I want to know about calculation methods of gas and material flow in preheater, pc, kiln, cooler. Further, can you advise why we are getting brown clinker problem in our 2000tpd off-line calciner kiln from which we are recently producing 2500tpd while having 90-91 LSF, 2.26 SM, 1.4 AM and kiln feed residue up to 22 per cent. How we can improve our clinker quality?

The calculation of gas and material flow in the preheater relies on the principles of stoichoimetry (to assess the combustion gas products from the fuel) and the conservation of mass. In principle what goes into the kiln must come out somewhere and will allow you to prepare a mass balance for the kiln. With regard to the brown clinker you are producing this is most probably caused by having reducing burning conditions in the burning zone of the kiln. This is very bad for clinker quality and fuel efficiency of the kiln. Almost certainly the problem is with the kiln burner and might be solved by adjustment. You must be sure that you maintain at least one per cent oxygen at the kiln inlet.

I would like information on the formation of “snowmen” in our kiln cooler. Our kiln produces 2000tpd clinker. The kiln uses 100 per cent solid fuel comprised 80 per cent coal and 20 per cent petcoke.

Snowman formation is caused by some of the flux in the clinker remaining as a liquid after the clinker falls into the cooler. The root cause solution is therefore to achieve more cooling in the kiln itself. There are numerous solutions to the problem of the removing the snowman itself. Blasters are the most commonly used method. Alternatives are acoustic cleaners or Denko´s "pusher".