It is an object of the present invention to obviate or at least substantially reduce the above-mentioned disadvantages by providing an apparatus for preheating and calcining a powdered raw material, which apparatus comprises a chimney section having two cyclone sections connected to its gas outlet conduit, whereby all sections are connected in series in the direction of gas advance, any of which sections may comprise one or more cyclones or chimneys, which cyclones or chimneys are connected in parallel, and which is provided with means for feeding and removing the raw material and gas, whereby the gas channel of the inlet chamber of the rotary kiln is connected to the lower cyclone section, the raw material discharge conduit of the lower cyclone section leads into the bottom of the rotary kiln, and the raw material discharge conduit of the intermediate cyclone section leads into the gas channel, which leads the inlet chamber of the rotary kiln to the lower cyclone section. At least one burner extends into the gas passage leading the inlet chamber to the lower cyclone stage. A conduit for tertiary calcining air may be introduced into the gas passage from the inlet plenum to the lower cyclone stage. The feed of solid fuel may extend to the feed discharge conduit of the intermediate cyclone stage or ultimately to the base of the intermediate cyclone stage.
If the efficiency of the heat exchanger reaches its optimum value, the apparatus of the invention can then reduce the height of the chimney preheater. Also in larger installations, the tangential gas inlets into the bottom of the shaft furnace may be located at different heights, in terms of the size and weight of the chimney. The proposed device also enables to reduce investment costs by using the automatic support properties of a shorter heat exchanger shaft furnace, due to the possibility of earthquakes and the possibility of requiring a considerable support structure for the whole heat exchanger element depending on the climatic conditions. In addition, the preheating cyclone section is arranged in front of the shaft furnace heat exchanger, and the dispersion of raw materials in airflow is ensured, so that the preheating cyclone section has good influence on the service life of the heat exchanger part of the shaft furnace. The apparatus of the invention is particularly suitable for use in higher throughput apparatus for a shaft chimney heat exchanger fitted with a single-pass arrangement.
In the front view of the drawing, an example embodiment of the device of the invention is diagrammatically shown.
A gas channel 3 is connected to the inlet chamber 2 of the rotary kiln 1, which gas channel 3 ends in a lower cyclone section consisting of a single large-space cyclone 4. The raw material discharge conduit 5 of the lower cyclone 4 is introduced into the inlet chamber 2 of the rotary kiln 1.
The gas outlet 6 of the lower cyclone stage 4 is connected to a middle cyclone stage consisting of two middle cyclones 7. These material discharge conduits are connected to a gas passage 3 leading from the gas inlet chamber 2 of the swing choke 1. The conduit 9 connects the cyclones 7 of the central cyclone section tangentially to the bottom of a cylindrical counterflow chimney 10, narrowing at the top of the chimney 10 into a small chimney 12 and terminating in a gradually expanding cyclone 13, the discharge conduit 14 of the gradually expanding cyclone 13 terminating at the top of the chimney 10. The bottom of the shaft furnace 10 is connected to the gas outlet 6 by a material discharge conduit 11.
It is also possible to mount a further upper cyclone stage comprising an upper cyclone 16 and connected to the gradually expanding cyclone 13 by a conduit 15 above the small chimney 12. The raw material discharge conduit 17 of the upper cyclone 16 terminates to the small chimney 12. Each upper cyclone 16 is provided with its own gas outlet 18.
In another embodiment where the chimney 10 has only one cyclone 13 extending gradually from the top, the feed is fed to the small chimney 12 via an outlet conduit 19. In the case of two classifying cyclones 13 and two upper cyclones 16, the raw material can be fed into the conduit 15 through the conduit 20.
To increase the degree of calcination of the raw material, a burner 21 for supplying combustion air of the rotary kiln 1 or a separate duct 24 for injecting tertiary combustion air into the gas channel 3 may be connected to the gas channel 3.
On the other hand, the solid fuel supply conduit 22 may extend into the discharge conduit of the medium cyclone 7, or a similar supply conduit 23 may extend into the raw material discharge pipe 8 of the medium cyclone 7.
The raw material is loaded into a conduit 15 through a conduit 20 and is carried into an upper fan 16 by gas, after separation, the raw material enters a small vertical chimney 12 through a discharge conduit 17, and after separation, the raw material is introduced into the top of the vertical chimney 10 through a discharge conduit 14.
In another embodiment having a single, gradually expanding cyclone 13 at the top of the chimney 10, the feed is delivered through an inlet conduit 19 terminating in a small chimney 12 where the gas flow entrains feed into the gradually expanding cyclone 13 and from there through one or more discharge conduits 14 into the top of the chimney 10.
The raw material is finely dispersed in a counter-current gas flow through a chimney 10, from where it passes through a discharge conduit 11 into a gas outlet 6, with the outlet 6 carrying the raw material into a medium cyclone 7. After separation in the middle cyclone 7, the raw material falls into the gas channel 3 through the raw material discharge conduit 8 and is brought into the lower cyclone 4 by gas, and after separation of the preheated and properly calcined raw material, it enters the gas inlet chamber 2 of the rotary kiln 1 through the raw material discharge conduit 5 for final combustion.
If a higher degree of calcination of the raw material is desired, fuel may be fed to the gas channel 3 through the burner 21. Combustion of the fuel can thus be carried out with combustion air supplied by the rotary kiln 1 or with tertiary combustion air supplied by a separate conduit 24.
If solid fuel is used, a longer conduit is required for the combustion to introduce the solid fuel into the discharge conduit of the cyclone 7 via the fuel supply conduit 22 or into the raw material discharge conduit 8 from the cyclone 7 via the combustion supply conduit 23. The fuel is preheated along a longer conduit to its ignition temperature and then combusted in the presence of combustion air provided by the rotary kiln 1 or tertiary air supplied through a separate conduit 24 in conjunction with the transport of the feedstock in the gas channel 3 and lower cyclone 4.
The hot gases leave the rotary kiln 1, enter the gas duct 3 through the inlet chamber 2, are introduced through the gas duct 3 into the lower cyclone 4, from there through the gas exhaust duct 6 into the middle cyclone 7, from there tangentially into the counterflow chimney 10. Thereafter, the continuously rotating gas enters the small chimney 12.
When the upper cyclone 16 is connected to the top of the apparatus, gas enters the cyclone 16 through the conduit 15. Therefore, the gas escapes to the outside of the heating process through the outlet 18.