Title: The effects of grate clinker cooler on specific energy consumption and emissions of a rotary kiln in cement industry

Authors: Adem Atmaca; Recep Yumrutaş

Addresses: Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Gaziantep, Gaziantep 27310, Turkey ' Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Gaziantep, Gaziantep 27310, Turkey

Abstract: Cement production is considered one of the major contributors to environmental pollution and requires implementation of more efficient sustainability practices. This study focuses on grate clinker coolers (GCCs), which are used to recover heat from hot clinker produced in rotary kiln (RK). The effects of mass flow rate and temperature of cooling air on the performance of the GCC and RK are investigated. It is found that the first- and second-law efficiencies of the RK can be increased by 2.62 and 2.13%, respectively, by increasing the mass flow rate of cooling air by 13% in GCC. The SEC for clinker production is determined to be 3121.8 kJ/kg clinker. Changing the operating conditions in GCC provides 3.64% reduction in energy consumption corresponding to a saving of 113.6 kJ per kg of clinker production. The applications prevent the emission of 674.66 tons of CO₂ per year to the atmosphere.

Keywords: grate clinker cooler; energy consumption; rotary kilns; cement industry; energy analysis; exergy analysis; carbon emissions; waste heat recovery; mass flow rate; cooling air temperature; CO2; carbon dioxide; energy efficiency; exergy efficiency; clinker production.

DOI: 10.1504/IJEX.2015.072897

International Journal of Exergy, 2015 Vol.18 No.3, pp.367 - 386

Received: 29 Jan 2014
Accepted: 16 Nov 2014
Published online: 06 Nov 2015 *

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