Modification of an existing preheater system for increased production and efficiency [cement industry]

A project is described in which the capacity of the precalciner kiln was considerably increased to meet market requirements. The project was conceived and executed during a time when plant utilization regularly exceeded 95% and cement shipments had reached all-time highs. A study was made of the preheater calciner performance with a view toward improving kiln output. The bottleneck in the system was the kiln induced draft fan, in connection with high pressure loss over the preheater. Pressures approached -30" W.G. The study concluded that it should be possible to reduce the pressure loss over the preheater by introduction of the FLS-LP (low pressure) cyclone. The fact that the cyclones and calciner were replaced in an almost normal planned maintenance and kiln lining outage indicates that it is possible to provide nearly any such system with new cyclones, in one or more stages, to improve output, fuel economy and power consumption