Bang of Alternative Fuels on the Cement Plant Performance

The process of manufacturing cement involves a heavy polluting and high-energy consumption. In order to reduce this environmental costs and energy, cement manufacturers are looking for ways to make use of a mixture of alternative fuels in combination with fossil fuels. High temperature, alkaline environment, and long processing time enable cement plants to burn a lot of alternative fuels as well as hazardous and waste materials. This article looks at the usage of a variety of alternatives fuel used in cement plant for the production of cement products.

Well-established technology allows the rotary kiln of cement factories to be fired up using low-volatile fuels like anthracite, low volatile-bituminous coal, and pet coke without having any issue. Nevertheless, high volatile-low calorific value alternative fuels have restricted use within the kiln primary firing system. This is due to the comparatively low combustion temperatures. Aside from this, they are more utilized within the pre-calciner firing when compared to the kiln. The only scenario where this is different is when the calorific value is more than 16.8 MJ/kg. Studies have also shown that it is quite hard to get a complete combustion of low-volatile fuels in pre calciners.

Changing from the use of conventional to alternative fuels, it possesses several challenges, which must be addressed. Some of these issues include blockages in the preheater cyclones; unstable pre calciner operation, poor heat distribution, higher NOx, SO₂, and CO emissions, and the development of rings.

The advantages of alternative fuel in the production of cement

Producers of cement nationwide are striving as much as possible to their cost of production. One of the effective and proactive ways of doing this is through the use alternative fuel. The use of low-grade alternative fuel including sewage sludge, tires, biomass fuels (like agricultural waste, wood products, etc.), and waste coal in pre calciners has become a feasible alternative due to its combustion in pre calciner vessels usually takes the lower temperature. In pre calciners where kiln exhaust gases pass through, the NO_x emissions are minimized because of the re-burn reactions. Aside from this, there is an increased net reduction globally in the emission of CO₂ emissions when waste is combusted in the cement kiln systems as opposed to dedicated incinerators, resulting in a reduction in the CO₂ penalties. Since unconventional fuels mostly regarded to be cheap when compared with conventional fossil fuels, the likelihood of a competitive edge is generated.

Author’s Bio

Oxford Brian in this article looks at the various alternative available for a cement factory. He further looked at the benefits or advantages of using this alternative fuel by cement plant in the manufacturing of cement products