Enhancing dip tube performance at high AF rates
The rise in alternative fuel (AF) utilisation in cement manufacturing challenges the lifetime of dip tubes in the lowest cyclone stages of the preheater. A new generation of the HASLE Ceramic Vortex Finder, made from precast and pre-fired ceramic elements, has been installed in a German cement plant. The solution has tripled the lifespan in the lowest-stage cyclone, achieving a full campaign, and has surpassed 3.5 years in the second-lowest stage. By Lars Andersen, HASLE Refractories, Denmark
Vortex finders are installed in preheater cyclones to improve the separation between the raw meal and the hot gas,
thereby increasing the efficiency and process stability of the preheater process. But some plants choose to run
without a dip tube in the lowest stage dip tube due to issues with short lifetimes (© hasle Refractories)
