Optimization of the geometry of cyclone separators used in clinker burning process: A case study

This study presents the possibilities for improving the process of clinker burning by optimizing the geometry of first-stage cyclones that form a part of a cyclone suspension preheater. Due to the high energy consumption and scale of the process involved in cement production, the aim is to improve the efficiency of the system. Since the exploitation data collected from real industrial installations frequently indicate significant discrepancies against the results obtained from experimental models, a case study of a particular industrial installation is, therefore, presented. Three highly efficient design models are proposed based on design guidelines to enhance the cyclone performance. In addition, a new method to determine the basic characteristic dimension D of the first-stage cyclone separators used for clinker burning is also proposed. The multiphase flow inside the cyclones was analyzed using computational fluid dynamics (CFD) analysis. As a closure model to the Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes (RANS) equation, the Reynolds stress model (RSM) was used, as this solves the transport equations for Reynolds stresses as well as the dissipation rate. For the discrete phase, one-way coupling was used, and the numerically predicted results were found to be in close agreement with the existing industrial installations. The results conclusively indicate that the proposed design guidelines, when applied to existing first-stage cyclones, result in better collection efficiency with a more than 43% reduction in the power consumption (with the third cyclone variant), which is highly significant. (C) 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.