Ring deposits are common problems in rotary kiln operations. The ring is constantly subjected to thermal and mechanical wear counteracting the growth of the ring. If the ring hardens or if the growth of the ring is too rapid the kiln needs to be shut down and the ring removed, reducing the operational time and profitability of the process. In the present study, ring deposits from a limestone fed long rotary kiln producing quicklime was sampled and characterized in detail by SEM-EDS, dynamic rate TG and XRD. This work identifies three hardening mechanisms active in the kiln, an increased densification of the ring deposits near the refractory surface, the formation of calcite and spurrite through carbonation of the ring deposits, and the intrusion of molten fuel ash and product into the refractory, resulting in a strong attachment of the deposit to the refractory surface. The work also concludes that a significant part of the ring deposit has its origin in the fuel ash, contributing to deposit mass and increasing ring growth rate.

The purpose of this article is to study the impact of oxyfuel combustion applied to a rotary kiln producing lime. Aspects of interest are product quality, energy efficiency, stack gas composition, carbon dioxide emissions, and possible benefits related to carbon dioxide capture. The method used is based on multicomponent chemical equilibrium calculations to predict process conditions. A generic model of a rotary kiln for lime production was validated against operational data and literature. This predicting simulation tool is used to calculate chemical compositions for different recirculation cases. The results show that an oxyfuel process could produce a high‐quality lime product. The new process would operate at a lower specific energy consumption thus having also a reduced specific carbon dioxide emission per ton of product ratio. Through some processing, the stack gas from the new process could be suitable for carbon dioxide transport and storage or utilization. The main conclusion of this paper is that lime production with an oxyfuel process is feasible but still needs further study.

The use of high-temperature X-ray diffraction (HT-XRD) to study the mass transfer of raw meal constituents towards forming clinker phases and the occurrence of free lime (calcium oxide), also known as burnability, was assessed. A measuring strategy with temperature ranging from 1000°C to 1450°C was developed and compared with a conventional burnability method. The free lime determined by the methods showed that HT-XRD produced good results for the evaluation of burnability. In addition, HT-XRD revealed the formation of intermediate phases, providing insight into early reactions in a cement kiln. The particle size of quartz was found to affect crystal expansion of the phase at a high temperature, subsequently affecting the formation of silica polymorphs. The different raw meals used in this study also indicate that the formation of different silica polymorphs affects the formation of C₂S. The lack of knowledge regarding the influence of β-quartz on the reduction of free lime is highlighted.

This paper presents a recently developed simulation model that can be used as a tool for evaluating sustainable development measures for cement and lime production processes. Examples of such measures are introducing new combustion technologies such as oxy-fuel combustion, using biomass fuel and using alternative materials in the raw material feed. One major issue when introducing process changes is the need to maintain product quality. In some ways, oxygen-enriched air combustion resembles oxy-fuel combustion. The model results were validated and found to be consistent with full-scale operational data for normal running conditions and for a full-scale test with oxygen-enriched air. The model shows, for example, that with an additional 1500 m³/h of oxygen, fuel addition at the calciners can increase up to 108% and the raw material feed rate can increase up to 116% for a process with a raw meal feed of 335·5 t/h.

Quicklime is produced through the thermal processing of limestone in industrial kilns. During quarry operations, fine particulate quarry dust adheres to limestone lump surfaces, increasing the bulk concentration of impurities in limestone products. During thermal processing in a kiln, impurities such as Si, Mg, Al, Fe, and Mn react with Ca, reducing quicklime product quality. Which reactant phases are formed, and the extent to which these result in a reduction in quality, has not been extensively investigated. The present study investigated as-received and manually washed limestone product samples from two operational quarries using elemental compositions and a developed predictive multi-component chemical equilibrium model to obtain global phase diagrams for 1000–1500 °C, corresponding to the high-temperature zone of a lime kiln, identifying phases expected to be formed in quicklime during thermal processing. The results suggest that impurities found on the surface of the lime kiln limestone feed reduce the main quality parameter of the quicklime products, i.e., calcium oxide, CaO (s), content by 0.8–1.5 wt.% for the investigated materials. The results also show that, in addition to the effect of impurities, the quantity of CaO (s) varies greatly with temperature. More impurities result in more variation and a greater need for accurate temperature control of the kiln, where keeping the temperature below approximately 1300 °C, that of Hatrurite formation, is necessary for a product with higher CaO (s).