FACUALITY OF ENGINEERING

DEPARTMENT OF CHEMICAL ENGINEERING

REPORT ON REACTOR

PRODUCTION OF PHOSPHORIC
ACID BY DRY KILN PROCESS

PREPARED BY:
Aram Nasih

REVISED BY

Arkan Jasim Hadi

1
Contents
WHAT IS CHEMICAL REACTOR......................................................................................................................3
TYPES OF REACTOR....................................................................................................................................3
DRY KILN PROCESS FOR PHOSPHORIC ACID PRODUCTION....................................................................4
A ROTARY KILN REACTOR...............................................................................................................................5
DESIGN STEPS TO DESUIGN KILN............................................................................................................7
REFRENCES.........................................................................................................................................................8
WHAT IS CHEMICAL REACTOR
A chemical reactor is an enclosed volume in which a chemical reaction takes place. In chemical engineering, it is
generally understood to be a process vessel used to carry out a chemical reaction, which is one of the
classic unit operations in chemical process analysis. The design of a chemical reactor deals with multiple
aspects of chemical engineering. Chemical engineers design reactors to maximize net present value for the
given reaction. Designers ensure that the reaction proceeds with the highest efficiency towards the desired
output product, producing the highest yield of product while requiring the least amount of money to purchase
and operate. Normal operating expenses include energy input, energy removal, raw material costs, labor, etc.
Energy changes can come in the form of heating or cooling, pumping to increase pressure, frictional
pressure loss or agitation.

TYPES OF REACTOR
The most common basic types of chemical reactors are tanks (where the reactants mix in the whole volume)
and pipes or tubes (for laminar flow reactors and plug flow reactors)Both types can be used as continuous
reactors or batch reactors, and either may accommodate one or more solids (reagents, catalysts, or inert
materials), but the reagents and products are typically fluids (liquids or gases). Reactors in continuous
processes are typically run at steady-state, whereas reactors in batch processes are necessarily operated in a
transient state. When a reactor is brought into operation, either for the first time or after a shutdown, it is in a
transient state, and key process variables change with time.There are three idealised models used to estimate
the most important process variables of different chemical reactors:

Batch reactor model,

Continuous stirred-tank reactor model (CSTR), Plug flow
reactor model (PFR).
DRY KILN PROCESS FOR PHOSPHORIC ACID
PRODUCTION
For dry kiln process, it is an improved process from thermal process. For thermal process, it used electrical
arc furnace to burn the phosphorus. But for the improved method, it used rotary kiln which also known as
dry kiln to burn the phosphorus using direct-fired to the reactor (Shaw, 2002). The burning of phosphorus
will further be produced carbon monoxide as co-product and will continued to be burnt out throughout the
process continuously. This reaction will generate heat of combustion which most of it will be used to replace
the electrical energy that usually used in conventional method. By using heat of combustion to generate
energy, this method had proved that it would be much energy saving than the conventional thermal
process. Although this process had shown much improvement and better impacts to the environment, but this
process currently conducted in pilot plant scale (Shaw, 2002). Research for this method is still on going to
be expand to industrial scale, which could affect the energy, cost saving and reducing its carbon footprint
itself to the environment.
A ROTARY KILN REACTOR.
A rotary kiln for reducing phosphate ore in kiln phosphoric acid process, comprising a kiln body (3), a kiln
box (1) and a kiln tail box (6), at the kiln tail box (6) is provided an outlet flue (7), an upper portion of
the kiln body is not provided with a wind tube, wherein, the outlet flue (7) is disposed in a way that the
fume exiting the kiln at the tail of the rotary kiln does not deviate much in a movement direction upon
entering the outlet flue.

A rotary kiln for reducing phosphate ore in kiln phosphoric acid process wherein, the rotary kiln further
comprising a driving device (5) for driving the rotation of the kiln body.

A rotary kiln for reducing phosphate ore in kiln phosphoric acid process , wherein, at the kiln head of the kiln
body is provided a fuel burner (15), at the kiln tail box (6) are provided a feed pipe (8) and an outlet flue
(7) connected to an external hydration tower.

A rotary kiln for reducing phosphate ore in kiln phosphoric acid process wherein, the outlet flue (7) is
provided in the radius range of the kiln body with the axis of the rotary kiln as a center, and the fume
conveying direction in the outlet flue (7) is substantially parallel to the axis direction of the rotary kiln or
has an included angle of less than 45° thereto.
A rotary kiln for reducing phosphate ore in kiln phosphoric acid process wherein, the kiln body (3)
compromises an external cylinder casing (12) and a kiln liner (11) disposed inside the cylinder casing
(12), and the kiln body (3) is divided into a reduction zone and preheating zone in a lengthwise direction of
the rotary kiln, and the reduction zone is located near kiln head box (1) and the preheating zone is located
near kiln tail box (6).

A rotary kiln for reducing phosphate ore in kiln phosphoric acid process wherein, the length of reduction
zone is ⅓ to ⅗ of the length of the kiln body (3) and the length of preheating zone is ⅖ to ⅔ of the
length of the kiln body (3).

A rotary kiln for reducing phosphate ore in kiln phosphoric acid process , wherein, the kiln liner (11) mainly
comprises a refractory brick or a refractory pouring material.

A rotary kiln for reducing phosphate ore in kiln phosphoric acid p wherein, the kiln liner (11) located in
reduction zone comprises a clay material layer (17) close to cylinder casing (12) and a high-aluminous
material layer (18) close to the inner cavity of kiln; and the kiln liner (11) located in preheating zone
comprises a clay material layer close to the cylinder casing (12) and a silicon carbide material layer (16) close
to the inner cavity of kiln.

The method , wherein, the raw material is fed into the cavity of the rotary kiln through a feed pipe at the
kiln tail of the rotary kiln, a fuel burner is ignited to heat a reduction zone in the rotary kiln to 1300-1450, the
phosphate ore raw material in the rotary kiln is reduced by the reductant at a high temperature to generate kiln
fume, the outlet flue is arranged in a way that the fume exiting the kiln at the tail of the rotary kiln does
not deviate much in a movement direction upon entering the outlet flue, thereby preventing metaphosphoric
acid in the fume exiting the kiln from generating centrifugal physical settlement at the tail of the rotary kiln
so that the metaphosphoric acid in the kiln gas directly enters a subsequent hydration tower along with the
fume exiting the kiln and is converted to be orthophosphoric acid after meeting water.

The method , wherein, an axis of the rotary kiln forms an angle in a range of 1.2°-2.9° with a horizontal
plane; a length-diameter ratio of the kiln body is 10-25:1; a filling rate of the rotary kiln is 7%-25%, and a
rotation speed of the rotary kiln is controlled in a range of 0.6 r/min-3 r/min; a thickness of the refractory
material of the rotary kiln is 200 mm-280 mm.
DESIGN STEPS TO DESUIGN KILN

RESIDENCE TIME IN KILN “T” = 1.77 (PHY)^1/2 L /ALPHA* D*N

Phy =Angle of repose for lime stone ~ 36 Degree L = length

of Kiln in meter
Alpha = Kiln inclination in %
D = Effective diameter of Kiln in meter N =
Rotation per minute rpm

W = PI X (L) X (D) X THK (MM) X 7.85 METRIC

TONS ROTARY KILN CAPACITY

C = 2.826( v/Vg)X D^3

C = Kiln Capacity Ton / Hr

V = Gas Velocity in gas discharge end , m / sec Vg =
specific gas volume , m^3 / kg clinker
D = Kiln Diameter on Bricks, m

VOLUME OF KILN
V=πr2h
REFRENCES
R K Sinnott , “Chemical Engineering Design,” 4th ed., Elsevier Butterworth-
Heinemann (2005)

J P Holman, “Heat Transfer”, 6 th ed., McGraw Hill Book Company (1986)

Donald Q Kern, “Process Heat Transfer,” McGraw Hill Book Company (1988)

Robert H. Perry, “Perry's Chemical Engineers' Handbook,” 8 th ed., McGraw Hill

(1934)