Ba TEU Cement Seminar Process Technology Firing SystemsTABLE OF CONTENTS Part I: Coal Firing Part II: O41 Firing Part III: Gas FiringSUMMARY In three chapters, the technology for preparation and firing coal, fuel oil and natural gas in cement rotary kilns is presented: Three main types of firing systems are discernible: Direct, semi-in- direct and indirect firing. Based on theoretical considerations and on tests with coals of different qualities, measures for flame control are described. Modern type of pulverized coal burners use the three channel system, dividing the primary air into axial and radial components for optimum flame shaping. Oi] Firing Fuel oi] preparation systems and heat supply systems for fuel oi] prepara- tion based on steam, thermal oil, electricity and flame radiation are described. For fuel oi] atomization at the burner nozzle, two different principles are employed: Atomizers with fixed orifice and variable oi] pressure and atomizers with variable orifice and constant oil pressure. Flame shape control is, however, not only a result of atomizer adjustment, but also a function of primary air control. a 9 Natural gas is supplied to the customer's plant site via pipelines at pressures of 30 to 80 bars. There, it is generally prepared by means of a two stage expansion process in order to reduce the pressure to the pressure level of the plant internal distribution network of 3 to 10 bars. Natural gas burners should preferably be adjustable to produce a “hollow cone" flame in order to improve the radiation behaviour of the flame. Safety precautions such as leak tests and gas pressure sensors are required in order to avoid the hazard of gas explosions.Coal! FiringCONTENTS 1. Introduction 2. Classification of Firing Systems 3. Selection Criteria for Coal Firing Systems 4. The Pulverized Coal Flame 5. Pulverized Coal BurnersCOAL FIRING SYSTEMS 1. Introduction In a cement factory coal is usually supplied as a coarse-grained bulk material, Table 1 shows the data ranges of the coal grades which are typically available on the international market. Before the coal is fired it must be prepared according to the type of firing, hence for dust firing ground and dried, at the same time taking into account the specific material properties: = Coal already reacts with air oxygen at ambient temperatures, a Circum- stance which under certain conditions can result in self-ignition. = Whirled-up coal dust can form explosive mixtures with air which are ignited by an energy source of adequate intensity. net heat value (ar) ash (ar) molsture (ar) volatiles (daf) sulfur (ar) density (raw coal) grindability (dry) Table 12. Classification of Firing Systems With reference to gas and material flows the coal firing systems can be classified into four basic types which can be subdivided at least into six different variants (Figure 1). Variant 1 represents the most simple case. The coal is ground in the mill, dried and blown into the kiln together with the drying gases. Variant 2 basically describes the same solution with the exception of the mil] working under positive pressure. This solution is generally applied to protect the fan when processing abrasive coal. In variant 3 the fan is protected by separating the pulverized coal in a cyclone and feeding it after the fan into the primary air stream. Variant 4 has little technical significance since the solution with intermediate storage of coal would generally be given preference. With variant 5 the kiln can be operated independently of short mi11 shutdowns since the pulverized coal is stored in an intermediary storage bin. The exhaust air from the mill enters the kiln as primary air. Finally, in variant 6 the grinding installation is completely separated from the kiln. The pulverized coal is stored in an intermediary storage bin and the exhaust air from the mill is released through a filter into atmosphere. By this way, the kiln operation is completely independent from the combined drying and grinding operation. For operating a rotary kiln, solution 6, the indirect firing system with exhaust air, is certainly the best possible one. However, it is also the most expensive variant which requires more attention by the operator than with other solutions. Also the safety risk is higher due to the more complex installation. Therefore, under certain circun- stances, it would be justified to select one of the other solutions listed above. The most important advantages and disadvantages of the three firing systems in practice realized (direct firing, semi-indirect firing and indirect firing) are listed in Table 2.2 aigel “OLts aBeJ035 au UL [209 pazt ~santnd 249 40 uoLauBL-s19s 40 ¥s1a) "497LLs pue szonp seb ut suorsoid) =a pue Sadtj 03 aL qeuau[NA aJo}i| | *(ALuO ULL ‘auo 40s pLLeA) wayshs BuyaLy yoa4Lp| B Yat ueyy 4ayBly ys09 quauUysaaut} | “493LL4 Burgsnpap | euoLatppe| Bupatnbau uopye{Leysul xa{ duos a.oy| | J *alqussod| losquoo ssauaurs 404 Guy dues Ase3] “suLba} Lesanas 403 pautnbau {ju auo A[UO I “umopanys ULLy 7 UMOPINYS [| LW 4404S] “uLby aya ou, paonpo.gut! you s} Buifup joo wous uoder sayen “0144 aye faewpsd m7 *Louquos aweyy aLduns} + Burap4 yautpuy | | t *o11s aBeu0ys ay3 ut [e09 paztsan| ~[nd ayz 40 woLztUBL-s1as Jo ¥SL¥] | *(Atuo ULE] BuO 40j prier) wazsés Bursts ye41p| © UZLM Ueyy 4aYBLy 4s09 quaMysenuy | *uoyqesado ulLy pagunysip queid sus put6 40 unopanys pue dnaeas Buy anp| “1 06 03 dn o1aed aye Aueuyad uByH, *suiaqsAs [049u09 pue| Bupanseau ‘saapaas [202 paz{saatnd| *SoLLs [e0o paziaaatnd ‘sauoj2f9) eA [Leu Lz Lppe | Bupapnbas uorqeiLeysuy x@{duo2 a.oy| ! | | *touquoa ssauauys soy Gut dues se “suttyl [e4anes soy paatnbas [{1W auo f{ug] sumopanys ULL} ¥ UNOpINYys {Lu uous] *Butays qoa4tpul uaim ueya suoisoid| =X8 JO ¥S{4 Jano| snyz ‘peuinba.| 429113 Ou auojasoyy ‘SeB ysneyxXe On| J l Butap4 7994Lpur-Lwas| “auna4s| =44P louquos ssauoury 405 Guy dues) ‘aut peap Guo, ‘sdoo| [o4quod Mo{s| | | *palyeasuy ase sutty| [euanas JL 3809 yuaWysaAuL JaMo| | 4 abequenpe yg Bujonpas sny3| SLLtW jo vaqunu = supLy yo vequiny| sumopanys ULL} = uMOp3nys uss *suo434puoo Buy 3e | -4ado jewizdo you vazjo aosauay3 | “ULLA 243 ZIM UoLgeJado pauiquo3| *% 0€ 03 dn aye AuowLad yBtH saBequeapesig I | i | I “soLys oqus aats Jo peaads on “paay| L209 Buyddoys Xq waqsés Burpurs6| BUI UL a4Ly Jo UOLZOULyKxa aLdutts| o jo *suoysoidxa Jo ys}4 moq| o |e ubysap aduys} } 1 Bupard qoearg| {3. Selection Criteria for Coal Firing Systems Based on an operational point of view Figure 2 reflects some of the decision criteria which can lead to the selection of a certain firing system. There are, however, no precisely defined selection criteria available. According to each special case at hand, the decision for the definite firing system may vary within limits. 3.1 Size of the Kiln With direct firing, an influence of fluctuating coal qualities on kiln operation does of course exist even for smaller kilns. Above a certain kiln size, however, the fluctuations of kiln operation caused thereby are exceeding the economically justified limits. 3.2 Coal Moisture If the mill vent air enters the kiln as primary air (direct firing), the primary air ratio of the burner is usually higher than required for optimum combustion. At a given excess air factor, the primary air ratio has therefore a direct influence on the heat recuperation efficiency of the cooler and finally on the overall kiln heat consumption. This inter- relationship is illustrated in Figure 3. The water vapor entering the kiln with the primary air has no direct influence on the combustion process, but increases the kiln exhaust gas quantity accordingly. A water content of e.g. 15% in the coal in- creases the exhaust gas quantity of a dry process kiln by approx. 1.5%, of a wet process kiln by approx. 1.2 %. In case the exhaust gas fans are working at full load, this would cause an equivalent reduction of kiln output. At the same time the flame stability may decrease as a result of di- lution of the primary air, though this effect can be reduced by special measures for flame control (see paragraph 4). 3.3. Abrasiveness Especially when processing abrasive coal (coal ash containing a high proportion of quartz and pyrite) the primary air fan can be protected, either by installing the fan in front of the mill (this solution generally is inapplicable due to today's usually high primary air pressures of up to 1000 mm H,0) or by separating the pulverized coal in a cyclone and recycling it after the fan into the primary air stream.Natural Gas 3.4 Combined Firing of Coal - Fuel Oil As the case may be (fuel qualities or fuel supply) combined firing of coal - fuel oil - natural gas can be necessary or desirable. From the point of view of burner technology, each fuel portion can lay between 0 - 100 %. In addition to economic criteria, the reasons for the use of either combustible may be considerations regarding calorific value and composition of fuel impurities (ash, circulating elements). A change from one fuel to another results in most cases in a change of the coating conditions of the kiln (see Figures 4/5). This is a result of the interdependence between the flame radiating properties and the type of combustibles. (Reference is made to the paper "Flame Tech- nology"). Furthermore the flame temperature has an influence on the length of the instable coating in the transition zone. As shown in Figures 4/5 the length of instable coating increases with decreasing flame temperature. 4. The Pulverized Coal Flame 4.1 Factors which Influence the Combustion Upon leaving the burner pipe, the pulverized coal must be heated to ignition temperature and the molecules of the combustibles and oxygen must be brought into contact. Ignition of the flame takes place in an area which has the approx. shape of the surface of a cone, forming a cone-shaped preheating zone in the center of the flame. The propagation of the combustion process is depending on how fast the combustibles come into contact with oxygen. It is the essential function of the burner to regulate this mixing process adequately in order to achieve a correct flame shape. The ignition distance is a result of the ignition time and the velocity of the primary air jet. The ignition time itself is determined by the ignition temperature of the coal and the speed of heating as a result of radiation and convection. From this correlation, the following influences on the ignition dis- tance can be derived:= Volatile content: The ignition temperature increases as the volatile content decreases, therefore low volatile coal has a longer ignition distance than bi- tuminous coal. - Aerodynamic conditions: The higher the kinetic energy of the primary air jet the higher the turbulence and the better the access of hot secondary air to the center of the flame, until an optimum velocity is reached. On one hand this increases the heating speed and on the other hand increases the supply of oxygen to the interior of the flame. ~ Temperatures: High temperatures accelerate the heating process. If the primary air is preheated too, a smaller temperature difference must be overcome which further shortens the ignition distance. - Content of ballast materials (ash, dust and water content of the primary air): Increasing content of ballast materials reduces the heat supply to the fuel by its own absorption of heat and leads to a longer ignition distance. I i Gumz's formula for the burning time contains the most important in- fluences on the course of combustion of pulverized coal. According to this formula the burning time z (sec) is: Ly Ord | gl -85 Er 883. Fw z= s7es. 108 be + fq) Tw) 0.15 x TW), woo 1 -* Nomenclature: t gross density of the initial fuel (kg/m?) 0 v kinematic viscosity of the carrier 2 gas in the cumbustion chamber (m°/s) T mean absolute temperature of the ° carrier gas in the combustion chamber Ck) d grain diameter (m) sinking speed of grain (n/s)fin) corrective factor for the influence of excess air n excess air ratio v volatile content (a) x portion of oxygen requirement for combustion of the volatile content relative to the total oxygen requirement (x) e degree of swelling, i.e. the volume of the inflated grain in proportion to the initial volume of the grain f corrective factor for the influence (wB) of the rate of swelling and the volatile content on the sinking speed In the above formula the following factors are of main influence: = Grinding fineness: The burning time of a coal dust grain increases approx. with the square of its diameter (see also paragraph 3.3) - Volatile content: The higher the volatile content, the shorter the burning time. - Temperature in the combustion chamber: The higher the temperature the faster the burning process. = Rate of swelling: The higher the expansion of the grain during heating the lower its density, the shorter the burning time. Gumz's formula does not take into account the content of ballast material in the coal. Similarly to influencing the ignition time, a high content of ballast material also has a retarding effect on the burning time caused by the reduced coal dust concentration and the Tower flame temperature as a result of the heat absorption of the ballast material. The influence of coal properties on the ignition distance and the length of the burning zone was investigated by the International Flame Research Foundation (IFRF) at Ijmuiden by extensive tests. Figure 6 shows the ignition distance and the length of the flame of ash-rich and ash-poor, low volatile and high volatile coal under constant aero- dynamic ‘conditions (30% primary air, primary air jet velocity 40 m/sec).4.2. Grinding Fineness According to Gumz's formula (paragraph 3.2) the combustion time of a grain of coal increases as its volatile content decreases. Thus, low volatile coal must be ground more finely in order to burn within the desired time, i. e. in order to produce the desired flame length (Figures 7 and 8)5. Pulverized Coal Burners 5.1 Burner Pipe The most simple pulverized coal burners are normally made of a steel tube of constant diameter, possibly with a conical burner tip which can be cut until the required flame shape is achieved. However, for optimum flame shaping when considering changing coal quali- ty and different requirements from the point of view of raw mix burnability, burners with adjustable flame are to be preferred. In such burners, the primary air is usually divided into an axial and a radial component with the coal introduced via an intermediate concentric ring tube. Figures 9 to 13 show typical examples of adjustable coal burners from different suppliers. These burners are usually suitable for alternate or combined firing of coal, oi] or gas. Due to the positive pressure in the primary air stream, proper pre- cautions must be taken to appropriately seal the coal feed from the devices which are connected to it: = Sealing with rotary air locks: One single rotary air lock usually has too Tittle effect, whereas two air locks connected in series guarantee sufficient tightness. ~ Screw feeders: A pressure screw feeder is suitable only for moderate overpressure. Possibly the screw can be combined with rotary air lock and/or ven- turi. = Generating negative pressure by means of Venturi nozzles (Figure 15): Negative pressure is produced at the coal feed point by a Venturi nozzle in the primary air duct thus requiring only slight sealing. This method, however, has the disadvantage that additional loss of pressure results from local acceleration of primary air and coal dust. = Direct injection of pulverized coal via pneumatic transport (Figure 14).-10- 5.2 Primary Air 5.2.1 Primary Air Ratio and Velocity Seen from a heat saving point of view the primary air ratio should be as low as possible in order to recuperate as much hot secondary air as possible. On the other hand, the kinetic energy of the fuel air mixture must be sufficiently high to provide a good mixture with the secondary air to ensure rapid burning. In his fundamental work entitled "Ueber die Linge von Kohlenstaubflam- men in Drehéfen*, Ruhland developed a formula with which the flame length for any given firing system can be approximately calculated though without taking into account the quality of the coal. For a spe- cific installation, Figure 15 shows the flame lengths calculated accord- ing to this formula for different primary air ratios and different primary air velocities. With a constant primary air ratio, the length of the flame reaches a minimum for a given primary air velocity. If the velocity is further increased, the primary air jet develops an excessive suction effect which results in a reverse flow of flue gases. The recirculating flue gas thins the secondary air so much that the flame becomes longer again. According to an old rule of thumb, the kinetic energy of the primary air jet should be kept constant with certain limit: (velocity of primary jet)* x % primary air = 65 - 75 000 The screened area in Figure 15 shows the range which should be selected according to this formula. Even if this formula will not give optimal values in each case, it enables a rough estimate of the dimensions of the burner if one presupposes as a second condition that the primary air jet speed should lie between 50 and 100 m/sec (valid for straight burners without swirl).Fig. 1 Classification of firing systems without pulverized coal storage arying air = primary ar direct firing arying air ¢ rimary alr sem/-dtrect firing with pulverized coal storage indirect firing mo) VFig. 2 Selection of Coal Milling Plants mo/sture content ‘molsture content Of coalFig. 3 Direct Firing (‘Vd %O1} : 80U012j0y) asDasoUT UO];dUINSUOD 4yDa}; = 6 + 4 fS © o ++ N Oo $$$ t- —}-—_—t-—— - ——_+ + » o 8 9 ® t+ ¢ © MH > °o (g41764) oNOY-a1y/48Ng Coal moisture (%) 20 15 10Fig. 4 yybuay auoz Bulyoo9 uo uoIssiMsuDs} yay JO BoUAN|JU! @wip|} sdb josnyou SUWID]§ [10 [ens @WD)J [DOD PAdYy lwoyou0} Buly =DO00 40} a}D4 uoIss!wsuDJ} Day 4SaMo} ’ uoIssiwsuD4} {Day ET yy6ua] auoz BGulyp09 uo aouanyur : SOWID|4 SDD |DANJON PUD J1O [aN *|D0DFig. 5 Jnfiuence of Temperature on Transition Zone Coating Stability high flame temperature T low flame temperature [ upper surface temperature limit for stable coating re. tt. ambient temperat. lining kiln shell A= coating thickness with high temperature flame B= same with low temperature flame = thickness of unstable coating with high temperature flame b= same with low temperature flameFig. 6 Influence of the coal properties on ignition distance and flame length coal |volatile content %|ash content %|heat value 4¢3t A 36,6 #8 #287 2 26,4 56,2 4548 c 9,2 59 8095 D 42 22,3 6400 5 40% 95% 98% 8 & Ss percentage of coal burnt % & 8 8 6 #7 8 9 0 aistance of the flame flame length m from the burner nozzleFig. 7 (ww) Je}oweIp urei6 £0 co to 0 yeoo snoujwnygq 8 JB02 snoujwnyqiues 2 ot 7 & ones we sseoxe = o1 pl ZL OL a, 90° = SI go 2 < 3 4 s. 8 + 0% zig vs .o 1s sz 5 40}OWRIG UlesH) SY} JO UO!}JOUN eB Se au] UOHSNquoygFig. 8 Required grinding fineness as function of the volatile content of the coal Ww oO sieve nN Oo % sieve residue 0 8 12, (16 20 24 28 32 36 40 % volatile content (water and ash free) exnneeee=_ typical for boilers/cooled furnaces ideal for rotary kiln systems TS/VA F 2 EOI Datum: 25.02.91 | Zchng.Nr. 47367—EA LsFig. 9 ad tt Jeuing prehiidFig. 10 Sh fae | isa yOuING PseliidFig. 1112 Fig. edid 49u4ng ysnp jeoD eqny yeyorr. squ Bujsajyue9 dJauing uoiubl 410} UOITSOg @uoo We YSNp jB0D SSS [es | nara | remeron: Ss LEER SOjZZOU jal—niny 92/0 81ZZ0N GH» 4euing jeloiAgFig. 13 LIMg Boss Kasse” > youing - S714 oOFig. 14 injector nozzle mixing nozzle for pneum.transp.Fig. 15 Length of Pulverized Coal Flames in Rotary Kiins Flame length (m) 507 405 30: Kiln capacity + 2000 t/d Kiln diameter :46mge Specific heat consumption: 800 kcal/kg cli Coal net heat value Hy + 6400 kcai/kg Excess air ratio : 1,15 5 Primary air ratio=const. (%) Burner diameter ~const. (m) 10 % p x v?=65000-75000 50 100 150 Primary air velocity (m/s)Oil FiringTABLE OF CONTENTS FUEL OIL FUEL OIL TRANSFER FROM RAILWAY WAGONS OR TRUCKS TO THE STORAGE ‘TANKS FUEL OIL STORAGE FUEL OIL PREPARATION FUEL OIL ATOMIZATION 6. FUEL OIL BURNERS 7. CONTROL LOOPS IN A FUEL OIL PLANT + PagesFUEL OIL Fuel oil, or residual oil, as the name implies, is the material that remains after all the light, distillable products have been taken out of the crude oil. Depending on the market re- quirements of the refinery, it can be thick, heavy or light. The common classification of residual oil used in kiln firing is "no 6 fuel oil", or Bunker C fuel oil (USA), Heizél (BRD), fuel oil H or G (GB), mazout lourd 2 (F), Heizél schwer (CH). Composition: 83-87% Cc 1l-13% # - 44 (5 8) s - 5% 0, N, HO Density: (0,8) 0,84 - 0,98 Lower heat value: 40' ~ 42'000 kJ/kg (9'500 - 10'000 kcal/ke C / H ratio: 8 Emissivity: 0,81 Oil ash rate: very low Ignition temperature: 300 - 500°C Viscosity: at ambiant temperature: thick, not pump- able,at 50 to 600C : 200 - 100 cSt, pumpable, at 110 to 120°C : 20 - 12 cSt, atomizable (Pig. 1 and Fig. 2) The handling of fuel oil in a cement plant can be subdivided into the following steps: 1, Transfer to the storage tanks 2. Storage and extraction from storage tanks 3. Preparation, measuring, dosing 4, Atomisation and combustionFUEL OIL TRANSFER FROM RAILWAY WAGONS OR TRUCKS TO THE STORAGE TANKS For easy handling, fuel oil must have a temperature of about 50 to 60°C, If it is delivered at lower temperatures, which ~ due to the insulation of the wagons - is rather seldom, it has to be heated up. This can be done by circulating saturated steam (8 - 12 atm) through the heating coils at the bottom of the wagons or directly by introducing steam into the oil by means of a steam lance. Heating time depends on the boiler output, on the capacity of the wagon, on delivery temperature of the oil and on ambient temperature and lies between 2 and 6 (12, 24) hours. 200 - 250 kg/h of steam is needed for a 20 tons capacity wagon. To unload a certain number of wagons, it must have along the rails an oil collecting pipe, a saturated steam duct and condensate re~ turn pipe, each provided with the same number of fittings. The installation of the flexible steam-, condensate- and oil pipes to unload the wagons takes a lot of time. It is therefore common practice to do this - whenever required - in the afternoon, to heat up the oil during the night and to empty the wagons in the following morning. Via coarse strainers (for pump protection) the fuel oil is then pumped to the storage tanks. (Fig. 3) FUEL OIL STORAGE The main storage requirements depend on the situation of the plant with respect of the fuel oil supply possibilities. A few plants are located sufficiently close to a refinery so that the oil is received by pipeline, directly from the refinery. Such cases require a minimum storage capacity. Where oil is delivered by truck or by rail, typical main storag capacities allow a kiln operation of 2 - 10 weeks. Tanks are usually designed as welded steel constructions. Due to the fuel oil forming, an insulating layer on the walls, any particular insulating efforts are unnecessary. Suction heaters are used to maintain the fuel oil locally - i.e. in the area of the tank suction point - in a pumpable con- dition, i.e. at temperatures between 50 and 60°C. This is done in order to minimize the rate of deposit forming reactions, which doubles with each 10°C increase in fuel oil temperature. (Fig. 3, 4 and 5)FUEL OIL PREPARATION Successful burning of oil requires that it is heated to 110 to 120°C in order to reduce its viscosity enough to allow it to be properly atomized by pressure atomization. Heating up of the fuel oil is usually accomplished through an assembly of equipment all contained on a common base. This minimizes expensive piping and valving and centralizes the equip- ment for ease of maintenance and control. Due to the foreign matter that all residual oils contain and the high rate of deposits that form at elevated temperatures, re- sulting in frequent maintenance, all equipment associated with and on the final heat and pump set is duplicated. Such a set would contain (Fig. 3,4 and 5): 2 strainers with coarse meshes for pump protection 2 oil pumps (gear pumps or screw pumps) 2 heat exchangers for heating up the fuel oil to atomization temperature 2 strainers with fine meshes for control equipment and atomizer head protection Supply of heat mainly to the heat exchangers of the fuel oil preparation set, but also to the storage tank suction heater as well as to all oil carrying piping can be accomplished by: Steam: (Fig. 4) Steam has certainly been the most popular heat carrying medium for oil heating. The principal problems associated with steam generation and its use are: - feed water treatment - steam trapping - condensate handling - high pressure operation - freezing problems during plant stop Steam can be produced by: - conventional oil fired steam generators - electrical submersion heaters in a pressure vessel - waste heat based steam generators (e.g. cooler exhaust air)