Title: Thermodynamic analysis of a pyroprocessing unit of a cement plant: a case study

Authors: Adem Atmaca; Mehmet Kanoglu; Mohamed Gadalla

Addresses: Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Gaziantep, 27310 Gaziantep, Turkey ' Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Gaziantep, 27310 Gaziantep, Turkey ' Department of Mechanical Engineering, American University of Sharjah, P.O. Box 26666, Sharjah, UAE

Abstract: The cement industry is one of the most intensive energy and cost industries in the world that consumes about 3800 MJ per tonne of cement produced. To achieve an effective energy management scheme, energy and exergy analyses were employed on the pyroprocessing unit of Gaziantep Cement Plant in Turkey. Energy and exergy efficiencies are determined to be 52.2% and 35.9%, respectively. Application of insulation on the unit reduced rate of heat loss from 22.7 MW to 17.3 MW. This in turn increases both the energy and the exergy efficiency values to 63.6% and 47.3%, respectively. The effect of weather conditions on the efficiency values is studied. It is estimated that 1056.7 kW of electricity can be generated by using the waste heat from the unit. The application of waste heat recovery steam generator prevents the emission of 5183 tons of CO₂ to the atmosphere, representing a reduction of 8.2%.

Keywords: cement plants; clinker; energy efficiency; exergy efficiency; pyroprocessing unit; carbon emissions; insulation; thermodynamics; energy management; Turkey; CO2; carbon dioxide; electricity generation; waste heat recovery.

DOI: 10.1504/IJEX.2012.049740

International Journal of Exergy, 2012 Vol.11 No.2, pp.152 - 172

Received: 16 Sep 2011
Accepted: 14 Dec 2011
Published online: 14 Oct 2012 *

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