The KHD PYROROTOR® is a rotary combustion reactor that processes waste materials with inferior burning properties as alternative fuels in the cement production process. With seven industry installations to date, the versatile reactor for high thermal substitution rates (TSRs) enables the complete burn-out of any fuel and the usage of almost all types of unprepared waste materials. By Matthias Mersmann and Sven Schmitgen, KHD Humboldt Wedag, Germany.
Burning waste-derived fuel (WDF) has been carried out for seven decades in central Europe and has now developed into a specific field of competency in the cement industry on the back of massively increased knowledge and experience. Using a wide range of different wastes to produce a variety of WDFs has grown in popularity, triggered by several enabling and driving factors within the ecosystems of regional markets.
The most basic enabling factor for co-processing in cement plants is the sufficient availability of waste material. If sourced from municipal solid waste (MSW) streams, the region or municipality needs to implement a collection system that enables the centralised pick-up for pre-processing as a basic prerequisite. This requires the socio-economic system to have developed to a certain stage.
