Drying out and heating-up of refractory linings

Dirk Basten

Refractory installation
of an entire plant

dynamic
mainly bricks

How much water has to be removed?

In case of a preheater lined with 2000 tonnes of refractory materials,
around 1000 tonnes thereof being refractory concretes

average water content of 8 % 80 tonnes of water to be vaporized

Exact amount of water when mixing, gunning and wet casting

Stitching of evaporation holes
As much as possible time for natural evaporation
Use of bricks

Trend in development of the product properties

RC-vibration castable
REFRACLAY 40
20 wt.-%

LC- vibration castable

REFRACLAY 40 LCC
~5 wt.-%

Water addition:

10 12 %

67%

Bulk density:

2.05 g/cm

2.25 g/cm

Apparent porosity:

20 22 %

14 15 %

35 45 N/mm2

90 110 N/mm2

19 20 cm

4 5 cm

1450 C

1500 C

Cement content:

Cold crushing strength:

Abrasion loss:
Application temperature:
Alkali resistance:

1500

Aufheizdiagramm feuerfester Massen (LCC, MCC, SC, JC)

DryingHeating
out
and
heating-up diagramm of refractory
diagramm of refractory concretes (LCC, MCC, SC, JC)
castables/concretes
(RCC, MCC, LCC, SC, JC)

1400
1300
1200

Temperature / C

Temperatur / C
Temperature
/ C

1100
1000
900

30 C/h
bis zur Einsatztemperatur
up to temp. of application

800
700

Heating-up

600

10 h / 500 C

500

Drying out

400

25 C/h

300
20 h / 110 - 150 C

200
15 C/h

min. 24 h Erhrtungsdauer
min. 24 hrs setting time

100
0
0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

Time after installation / hrs

80

90

100

Zeit nach Einbau / h

Time after installation / hrs

110

Two different kinds of water are found in the refractory lining:

1. Physically bonded water (free water):
removed at 100-150C
Conversion of physical and chemical bonded water to the vapour phase
by evaporation or vaporisation.
Evaporating already during setting process at room temperatures
and normally vaporising at 100C

2. Chemically bonded water (water of crystallization):

removed at 300-800C
water but more difficult to be removed.
Removal by vapour-diffusion or vapour-flow.
Decomposition of water containing minerals.
Water will be expelled at 300-800C at the end of the drying out process
and within the heating-up process.

Physically bonded water

Wet cutting of bricks (only Al-bricks! )

Too much water in castable

Physically bonded water in expansion joint material

(rainwater)

Chemically bonded water under the

scanning electron microscope (SEM)

Hydration of magnesium oxide

Formation of cracks due to brucite (Mg(OH)2 )
formed in the sintered structure

Acc.V Spot Magn Det WD Exp

25.0 kV 4.0 540x SE 9.8 17 CRB Analyse Service GmbH

Acc.V Spot Magn Det WD Exp

25.0 kV 4.0 10000x SE 9.9 13 CRB Analyse Service GmbH

hexagonal brucite sheets

Acc.V Spot Magn Det WD Exp

25.0 kV 4.0 7800x SE 9.6 17 CRB Analyse Service GmbH

Behaviour

Drying rate

Drying rate (weight/h)

100

Behaviour of drying rate

ofasdrying
rateofas
a function
a function
drying
time

Phase 1

of drying time

Phase 2

90

Low vapour pressureLow drying rate

80
70
60

Const. Drying Rate

Decreasing Drying Rate

50
40
30
20
10
0
1

tkn6

Drying tim e

Drying time (h)

10

11

12

13

Phase 1: Pmeniscus > Poutlet

Air flow

Inlet

Outlet

T [C]
100C
/1 bar

Poutlet

Pmeniscus

20C
/0.02 bar

Pcapillary

Low temperature, constant gasflow with high ventilation

P 1 bar

Phase 1: Initial phase:

Evaporation of physical bonded water is relevant

Evaporation commences already during setting process at T < 100C:

Water is partly incorporated into the mineral lattice structure
> 24 h in room temperature! The longer, the better!

Vaporisation of free water at 100C

Physical bonded water can be found in very fine capillaries

Higher temperatures are necessary to overcome capillary forces
Vaporisation of capillary water at >100C (100-150C)

Evaopration holes stitched and protected with straw

s a tu ra tio n v a p o u r p re s s u re ( b a r)

Saturation vapour pressures vs temperature

250
200
150
100

1bar (Atmospheric Pressure)

50
0
0

50

100

150

200

250

300

350

Te mpe ra ture (C )

Cold Face

Hot Face

400

Phase 2: Pmeniscus < Poutlet

Inlet

Air flow

Outlet

T [C]
350C
/165 bar

Poutlet

P 164 bar

Pmeniscus

100C
/1 bar

High temperature, low ventilation and air flow

Pcapillary

Bitumen application as vapour barrier

Desteaming holes are only necessary on the top of the cyclone

roofs to control the desteaming progress

As they dry, LC castables cause more problems due to:

Lower proportion of water

Lower porosity

Higher capillary forces

Lower water
vapour pressure

Slower drying rates

Lower water content of castable does not mean faster drying out and heating up!

1500

Aufheizdiagramm feuerfester Massen (LCC, MCC, SC, JC)

Drying
out and heating up diagramm of
Heating diagramm of refractory concretes (LCC, MCC, SC, JC)
refractory concretes, castables
(RCC, MCC, LCC, SC, JC)

1400
1300
1200

Temperature / C

Temperatur / C
Temperature
/ C

1100
1000
900

30 C/h
bis zur Einsatztemperatur
up to temp. of application

800
700

Heating-up

600

10 h / 500 C

500
400

25 C/h

300
20 h / 110 - 150 C

200
15 C/h

min. 24 h Erhrtungsdauer
min. 24 hrs setting time

100
0
0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

Time after installation / hrs

80

90

100

Zeit nach Einbau / h

Time after installation / hrs

110

Illustration of an entire refractory installation

alumina bricks
gear

basic bricks
tyre

static
mainly monolithics

dynamic
mainly bricks

static
mainly monolithics

Why do we need to heat-up the system slowly?

Different elements of the system have their individual and particular
thermal behaviour and properties.
Different expansion coefficient
Different thermal conductivity
Different elasticy
Different strength
Different temperatures within the same material
All elements have to be treated as a whole system since they closely coexist
to each other and are integrated therein accordingly.

Heating-up is limited by the tyres and other mechanical parts

Squeezing at the tyres

Girth Gear

Temperature distribution in brick and kiln shell during heating-up

Hot Face of Brick

Temperature in C

Mid-Depth of Brick
Cold Face of Brick

Kiln Shell

Time in hrs

Rapidly heating-up

Axial and radial pressure

Risk of thermal spalling

Too slowly heating-up, too early turning of the kiln

Loose bricks
Risk of
Displacement

Heating-up process:

After Drying out it is usefull

to start the Heating-up
immediately and to bring
the whole plant to normal
operating temperature.
RT provides guide lines as
part of the installation
documentation
RT does not offer Dry out
or heating up services on
their own but leave this to
professional services of
specialized companies .

Heating-up curve after short shutdowns

(cooling down of the burning zone not below 300C)
In the temperature range of 300-600C
1/3 revolution every 30 minutes

In the temperature range of 900-1200C

continuous rotation required

In the temperature range of 600-900C

1/3 revolution every 15 minutes

In the temperature range from 1200C

Up to working temperature:
Bring the kiln up to normal operation

Drying out and heating- up using exclusively the

central burner
Drying out and heating-up has to be done in one step.
To protect the refractory lining in the rotary kiln, whole time for drying
out and heating-up is limited to 72 hours.
(Drying out should take max. 36 hours.Heating-up is to start immediately
afterwards and is to be finished after 72 hours).
Turning of rotary kiln should start at shell outside temperature of 100C
(aprox.6-8 hrs after ignition of flame).
Tyre clearance is to be controlled at regular intervals to avoid a
squeezing of the rotary kiln by the tyre.
In emergency case cooling of kiln shell may be required.

Drying out and heating-up using exclusively the

central burner
T2
ILC
T3

Drehofen
Kiln

Cooler

Khler

SteigRRiser
T1
schacht
i
s
e
r

FLS Kuwait

1. Drying out and heating-up using exclusively the central burner

Raw meal feeding is started in KHD and Polysius plants if the inlet chamber
temperature exceeds 850 C.

In case of FLS plants, raw meel feeding commences once a temperature of

920 C is reached in the lower cyclones.

Drying out and heating-up with calciner burner

2. Drying out and heating-up using exclusively the calciner burner

Theoretically possible and easily to be managed at first glance, but:

calciner burners are not designed for small quantities of fuel

danger of overheating of the brickwork opposite the burners

sufficient heat distribution up to the cooler benches not possible

2. Drying out and heating-up using exclusively the

calciner burner
Expected temperatures at Kuwait Cement Co., (FLS)

2. Drying out and heating up using exclusively the calciner burners

Actual temperatures at Kuwait Cement Co., (FLS)

Practically not advisable

29
.0
5.
20
30
03
.0
1
5.
20 7:0
30
7:
03
48
.0
07
5.
20
:0
31
7:
03
03
.0
22
5.
20
:2
01
1:
03
39
.0
12
6.
20
:2
01
1:
03
39
.0
03
6.
02 200 :33
:5
3
.0
4
18
6.
20
:
02
03 15:1
.0
8
08
6.
20
:1
03
5:
03
18
.0
22
6.
20
:3
04
1:
03
28
.0
12
6.
20
:3
6:
03
00
03
:5
3:
03

Temperatur in C

Drying out curve with actual temperatures measured during the process
600

500
Sollwert

400

300

200

100

0
TC 1 Mestelle 1

TC 2 Mestelle 2

TC 3 Mestelle 3

TC 4 Mestelle 4

TC 5 Mestelle 5

Typical auxiliary burner assembly situation for gas

Clean, easy manageable fuel but high safety requirements

Typical auxiliary burner assembly situation for light oil

Fuelstorage and distribution simple, but heavy smoke development

4.1. Plants without tertiary air duct

Distribution of auxiliary burners:
Two auxiliary burners in the cooler
Two auxiliary burners in the kiln hood
Two auxiliary burners in the inlet chamber
Two auxiliary burners in the lower cyclones
When applying this method, drying will take longer than with the main burner
method and is therefore advantageous to the kiln lining.
Heat distribution in all vessels is very equal, particulary drying in the cooler can be
commenced at its optimum.
Total drying and heating-up time is limited and any interruption after drying
is not possible.
Turning of kiln necessary if shell temperature exceeds 100C.

4.2. Plants with tertiary air duct

Rotary kiln has to be closed by a bulkhead.
Cooler exhaust gas duct or connections have to be closed (bulkheaded)
Distribution of auxiliary burners:
similar to previous method
Drying and heating time is not limited but recommended to range between
100 and 125 hours.
It is easy to follow up the drying and heating-up scedule as well as to
follow the holding time.
When applying this method it is possible to do the final heating at a later
stage since the rotary kiln was cold and not affected by the heat.

Burner being introduced wet, without dry out

Explosive character of steam

Burner Drying

Burner Drying

Burner Drying

Professional drying of pipes with heater mats

(max 450C)

Dry out or barbecue preparation in raw meal pipe?

Good idea to get rid of waste

but please

Drying out cooler section

Grate plates covered
with insulationboards
Bulkhead at the end

Before Drying out cooler section

Thick layers like wear banks

require special care
Dry out is a must
LCC castable sensitive due
to high amount of
chemically bonded water
Installation of wear banks
always in the end

Drying out cooler section

Clinker for protection

of the grate plates
Lower part fo
wearbanks have been
cleared again to
ensure temperature
access during dry out
Prevention of thermal
shock

Drying out cooler section

Grate plates covered

with clinker
Bulkhead at the end

Bulkheaded kiln outlet

Bulkheaded kiln outlet

Rockwool and scaffolding

Bulkheaded kiln outlet

Calcium silikate boards

with metal framing

Bulkheading of a cooler exhaust gas duct

Drying out cooler section

Closing of secondary air

with rock wool

Drying out, equipment , gas tanks

Drying out equipment

Support burner

Lightoil burner in action

Drying out cooler section

Positioning of support
burners at cooler side wall
door

Drying out, equipment

Single burner control

Drying out cooler section

Positioning of support
Burners at cooler side
wall
Openings closed tightly
False air prevention

support burners squeezed in cooler side door

Drying out cooler section

Positioning of support
burner at cooler side
wall

Drying out cooler section

Positioning of support
burner at cooler side
wall
Burner pointing into
the cooler but not at
the roof

Drying out cooler section

Support burner pointing

into the cooler
Direct flame contact to be
avoided
Grate covered with clinker

Cooler Drying out

Oil leaking down into cooler

Drying out cooler section

First clinker arrives at cooler

Serious thermal shock for
side walls

Drying out cooler section

Thermal shock at castable

surface causes cracks.
Typical in cooler section
Hot clinker in direct
contact to thick castable
layer.
Explosive mixture

After Drying out cooler section

Dry out with gas

Clean and smooth surface

After Drying out cooler section

Smooth surfaces
No cracks
No damage
Expansion joints clear

After Drying out cooler section

View box in good shape

No cracks

After Drying out cooler section

Dry out with light oil burner

Surface blackened but
smooth

After Drying out cooler section

Dry out with light oil burner

Lining appears black by
carbon layer