z; t)N(z; t)

817

8 gas (z; t)  8 wall (z; t)

:
Lv

Pyrolysis is assumed to be kinetically limited:

(15)

The model for the bed has been introduced in the

software gPROMS TM and this part shows some typical
results, given the kiln geometry and the operating
conditions of the furnace.
Before running the model with gPROMS TM, the heat
flux received from the gaseous phase is required.
Because this variable is to be computed through CFD,
only a guess of its shape can be approximated at the
initialisation step.
Fig. 4 shows the value of this approximated heat flux.
Some typical results of the simulations, for example,
drying and pyrolysis fluxes (Fig. 5) as well as the content
of the bed (Fig. 6) are presented when steady-state has
been reached.
From Fig. 5, it is shown that as drying is processed,
the volatile content slightly increases before decreasing
during pyrolysis. More precisely, Fig. 6 shows the
superficial mass flux of water and also of volatile
matter. The complete drying of the material is reached
near the middle of the kiln. The pyrolysis reaction
occurs within the same space (about 6 m) but the
subsequent mass flux is much more important than the
drying one.

3. CFD modelling
In the gaseous phase, several physical and chemical
processes occur (turbulence, combustion, buoyancy, and
radiation). This part of the paper deals with the manner
in which the simulation of these processes is achieved
using Fluent TM 5.3 software. First of all, a generic
geometry of an incinerator including the rotary kiln
and the post combustion chamber is depicted. Some
elements relative to the meshing of this geometry are
then discussed. In the second part, the model used by the
CFD software, which takes into account the relevant

F. Marias / Computers and Chemical Engineering 27 (2003) 813
/825

818

Fig. 4. Guess heat flux introduced into the gPROMS TM model.

Fig. 5. Composition of the bed in steady state operation.

physical and chemical processes, is presented. Finally,

some typical results are shown.

3.1. Geometry description

Because the combustion of the volatile matter processes, not only in the rotary kiln, but also in the post
combustion chamber, the two parts of the furnace have
been set in the model. The choice that has been made
here consists of dealing with generic geometry. Fig. 7
depicts this geometry with its characteristic lengths.

The mesh of the whole domain includes tetrahedrons,

hexahedrons, prisms and wedges. The total number of
used nodes is 260,000 and Fig. 8 shows the details of the
kiln surface mesh.
Because the result of the pyrolysis process is a
decrease in the diameter of the burning particles, and
because of the shape of the mass flow rate of the
volatiles, the surface of the bed is not a flat plane. Thus,
the exact modelling would require having this shape as
the geometrical boundary of the CFD model. Moreover,
as iterations between gPROMS TM and Fluent TM are
going to be performed, this shape is going to be
modified, requiring a new meshing scheme at each
iteration. Because this process would be highly CPU
time consuming, and because it would render the
automation of the exchange process impossible, we
have supposed that this shape was not affected by the
gaseous flow-field, and therefore, we have used an
average flat surface for the geometrical boundary of
the CFD model. This plane has been set in order to
correspond to the height of the bed at the beginning and
the end of the kiln.

3.2. The CFD model

This model must include all the relevant physical
phenomena occurring within the gaseous phase:
.
.
.
.

Turbulence
Chemical species transport and reaction
Interaction between turbulence and combustion
Heat transfer (radiation)

F. Marias / Computers and Chemical Engineering 27 (2003) 813
/825

819

Fig. 6. Superficial mass fluxes of drying and pyrolysis.

Describing how this modelling is performed within the

CFD package is not the purpose of this paper. We will
only give its main trends. Turbulence modelling is
achieved using the two equations k
/o model, which
allows for the computation of the turbulent viscosity

and thus the Reynolds stress tensor. Using turbulent

Schmidt and Prandtl number, consequent turbulent
diffusivities are then derived and introduced into the
species and enthalpy transport equations. Because of the
thermal level reached within the furnace (/1000 K) all

Fig. 7. Geometry used in the Fluent TM model.

820

F. Marias / Computers and Chemical Engineering 27 (2003) 813
/825

Fig. 8. Details of the kiln surface mesh.

species are supposed to be in chemical equilibrium once

they have been mixed. Interaction between turbulence
and combustion is taken into account by using a
probability density function. Heat transfer by radiation
is computed using the P-1 model (the simplest case of
the P-N model, which is based on the expansion of the
radiation intensity I into an orthogonal series of
spherical harmonics) together with a local absorption
coefficient based on CO2 and H2O concentration.
Setting the bed boundary condition of the CFD
model with the profile given in Fig. 6 and the excess
air to a value of 40%, Fig. 9 shows the temperature

profile inside the furnace as a typical result of the CFD

computation. Fig. 10 shows the subsequent radiation
heat flux received by the bed.

4. Coupling of CAPE and CFD tools

4.1. Definition of the coupling
The coupling, which is performed here, is of a
boundary condition type. More precisely, each
gPROMS TM iteration requires the heat flux as input

Fig. 9. Profiles of temperature inside the furnace, given the volatile and drying profiles of Fig. 6 and an excess air of 40%.

F. Marias / Computers and Chemical Engineering 27 (2003) 813
/825

821

Fig. 10. Specific heat flux received by the bed, given the volatile and drying profiles of Fig. 7 and an excess air of 40%.

while Fluent TM iteration requires the water vapour

(drying) and volatiles (pyrolysis) mass fluxes.
Because the bed model is only one dimensional, the
mass flux of volatile matter predicted is one dimensional. Nevertheless, because the CFD model is fully
three dimensional, it requires a two dimensional profile.
In the same way, this model yields a two dimensional
profile for the incident radiation, where the bed model
only requires a one dimensional specific heat flux. Thus
there is a need for extrapolation and interpolation in
order to share data.
The extrapolation has been performed assuming that,
in the width of the bed, the mass flux of the volatiles was
balanced by the depth of the bed. At a given z location,
the total mass flow-rate of volatiles is distributed, over
the cross section of the bed, corresponding to the bed
depth. More precisely, this means that the volatiles
velocity component, which is perpendicular to the bed
surface, is directly proportional to the bed depth at a
given z location. This operation is performed using a
Matlab TM routine. Fig. 11 depicts the basis of this
operation. The interpolation scheme used to feed the
bed model consists only of averaging of the incident
radiation at every axial position, over the width of the
bed. Fig. 10 shows a typical result of this procedure.
4.2. Computing, data exchange and convergence
Because convergence of the process may require
several iterations, software has been built. Basically,
this Java TM program (Fig. 12) sequentially executes the
different routines and programs involved in the process,

writes the exchange files and checks for the global

convergence. This one is checked by the help of four
criteria which are defined as the following:
.
.
.
.

Total mass flow rate residual

Local mass flow rate residual
Total heat residual
Local heat residual

For each of these quantities, the residue is computed as

following:
Rf max

fk  fk1
;
fk

(21)

where f denotes the quoted quantity and k the current

iteration. It has been assumed that convergence was
reached once all of these residues reached below 10 3.

4.3. Results
The first set of results, which is presented here, deals
with self-incineration. That is to say, no extra-thermal
power is added to the system in order to burn the waste.
As an illustration of the computation performed, Fig. 13
shows the evolution of the shared variables (specific
mass flux of the volatiles and specific heat flux of the
incident radiation) as a function of the current iteration.
As the computation proceeds, the devolatilization zone
shifts from the left to right of the kiln. Then, at iteration
level 5, computation is stopped because the whole
amount of volatile matter is no longer released from
the residual waste, which reflects the faulty working of

822

F. Marias / Computers and Chemical Engineering 27 (2003) 813
/825

Fig. 11. Illustration of the extrapolation scheme used to feed the CFD model with the result of the bed one.

the kiln. Moreover, following the evolution of the shape

of the curve representative of the incident radiation, it is
obvious that less and less volatile matter is released
inside the bed. This means that, given the particular
geometry and the working parameters (Table 1), selfincineration is impossible.
Thus, in order to obtain converging results, the choice
was made to add an extra burner on the front side of the
kiln. That is to say, given the same geometry and
working parameters, an extra feed of methane has been
added to the system. To simplify, and in order to reduce
the intensive CPU requirements, it has been assumed
that the working of the burner and the burning of the
volatile matter were totally independent. Therefore, one
CFD simulation was performed with the total amount
of air required (methane/volatile matter) but without
any volatile matter being released from the bed. Fig. 14
depicts the results of such a simulation in terms of the
contours of the temperature within the kiln, and in
terms of the subsequent supplemental radiation heat
flux received by the bed, for a 2 MW extra burner.
Once this extra incident radiation has been computed,
it can be used in the overall computation scheme, using
a technique of superimposition. Indeed, the choice has
been made to add this supplemental subsequent radiation (Fig. 14) to the one computed by the CFD software,
in the Converti_fg.m subroutine (Fig. 12), at each
iteration. Fig. 15 shows the results of such a manipulation. Given the criteria defined in Section 4.2, convergence has been reached at the 10th iteration. The small
amount of heat received by the bed on the left part of

the kiln is sufficient to promote drying and the beginning of pyrolysis. Then, once volatile matter is released
not too far from the entrance of the kiln, its subsequent
combustion is sufficient to ensure complete devolatilization of the waste.

5. Conclusion
This paper has described one of the possible coupling
between gPROMS TM and Fluent TM. It has demonstrated
that applied to a rotary kiln incinerator, such a coupling
was possible and that it was able to give insights into the
running of the process. More precisely, it has been
shown that, given the geometry of the whole incinerator
and a model waste composed of 50% of wood, 40% of
cardboard and 5% of PVC (on a weight basis), self
incineration was not possible. This can be attributed to
the smaller quantity of the incident radiation received by
the bed of waste, which insufficiently ensures its
complete pyrolysis within the kiln. Subsequently, it has
been demonstrated that adding an extra burner, fed with
methane, was a possible solution in order to achieve the
complete pyrolysis of waste within the kiln. Our model is
then able to predict the combustion of the volatile
matter within the incinerator as well as the subsequent
radiation received by its walls, and the thermal and
chemical species contours. This data may be very
interesting in order to check for the efficient running
of the process and then possible enhancements in the
design of the furnace.

F. Marias / Computers and Chemical Engineering 27 (2003) 813
/825

823

Fig. 12. Sequence executed by the iterative program and exchange files.

Rotary kiln incineration is only one application of the

coupling of the boundary condition type. Indeed, a
general methodology and a program able to execute the

sequence automatically have been built. The latter could

easily be applied to other processes where CFD results
should be coupled with gPROMS TM results by the

Fig. 13. Illustration of the convergence for the working parameters of Table 1.

F. Marias / Computers and Chemical Engineering 27 (2003) 813
/825

824

Fig. 14. Profiles of temperature due to the extra burner inside the furnace (left) and subsequent incident radiation received by the bed (right).

Fig. 15. Illustration of the convergence for the working parameters of Table 1 and the extra burner of 2 MW.
Table 1
Working parameters of the process
Mass flow-rate of model waste
Input size of waste particles
Input density of waste particles
Composition of the model waste
Lower heating value of the model waste
Air required for theoretical combustion
Air excess

Qw /1.7 kg s 1
Dp,0 /0.05 m
rs,0 /750 kg m 3
Ywood /0.5; Ycard /0.45,
YPVC /0.05
LHV/14.65 MJ kg1
1
/m
theo
air 3:72 kg s /
E /40%

intermediate of a boundary condition (heat exchanger,

cement kiln, grate incinerators . . .).

Acknowledgements
This study has been performed in the Centre for
Process System Engineering, Imperial College, London.
Thus, the author would like to thank the head of the
department Professor Sandro Macchietto for his welcome at the centre and for his numerous advice. The

author also thanks Professor Costas Pantelides, Dr

Lakis Liberis and Fabrizzio Bezzo for their suport and
help. Thanks also to Graham Stuart, the system
administrator of the Centre, for his help.

References
Bauer, M., & Eigenberger, G. (1999). A concept for multi-scale
modeling of bubble columns and loop reactors. Chemical Engineering Science 54 , 5109
/5117.
Bilodeau, J. F., Therien, N., Proulx, P., Czernick, S., & Chornet, E.
(1993). A mathematical model of fluidized bed biomass gasification. The Canadian Journal of Chemical Engineering 71 , 549
/557.
Boateng, A. A., & Barr, P. V. (1996a). Modelling of particle mixing
and segregation in the transverse plane of a rotary kilm. Chemical
Engineering Science 51 , 4167
/4181.
Boateng, A. A., & Barr, P. V. (1996b). A thermal model for the rotary
kiln including heat transfer within the bed. International Journal of
Heat and Mass Transfer 39 , 2131
/2147.
Chen, Y. Y., & Lee, D. J. (1994). A steady state model of a rotary kiln
incinerator. Hazardous Waste and Hazardous Materials 11 , 541
/
559.
Graham, R. G., & Bergougnou, M. A. (1984). Fast pyrolysis of
biomass. Journal of Analytical and Applied Pyrolysis 6 , 95
/135.

F. Marias / Computers and Chemical Engineering 27 (2003) 813
/825

Gronli, M. G., & Melaeen, M. C. (2000). Mathematical model for
wood pyrolysis. Comparison of experimental measurements with
model predictions. Energy and Fuels 14 , 791
/800.
Jackway, A. L., Sterling, A. M., Cundy, V. A., & Cook, C. A. (1996).
Three-dimensional numerical modelling of a rotary kiln incinerator. Environmental Science Technology 30 , 1699
/1712.
Jia, F., Galea, E. R., & Patel, M. K. (1999). Numerical simulation of
the mass loss process in pyrolyzing char materials. Fire and
Materials 23 , 71
/78.
Khan, J. A., Pal, D., & Morse, J. S. (1993). Numerical modeling of a
rotary kiln incinerator. Hazardous Waste and Hazardous Materials
10 , 81
/95.
Leger, C. B., Cook, C. A., Cundy, V. A., Sterlimg, A. M., Deng, X., &
Lighty, J. S. (1993). Bed mixing and heat transfer in a batch loaded
rotary kiln. Environmental Progress 12 , 101
/109.
Leger, C. B., Cundy, V. A., & Sterling, A. M. (1993). A threedimensional detailed numerical model of a field-scale rotary kiln
incinerator. Environmental Science Technology 27 , 677
/690.
Lester, T. W., Cundy, V. A., Sterling, A. M., Montestruc, A. N.,
Jackway, A. L., Lu, C., Leger, C. B., Pershing, D. W., Lighty, J. S.,
Silcox, G. D., & Owens, W. D. (1991). Rotary kiln incineration.
Comparison of field-scale and pilot scale contaminant evolution
rates from sorbent beds. Environmental Science Technology 25 ,
1142
/1152.
Leger, C. B., Cundy, V. A., Sterling, A. M., Montestruc, A. N.,
Jackway, A. L., & Owens, W. D. (1993a). Field-scale rotary kiln
incineration of batch loaded toluene/sorbent. I. Data analysis and
bed motion considerations. Journal of Hazardous Materials 34 , 1
/
29.

825

Leger, C. B., Cundy, V. A., Sterling, A. M., Montestruc, A. N.,

Jackway, A. L., & Owens, W. D. (1993b). Field-scale rotary kiln
incineration of batch loaded toluene/sorbent. II. Mass balances,
evolution rates, and bed motion comparisons. Journal of Hazardous Materials 34 , 31
/50.
Marias, F. (1999). Procede dincineration d un dechet modele: de
lapproche physique aux simulations en lit fluidise . PhD Thesis,
Universite de Pau et des Pays de lAdour.
Patisson, F., Lebas, E., Hanrot, F., Ablitzer, D., & Houzelo, J.-L.
(2000a). Coal pyrolysis in a rotary kiln: Part I. Model of the
pyrolysis of a single grain. Metallurgical and Material Transactions.
B. Process Metallurgy and Materials Processing Science 31 , 381
/
390.
Patisson, F., Lebas, E., Hanrot, F., Ablitzer, D., & Houzelo, J.-L.
(2000b). Coal pyrolysis in a rotary kiln: Part II. Overall model
of the furnace. Metallurgical and Material Transactions. B.
Process Metallurgy and Materials Processing Science 31 , 391
/
402.
Roquet, D. (1999). Modelisation dun four tournant dincineration .
Rapport de stage de DEA, Universite de Pau et des Pays de
lAdour.
Shafizadeh, F. (1982). Introduction to pyrolysis of biomass. Journal of
Analytical and Applied Pyrolysis 3 , 283
/305.
Urban, Z., & Liberis, L. (1999). Hybrid gPROMS-CFD modelling of
an industrial scale crystallyser with rigorous crystal nucleation and
growth kinetics and a full population balance. Chemputers 1999,
Dusseldorf Germany, Session 12 */Process Simulation: On the
Cutting Edge .