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Cost reduction through optimised air and gas flows in cement production: Dirk Schmidt, Promecon, (Germany)

Filmed at Cemtech Asia 2015, 21-24 June, Grand Hyatt, Bangkok, Thailand

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So the content of the presentation is first of all who is Promecon, then I will speak a little bit about the product for the cement industry. We have developed the measurement method which is unique in this industry, and it was underlined during the last couple of conferences, where I have presented this technology that this is something really new. So, let's see.

The advantages and control application, for this technology I will give small light on. I will talk about optimization of Vertical Roller Mills, the fan control, the benefits, Klim ID fan control and also Clinker Cooler control. Last but not least it should be said that this Mass Flow Control is one outstanding opportunity also, to measure the gas flow going through Waste Heat Recovery boilers.

This is always a very crucial question, if somebody buy such a boiler who decide what is it efficiency later, okay? So, other process and applications and case study complete this presentation also a conclusion. So Promecan, who is Promecon? 1995 founded, sitting in Barleben close to Berlin in Germany. Our objectives and development and supply of sensors and controlled systems for the industry's power generation, cement and metal industries. And the products I want to take you a view on today are a drift free measurement hot and dust-lane airflow and gas stream.

Something that is not possible with delta P measurement. The McOn temp which is the wear resistant fast temperature measurement should be something maybe for the next conference. So, let's speak about a new development of measuring gas flows. Tribal electricity, sounds fancy is not so very new, it's developed and founded by wholesome companies 40 years back and we've brought it to a sufficient measurement system.

Anybody of you knows well that if you're a business youths, you sometimes have dust on that what is the result of that because that's electrical charged. This function is used usually in electric precipitators to take this dust out of the gas stream, we make the opposite. If you see a radio and compare a radio from the past you'll maybe remember that there is an antenna used, and an antenna is nothing else than a metal stick. In difference to radio waves which radio antenna receives we're using electric charged particles for this antennas. So, what you see is low direction is gas or air duct and in this gas or air duct are of course dust particles and they fly here along this antenna and the result is that you see that we can measure an electrical current. If you do so you'll agree that on a sensor you'll have a you see here sensor one a specific frequency pattern. This frequency pattern can compare when you use two sensors in a line of such a duct and very surprising one duct clot which is moving from sensor one to sensor two can be seen again. How can it be seen again? Mathematical wise something like this is called correlation, cross correlation and we use this cross correlation and processor unit and we find back when this clout reach sensor two. And what we do we measure the time in between so that what you see here is the most modern dust particle speed trap which we know also from the car driving when we get some nice photos.

How to use that compared to delta P? A big advantage is first of all that this speed measurement, doesn't need inventory, a pressure drop and this has of course a couple of advantages. From the beginning it has the advantage that you don't have to design and build during a new plant, design the inventory at all, seconds during operation you don't hear a pressure drop which is electricity consumption.

So, compare to delta P you don't have the necessity what should be showing here on the Green line of purging, of cleaning. This censors are absolute dust independence, they need dust at all to work. So, if you see here a stardard installation where we have taken out such an antenna from the duct, you see nicely the formation of dust on this antenna which doesn't has any effect on the measurement at all.

Remember, your transistor radio antenna, if you cover your antenna with tape, or what else, it will still work, and the same functionality is here. It is absolute free of any dust sensitivity. So, this measurement principle is a cross co-relation, the accuracy of this gas speed measurements, is as at a time related one.

Extremely precisely, we reach your typical accuracy better than plus minus 2%, compare it to delta P, according norm, plus minus 10 to 15%. It has a 100% repeat ability, it's drift free, it is lineral, it has no historices which makes it of course perfect for any kind of control optimization. It is maintenance free, you have seen also the dust on site. We have applications in [xx] where one of the oldest installations in the [xx] tube, I will explain later the advantages seven years in operation, seven years without any wear, without any maintenance at all.

We can work in guest temperatures with this stupid metal sticks when they are high temperature resistant up to 1000 degree Celsius and this [xx] road range where we can work to measure this guest speed, can be up to 2 kilograms per cubic meter, this is not happening in cement, this is happening in other applications where we work, for instance, in [xx] on burners something for FCT burners maybe where you can measure online and we did that in big coal fire power plants already where we measured the primary air amount in the cold stream going into a banner.

I jump a little bit forward, of course these antennas need also a positioning and this positioning of this antenna means that we need more or less [xx] in this duct. So, if you give me an inquiry, I'll always ask you for drawings, that drawings. I want to avoid that you place, like some famous VRM suppliers who bought the system at the first stage directly behind the bent, that it does not work then precisely as clear. So, we need at least in a diameter minimum of inlets length that are five the outed length is not so important.

So, let's see and so look on the process, we focus on your process as a slowing of the Promecon and this is exactly what we do in the cement now where you can use the system. You can use it before and after vertical roller mills and that means immediately after the separator after the cyclone, in the dust stream itself. I will speak a little bit about the downcomer, I 'll speak in my presentation in the next couple of minutes a little bit about the tertiary air, about the bypass measurement the clinker cooler vent air, and here we are of course again at heat re-corporation at very important point. Coming to the gas velocity after radical roller mill. I will not say that it is a problem but it's a process.

Your mill ID fan has to be operated with minimum certain amount air to transport the fine material out of the separator, through your mill into your black features. This is specifies by the mill and secure a suffcieint output of the finished product. The amount is measured of course on the clinker side, which means behind back filter, behind fan. So, you have leakage air of the back filter, you have leakage air on the maybe from leakage of the fan. But in any case you have a failure of 10-15% according norm, because of your delta P measurement. Now think about you would be able to use this security factor of 10-15% added on the original gas stream of the OAM, certified by the OAM. You could take that out and measure the gas stream directly behind the separator and reduce 10% of your total air consumption. This is a saving of around one kilo watt hour pattern of grinding material with a 150 tonnes per hour of Vertical Roller Mill this are continuous 150 kilo watt hours. Giving you a figure of money with seven Euro cent which is usable energy cost in Europe. You could save that the costs you can reduces, excuse me, return of investment is within 1500 operational hours of a Vertical Roller Mill. The typically installation place is [xx] directly behind the separator or the cyclones in roller mill coal or cement mills and you will see it again how it is installed.

As I said, I want to have always drawings and this is a typical part of my quotation. I will give will give quotation at the installation point. At St. Genevieve plant in United State, some of you know that this is the largest in the world. For cement mills of FLS are operated, all of them equipped with our Promecon airflow system and all of them optimized in the close loop control using the system as online measurement. In the conjunction with the delta P measurement over the mill, in conjunction of course with and the outlet temperature and the feed load. Okay, this is the implementation of 4-20 mA in the DCS, I think we don't have to talk here to much. But off course if I give out 4-20 mA which is related to zero, to 50 m/s you'll understand that this is automatically with the cross section also the in an operational manner.

The company Holcim has optimized using our system as portable device. To optimize more than 100 Vertical Rollers Mills world line within there program of large fan efficiency improvement, They've bought six of his portable units and the engineers from Holder Bank are travelling through the world and taking out this gap of air, what I have explained to you this security factor here. From all of the Vertical Roller Mills now and specified at the end for each Vertical Roller Mill to include our measurement method. Installation of the antennas is very, very easy. You drill 24 millimeter hole inside, you weld the flanges, you put the antennas in, connect the cables, switch on and it's working. No calibration need, it's a speed measurement nothing else. It's a same policeman make when he comes to to a street, set ups his radar systems, maybe he drives one of the cars, double speed until he has the feedback that it works. The same is happening here. The usual distance between the [xx] is 350 millimeter, this of course something from away experience which gives the best results. Compared to a typical P2 measurement, you see here on the right hand side the portable unit and you see on the left hand side the experienced guys from the German Cement Producing Association VDZ. And what they do is what you see on the left hand side below they make the typical grid measurement and after a certain values, they make one average value and this average value was 7.5 meters per second. And in our graph you see the online measurement fully automatically generated and stored on an SD card.

Coming to
another application which is from my point of view the most beneficial for Cement Producer Applications. Your Klin ID fan.

Your Kiln ID fan usually operated today, by an 02 measurement from your gas analyzer at the gooseneck. This gas analyzer has to fight always with high fluctuating heat values, specially if you fire alternative fields. It is not very comfortable to use such a fluctuating and sometimes also from availability having signal because gas analyzers are very sensitive as you know. So, many time this value is smoothen for easier control philosophy but the problem is you don't see the seal peaks any more.

So, again it was wholesome as one of the most innovative [xx] but they are using the system since more than 12 years now. If you consider that you can make a step wise controller, a stage controller, which is taking the O2 measurement as a certain value which is of course important to burn out the fuels. But only with the limit but only with the limit value not as leading value for the Klin ID anymore.

So, if this O2 is above 10%, why to change anything. If you use compared to that or instead of that, the guest volume of the downcommer, you will have the benefit first that it is much more sensitive because 10% oxygen from 100% of air is a scaling of one to ten.

So, it's much easier to control the gas flow than the O2. Another item is, if there is really the gas flow limited, if this is going down, it has obviously something to do with blockages in the pre-heater or in the Kiln. So to react on that makes sense. The result of that is that your complete pilot process will be smoothed phenomenal.

You don't react any more on each small theopic, you react much smoother on your gas amount and this goes along with 5% reduction of energy consumption usually. 5% of huge consumption means of course in a 6000 TPD Kiln which needs 720 days per coal a day, 26 tonnes of coal which you can reduce. Compare that with the cost of 100 spent euros per tonne at the burner tip.

These are for a day, 4,400 Euros. Using 50% alternative fuels, these are still 66,000 Euros per month, and this is exactly the cost of the system. So, the return of invest in such an application is nearly one month. So, coming here to the implementation in the DCS where we give also recommendations and support.

Last but not least I want to come to the Waste Heat Recovery, I told you already it is very difficult. The new applications to measure this Waste Hit Recovery, gas stream which is going from the pre-heater tower, or from the Clinker Cooler into these boilers. [xx] impossible, you have a pressure drop, you have heat losses it will immediately affect the efficiency of your boiler. So, this is usually not done, that's how to satisfy then the customer when you have sold such a system or from the opposite, how are you able if you have bought such a Waste Head Recovery boiler and say how much air is going in?

So this non sense if in view of heavy dusty lodge measurement method is nearly perfect for such application. Again it's maintenance free, it's drift and calibration free, very important for the performance test and online efficiency calculation, and it's easy to install and start up an operation.

Here is some examples again. This is the typical recommendation, what I give already with proposals. So, if you have a proposal I usually would ask you for the duct diameter, I would ask you for the gas speed, for the temperature and then such proposal can be made inclusive positioning of the sensors.

So as I have promised, I come at the end of my presentation to the Clinker Cooler. The Clinker Cooler vent air of course something which is very difficult to measure today, because again, high dust load, high temperature and you can measure it usually after air heat exchanger and usually after back filter [xx].

With this system you can understand after cooler and this gives a big advantage. If you have your online air which is going into the cooler, and you measure that what is going out with the vent air, you can make an online balance computation. How much heat recuperated air will go back to combustion system to the [xx] system with secondary test are, and this gentlemen, very precisely. And this [xx] is a big advantage because here really you can decide what's the leading target you have.

The heat loses you've by vent air or the clinker cooler temperature you want to have. This has another potential from my mind of minimum two maybe 3% of fuel reduction because that would [xx] also said of course here, hot air and this hot air which you can bring as maximum back to the Kiln, you reduce immediately in the off field costs. So, this system you'll understand if you control now, the final compartment fans which you can see here or there.

You build up really an opportunity to adjust the neutral point on your clinker cooler and with this neutral point, it is dependently how much secondary air you bring inside the Kiln. It secures that you bring the highest efficiency out of your cooler.

So, the summary of
process application first.

You've seen the such [xx] gas flow measurement for hot and dusty gases can be used in vertical roller application for conditioning towels, waste heat recovery boilers, downcomer very important, tertiary air, of course bypass air and clinker cooler vent. It is easy to install and operate, it has a very high accuracy, highly temperature resistant up to 1000 degrees Celsius so we measure sometimes in special application, the tertiary air.

It is drift and calibration free, maintenance free. Hence, there're various process application sometimes where it is not possible to measure the gas fluid all today. It is very cost effective, that was my target to show you that this money is very, very easy and quick payback and it doesn't need any, need of venturies on pressure drifts and I'd appreciate if you've questions to give it to me now or later on the booth or later at the gala dinner however, okay.

Thank you for attention.

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