HEAT ENGINEERING

THE THERMODYNAMIC EFFICIEiNCY OF

TUNI~E L KILI~ S

V. G. Abbakumov and M. S. G l a z m a n UDC 66.041.55-621.2:536.7

The m o d e r n tunnel k i l n s for f i r i n g r e f r a c t o r i e s a r e e f f i c i e n t b e a t - u s i n g units and give a f i r i n g p r o -

c e s s with h i g h c o s t - b e n e f i t i n d i c e s . The p r i n c i p l e s of counterflow and t h e r m a l flow i n v e r s i o n between the
g a s e s and the m a t e r i a l in the f i r i n g zone u n d e r l y i n g the kiln d e s i g n p e r m i t m a x i m u m utilization of the heat
i n s i d e the unit and m i n i m i z e the e n e r g y p o t e n t i a l of the f i r e d p r o d u c t and of the p r o d u c t s of fuel c o m b u s t i o n
d i s c h a r g e d f r o m the kiln. However, owing to d e s i g n f a u l t s and flaws in the o r g a n i z a t i o n of the kiln p r o c e s s e s
the p o s s i b i l i t i e s o f f e r e d by the t h e r m o t e c h n i c a l m e c h a n i s m of the kiln a r e not being e x p l o i t e d to the f u l l e s t
extent.

A t h e r m o d y n a m i c a n a l y s i s of tunnel k i l n s can y i e l d valuabl~ i n f o r m a t i o n about the e n e r g y c o n v e r s i o n

p r o c e s s e s in the kiln (combustion, e n e r g y d i s s i p a t i o n ) and m a k e s it p o s s i b l e to a s s e s s the p e r f o r m a n c e
e f f i c i e n c y of the kiln as a whole and of i t s individual e l e m e n t s and t h e r e b y to identify the s e c t i o n s which
r e q u i r e d e s i g n m o d i f i c a t i o n . The s i g n i f i c a n c e of the e n e r g y l o s s e s and the e n e r g y d e p r e c i a t i o n in the i r -
r e v e r s i b l e kiln p r o c e s s e s is defined by the 1st and 2rid laws of t h e r m o d y n a m i c s . An a n a l y s i s of the t h e r m o -
d y n a m i c and o v e r a l l e f f i c i e n c y of tunnel k i l v s on that b a s i s was c a r r i e d out in a r e c e n t a r t i c l e [1] by e x e r g y
m e t h o d s of t e c h n i c a l t h e r m o d y n a m i c s and it was e s t a b l i s h e d that the main i t e m s of the e x e r g y l o s s in
m o d e r n h i g h - t e m p e r a t u r e tunnel k i l n s take the f o r m of i n t e r n a l l o s s e s in the i r r e v e r s i b l e kiln p r o c e s s e s
and of e x t e r n a l l o s s e s through the lining. The i n t e r n a l l o s s e s account f o r 50-55% and the e x t e r n a l l o s s e s
f o r 28-35% of the e x e r g y e n t e r i n g the kiln.
The p r e s e n t w r i t e r s c a r r i e d out an in-depth a n a l y s i s of t h e s e l o s s e s and of the t h e r m o d y n a m i c p e r -
f o r m a n c e of the kiln zones. The e x e r g y l o s s E mix o c c u r r i n g when the fuel c o m b u s t i o n p r o d u c t s mix with
the a i r e n t e r i n g the p r o d u c t - h e a t i n g section was c a l c u l a t e d f r o m d a t a r e l a t i n g to the t e m p e r a t u r e v a r i a t i o n
along the kiln (t~), the c o m p o s i t i o n (G), the s p e c i f i c c~uantity (qg) and the e x e r g y (Eg) of the flue g a s e s , and
the e x e r g y balaffces of the g a s - b l e e d i n g s e c t i o n s .
The kiln s e c t i o n s with negative p r e s s u r e (other than the g a s - b l e e d i n g s e c t i o n s ) w e r e divided into
unit s e c t i o n s equal in length to two kiln p o s i t i o n s .
A c c o r d i n g to the a n a l y t i c a l s c h e m e the a i r intake in each unit s e c t i o n bounded by c r o s s s e c t i o n s
m - - 1 and m (the s e c t i o n s w e r e n u m b e r e d in the d i r e c t i o n of the gas flow) was r e f e r r e d to c r o s s s e c t i o n
m while the t e m p e r a t u r e of the g a s e s in the c r o s s s e c t i o n tg,m was r e g a r d e d as the a f t e r - m i x i n g

TABLE 1. The S t r u c t u r e of the I n t e r n a l E x e r g y L o s s e s in High-

T e m p e r a t u r e Tunnel Kilns
Exergy lossesin tunnel kilnswith a work
space of a height of
Loss
0,75m 1,1 m
keal/kg % keal/kg %
Due to kreversible combustion processes 149 18,1 263 57,2
Due to flue gases mixing with indraft air in product-
heating section 347 4l ,5 49 10,5
Others 339 40,4 150 32,3
Total 835 100,0 462 100,0

A l l - U n i o n I n s t i t u t e of R e f r a c t o r i e s . T r a n s l a t e d f r o m O g n e u p o r y , No. 10, pp. 17-23, O c t o b e r , 1975.

9 Plenum Publishing Corporation, 227 West 17th Street, New York, N. Y. 10011. No part o f this publication may be reproduced,
stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, microfilming,
recording or otherwise, without written permission o f the publisher. A copy o f this article is available from the publisher for $15.00.

6t5
 Esp.max/gsp

0,8

8 0.e
12
18 .., [ -

" 2t~FTTq-F2f-f-I I I --
32
4~Ta-~J., ,.~--
0 'z # 8 8 lo[2N Nf82#ygz,~2828,g;&~234~s z~ ~2 2l? 28 3F .4, 52
Kiln position Kiln position
Fig. 1 Fig. 2
F i g . 1. The v o l u m e of g a s e s V and the s t a t i c p r e s s u r e P a l o n g
a k i l n w~th a c h a n n e l h e i g h t of 0.75 m ( ~ ) a~d 1.1 m (. . . . }o

F i g . 2. T h e d i s t r i b u t i o n of the e x e r g y l o s s e s through the roof

of a k i l n with a c h a n n e l 0.75 m in height; E s p a r e the e x e r g y
l o s s e s p e r 1 m 2 o f hot r o o f a r e a .

t e m p e r a t u r e t g , m in c r o s s s e c t i o n m p r i o r to m i x i n g with the i n d r a f t a t r t was d e t e r m i n e d f r o m the follow-

ing equation:
t~, gg ,rag.... tg,,~. -- c a (qg,,n - q g , rn- t) t a
g m~
C; .... lqg . . . . ~ ;C, (1)

w h e r e t a is the t e m p e r a t u r e of the a i r , ~ qg,m-~ and q g , m a r e the s p e c i f i c q u a n t i t y of g a s e s $ in c r o s s

s e c t i o n s m - - 1 and m ( c a l c u l a t e d f r o m the c u r v e f o r qg), m3/(h .kg); Ca, C ~ , m - 1 , C g , m a r e the s p e c i f i c
h e a t of the a i r and of the g a s e s b e f o r e and a f t e r m i x i n g ( c a l c u l a t e d f r o m the c u r v e f o r G), k c a l / ( m ~ 9~

Next, a c a l c u l a t i o n w a s m a d e of the e x e r g y of the g a s e s in s e c t i o n m p r i o r t o m i x i n g [11:

Eg~,,n.~-~ (tg.m, Gm-1, qg,m-t)" (2}

The e x e r g y of the g a s e s a f t e r m i x i n g Eg, aft w a s d e t e r m i n e d f r o m the c a r v e f o r Eg. The e x e r g y t o s s

due to i n d r a f t of a i r i n the g a s - b l e e d i n g s e c t i o n E m i x w a s c a l c u l a t e d f r o m the e q u a t i o n
g, bl
t T h e a s t e r i s k d e n o t e s gas p a r a m e t e r s p r i o r to m i x i n g with the i n d r a f t a i r .
$ The gas v o l u m e s w e r e c a l c u l a t e d f o r n o r m a l c o n d i t i o n s .

T A B L E 2. T h e E x e r g y B a l a n c e of the H e a t i n g and F i r i n g Z o n e s of
High-Temperature Tunnel Kilns
Exergy admitted (lost) in the heating and
firing zone of kiln with workspace height of
Ba!ance items I, m
! 0,75 m
tkeal/kg % kcal/kg
gxergy inNt
Exergy of the fuel Ef 1511 88,9 927 90
gxergy of the air admitted to the firing zone gaz 188 11,I 104 10
Tota 1699 100,0 103 l 100,0
gxergy consumption
Exergy of the product @z 351 20,7 321 31,2
Exergy consumption on drying the product E 2 0,0 2 0,0
pc .
Exergy of the lining of the kiln trucks leaving
[he firing zone E~i 200 11,8 137 13,3
gxergy lost wilt{the flue gases E~g 131 7,7 48 4,7
fi
Losses to the environment
gr
g,,_ 210 12,3 t59 15,5
Internal losses 2El~ 805 47,5 364 35,3
Including
due to lrreversibility of combustion processes 149 8,9 263 25,6
due to indraff of air 347 20,4 49 4,7
others 309 18,2 52 5,0
:oral 1699 100,0 !03l 100,0

616
 T A B L E 3. E x e r g y B a l a n c e o f the C o o l i n g Z o n e s o f High T e m p e r a t u r e
Tunnel Kilns
E~tergyadmitted(lost) in the cooling zone of
kiln with work space height of -
Balance item
Ikc--~ g tkcal/kg %
Exergy input .-
Exergy of the product Efi 63,8 321 70,1
k" fi
Exergy consumption the kiln truck lining Et 36,3 137 29,9
Total O0,0 458 lOO,O
Exergy consumption
Exergy of the air
adriiitted to firing zone Ea2 34,1 104 22,7
bled off for drying gdr 10,4 3t 6,8
forced out through leaks Ea 1,7 10 2,2
Exergy losses C
to environment E 1in 39,4 167 36,4
with the lining of the outgoing trucks E~ 9,1 42 9,2
with the fired produced E~ 0,2 6 1,3
in~emal losses due to the ~eversibility of the
kiln processes ~E~ 5,3 98 21,4
Total O0,0 458 loo ,0

E~,~I = A E g , bl --AE p, bl - - A E f, bl - - E l, b l - - E pc, bl, (3)

w h e r e A E g , b l i s the d e c r e a s e in the e x e r g y of the g a s e s in the f l u e - g a s b l e e d i n g s e c t i o n ; A E p , b h AEf, bl
a r e the i n c r e m e n t s in the e x e r g y o f the p r o d u c t and f l o o r l i n i n g in the g a s - b l e e d i n g s e c t i o n ; E / , b l i s the
e x e r g y l o s s t h r o u g h the l i n i n g o f the g a s - b l e e d i n g s e c t i o n ; E p c , b l i s the e x e r g y c o n s u m p t i o n on the p h y s i c o -
c h e m i c a l p r o c e s s e s (drying) in the p r o d u c t in the g a s - b l e e d i n g s e c t i o n .
T h e a g g r e g a t e e x e r g y l o s s when the flue g a s e s m i x with a i r w a s c a l c u l a t e d f r o m the e q u a t i o n

E~n i x ~ ( E g , ,,, mix

Eg.m ) q- Ep, bl . (4)
r/l

The calculated internal exergy losses in high-temperature tunnel kilns with a work space 0.75 and
1.1 m in height [1] are given in Table 1. The item "Others" includes losses due to the irreversibilityof the
heat exchange and firing processes and due to e r r o r s in the exergy balances.

The structures of the internal exergy losses in these kilns differ considerably. In the low kiln the
relative losses due to the irreversibilityof the combustion process are three times lower but the losses
resulting from the indraft of cold air through leaks in the kiln channel (mainly in the floor system of the
heating zone) are four times greater. The ~]ifference in the exergy losses in combustion is attributable to
the difference between the air consumption factors in fuel combustion in low (1.03) and high (1.2) kilns
which produces an appreciable difference in the adiabatic combustion temperatures [2] which in turn deter-
mine the theoretical exergy of the products of combustion.
The exergy losses in combustion can be reduced by burning the fuel with the lowest technologically
practicable air consumption factor giving complete fuel combustion. In this context, natural gas is not the
best fuel for a low kiln because the p r i m a r y - a i r feed is set at a limit by the blower capacity and in the
center channels of the charge the gas is burnt incompletely (the (30 content reaches 5%). The e x c e s s air
in the firing zone of low kilns must therefore be increased which means that a reduction of the exergy losses
in combustion cannot be counted upon in this case.
In the high kiln, on the other hand, fuel combustion is complete and in this kiln the excess air and
thus the exergy loss in combustion can be reduced by improving the burner design and the combustion
system. Fuel economies of about 9~ can be achieved by lowering the air consumption factor to 1.1.
T h e m a i n i t e m in the i n t e r n a l e x e r g y l o s s e s in the low kiln t a k e s the f o r m of l o s s e s due to a i r i n -
d r a f t t h r o u g h l e a k s in the k i l n c h a n n e l s e c t i o n u n d e r n e g a t i v e p r e s s u r e . T h e f a c t t h a t t h e s e l o s s e s a r e
c o n s i d e r a b l y , i . e . , 1.7 t i m e s , h i g h e r in the low than in the high k i l n can be a t t r i b u t e d to the l a r g e r a e r o -
d y n a m i c r e s i s t a n c e o f the f o r m e r which r e s u l t s in v i g o r o u s g a s e x c h a n g e b e t w e e n the k i l n and the a m b i e n t
m e d i u m ( F i g . 1). It w a s e s t a b l i s h e d t h a t the r e s i s t a n c e of the k i l n c a n n o t be r e d u c e d b y m o d i f y i n g the

617
 T A B L E 4. Exergy Balance of High-Temperature Tunnel Kilns
Exergy admitted or lost a kiln witha work
Balance item pace height of
I o,75 m __ ~_i/kgl,l m
kcal/kg '% %

Exergy input
Exergy of the fuel Efu 100,0 927 100,0
Total I00,0 927 100,0
Exergy consumption
Energy of the air
bled off for drying 3,8 31 3,3
lost Ea 0,6 10 1,1
~xergy.eonsum ption on drying the product Epo 0,1 2 0,2
Exergy tosses
to ttte environment Elin . 28,2 326 35,2
with the outgoing gases .Efg 8,7 48 5,2
withthe lining of the outgoing trucks E~~ " 3.3 42 4,5
with the fired products E~ 0,1 6 0,6
. interval losses due to the trreversibility of the EEl 55,2 462 49,9
memamg
combustion lO,O 253 28,5
migration of kiln gases with indraft air in heating
section 347 22,9 49 5,3
other losses and errors in the balance 339 22,3 150 16,1
Tota 1 1511 100,0 927 100,0

a r r a n g e m e n t o f t h e c h a r g e . T h e p r o b l e m c a n b e r e s o l v e d by r e d u c i n g t h e l e n g t h o f the h e a t i n g z o n e by
e i g h t k i l n p o s i t i o n s [3, 4] w h i c h w i l l l o w e r t h e r e s i s t a n c e o f t h e k i l n b y a b o u t o n e and a h a l f t i m e s , and
b y i m p r o v i n g the s e a l i n g o f the k i l n f l o o r . It h a s b e e n c a l c u l a t e d t h a t the f u e l c o n s u m p t i o n o f the l o w k i l n
c a n be r e d u c e d by ,about 17% by r a i s i n g t h e e f f i c i e n c y o f i t s s e a l i n g s y s t e m to the l e v e l of t h a t of high k i l n s .

The exergy analysis of the kiln zones was carried o u t on t h e b a s i s o f the b a l a n c e e q u a t i o n s .

T h e e x e r g y b a l a n c e o f t h e h e a t i n g and f i r i n g z o n e s o f a t u n n e l k i l n w a s d e t e r m i n e d from the equation:

fi + E~ + Epc + E~g + Eft
Efu+E~+ E~l+Eal+Ea2= Ep lin + EElfio (5)
where. Efu is the exergy,. of the fuel; Ep,' Efip_ are the exergy of the product at the inlet and outlet of the s e e -
txon concerned; Eft, E~ are the exergies or the floor system at the inlet and outlet; EaI , Ea2 are the exergies
of the primary and secondary air; Epe is the exergy expenditure on the physicochemieal p r o c e s s e s of fir-
It
ing; Efg is the exergy of the outgoing flue gases; E fi is the exergy l o s s to the environment through the
lin
lining (of the roof, walls, and floor) of the heating and firing zones, ZE fi are the exergy l o s s e s in the heat-
1
ing and firing zones.
F o r the cooling zone:
=fi + Eft= Eaz + E;+ Et" + E adr +E a.+E~i n + Z E~
~p (6)
w h e r e E p , E t a r e the e x e r g i e s o f t h e o u t g o i n g p r o d u c t and k i l n t r u c k s ; E da r ' E a a r e t h e e x e r g i e s o f the a i r
bled off for drying and lost to the environment; ECon..is the e x e r g y loss through the lining of the cooling
zone; E~ is the internal exergy loss in the cooling zone.
T h e e x e r g y b a l a n c e o f the t u n n e l k i l n i s t h e n e x p r e s s e d as follows:

Efu.+ E'p* E~I + Eal = Epc + E; + Ef + E~g + Elin . Edr

a + Ea . EEl (7)
where

fi + Ec (9)
Elin = Elin lin

The exergy balance of high-temperature tunnel kilns is given in Tables 2-4 and the indices of their
thermodynamic efficiency are c o m p a r e d in Table 5 with those of non-Soviet kilns [5, 6}.
The efficiency 7? and degree of reversibility ~Tr of the kiln processes were calculated from the follow-
ing equations:

618
 TABLE 5. The T h e r m o d y n a m i c Efficiency of Tunnel Kilns
Efficiencynumerator and de ree of reversibility of the
kiln processes (denominatol
Kiln section
[of a height of firing pro- Ifiringconstrue-
0-~7~m ~-im :elatn ware 6 tional ceramics 5
, ,

.ff
.

Heating and firing zones 0,32/0,52 0,44/'0,75 0,35/0,60 / 0,65/0,52

Coolin~zone 0,34/0,94 0,23/0,79 0,18/0,61 [ 0,32/0,57
The kffn as a whtile 0,26/0,45 0,32/0,50 0,27/0,41 0,50/0,47

f o r the heating and firing zones

fi fi
fi = (Ep + Eft + Epc) (10)
(Efu +Eb + E}I + Eal + Ea2)'

fi (11)
~Tr = 1--[ZE~i/(Efur + E~ + Eh + Eal + Ea2)];

for the cooling zone

71c =(Eaz + _dr~dr, .,,~fi + Efi

,i ~a j/tOp lin ), (12)

c =i- fi
+ Elin), (la)

,
dr + Ep)/Ea
where 77dr = (Epc dr is the efficiency of the dryer (assumed zero in the calculations owing to its
dr
low value and lack of precise data); Epc is the exergy consumption on drying the product.
for the kiln as a whole
= Q+e +epo, (14)

ZEt, (15)
n,= l-- Eif,
where Ep, E t is the exergy of the product and kiln trucks at the inversion point [1].
The data shows that 80% o r more of the internal exergy l o s s e s o c c u r s in the heating section while in
the l o s s e s to the environment the main item, i.e. l o s s e s through the lining, is s h a r e d a l m o s t equally between
the heating and cooling sections. The d i a g r a m in Fig. 2 shows the distribution of the relative specific exergy
l o s s e s Esp through the roof; 80% of these l o s s e s is accounted for by the roof section in the firing zone [7].
The optimization of the roof c o n s t r u c t i o n in this section would contribute significantly to an i m p r o v e m e n t
in the efficiency of the kiln and in the quality of the firing p r o c e s s . One should point out that the heat
insulation of the roof can be improved by improving the quality of the r e f r a c t o r i e s and the suspension
s y s t e m and installing a circulation s y s t e m in the cooling zone.
Among the kilns d i s c u s s e d here the organization of the kiln p r o c e s s e s is best in the 1.1-m-high high-
t e m p e r a t u r e tunnel kiln (see Table 5) which has the highest ~r zonewise and for the unit as a whole. In the
0.75 m high kiln the efficiency of the heating section is lower and that of the cooling section higher.
The o v e r a l l efficiency of tunnel kilns v a r i e s considerably but the 1.1-m-high kiln is appreciably
m o r e efficient than the 0.75-m-high kiln. F r o m the standpoint of the firing technology and mechanization
possibilities, however, the 0.75-m-high kiln has m a r k e d advantages [8] which underlines the importance of
finding a solution 53 the problem of i n c r e a s i n g its thermotechnical efficiency.

CONCLUSIONS
An in-depth thermodynamic analysis of modern h i g h - t e m p e r a t u r e tunnel kilns showed that the
principal exergy l o s s e s in the kilns are due to the i r r e v e r s i b i l i t y of the kiln p r o c e s s e s and the i m p e r f e c t
design of the roof. In the 0.75-m-high kiln the internal exergy l o s s e s can be reduced by shortening the
heating zone and improving the sealing of the kiln floor, and in the 1.1-m-high kiln by improving the
combustion p r o c e s s .

619
 LITERATURE CITED

io V. G. Abbakumov, Ogneupory, No. 9, 21-30 (1975).

2. D. I. Gavrish, V. G. Abbakumov, and V. G. Borisov, Ogneupory, No. 6, 9-15 (1974).
3. A. A. Shumilin, V. G. Abbakumov, and G. A. Tarakanchikov, Ogneupory, No. 3, 8-15 (1970).
4. V. G. Abbakumov, G. A. Tarakanchikov, and P. V. OnishchenI~o, Ogneupory, No. 1, 14-20 (1975).
5. R. J e s e h a r , B e t . Dtsch. K e r a m . Ges., 40, No. 11, 596-602 (1963).
6. K. Liek, Silikat-J., 7, No. 6, 165-192 (1968).
7. V. G. Abbakumov, G. A. Tarakanchikov, and G. Sh. Ashkinadze, Ogneupory, No. 1, 14-21 (1974).
8. V. G. Abbakumov, G. A. Tarakanchikov, and A. A. Shumilin, Ogneupory, No. 1, 11-19 (1971).

620