Gateway to

the Future

Fives Pillard - Rotary Kiln Burner

Eduardo Tater

Combustion
Fives Pillard - A company of Fives Combustion business unit
 ROTAFLAM® Burner:
• About 500 burners installed
Minerals and Energy Sectors excluding cement kilns.
• Fives Pillard: 5 offices - France, Germany, Spain, China and India • In more than 50 countries

• Key markets: 5 continents • For more than 20 different

applications:
• Income: 68 Mio €
• Headcount: 385 persons  Lime  Uranium
 Ferronickel  Phosphates
 Lithium  Manganese
More than  Magnesia  Nickel / Cobalt
In  Alumina  Titanium dioxide
 Zinc oxide  Attapulgite

110 countries 1300 burners

installed
 Gypsum
 Iron
 Copper
 Chromium
Kaolin
 Chamotte
 Pelletizing ….
Combustion efficiency Burner operability

Combustion 2
Lime Calcination

Combustion 3
 Peers Conference 2019 – Rotary Kiln Burner Soft burned
900 °C
Lime calcination
Medium burned

Hard burned

1300°C

Source: [44, EuLA, 2006], [168, TWG CLM, 2007]

CALCINATION RATE & LIME REACTIVITY DEPENDS ON:
• Characteristics of the limestone / lime mud
• Particle size distribution
• Shape of the particles (for limestone calcination)
• Burning temperature & Temperature profile
• Residence time
• Crystalline structure of limestone / lime mud
• Presence of impurities creating interstitial liquid phase
• Kiln type (pebble lime) and fuel Source: Lhoist University

Combustion 4
Peers Conference 2019 – Rotary Kiln Burner
Lime calcination
Burner impact on the lime calcination:
 Controls flame shape and the kiln temperature profile:
o One of the main parameters affecting the lime quality (residual
carbonate & reactivity).

 The flame should have the correct length:

o Too short  Excessive temperatures in burning zone, lime
surface overburning and reducing reactivity. Risk of refractory
failure.

o Too long  Insufficient radiant heat transfer in calcining zone,

higher back-end temperature and lower thermal efficiency. Risk
of rings and build-ups formation due to lazy and unstable flame
(temperature variations)

Combustion 5
Peers Conference 2019 – Rotary Kiln Burner
Lime calcination
NOx emissions: a good indicator of burning zone conditions

• NOx emissions in rotary kilns: mainly of Quality Quality overshooting (Higher NOx emissions)
required
thermal origin (vary exponentially with the
temperature).

Higher NOx emissions

 Good indication of process stability
and burning zone conditions (burning
zone cooling down, stable or getting
hotter).
• Example 1: NOx emissions in function of
pebble lime reactivity (t70).
 Lower reactivity (higher t70) are
accompanied by higher NOx
emissions, indicating that the lime
was overheated (higher burning zone
temperatures).

Lower Reactivity

Combustion 6
ROTARY KILN BURNER
&
FLAME THEORY

Combustion 7
Peers Conference 2019 – Rotary Kiln Burner
Rotary Kiln Burner & Flame Theory

 Function of a rotary kiln burner:

• Mix fuel and combustion air to produce a stable flame and to release heat in a way adapted to process requirements.
 Diffusion flames:
• Burner fed with 100% of the kiln fuels but only ~10% of required combustion air (Primary Air). The other 90% of combustion
air comes from the cooler (Secondary Air), to recover the material energy. Thus, with only 10% of the combustion air, the
burner must be able to produce:
 An adjustable thermal profile
 A stable flame:
 Efficient combustion & Reduced air emissions

 Impulse (Momentum):
• Force generated by the primary air and fuels discharge
velocity at the burner tip.
 Impulse (N) = Mass flow (kg/s) x Velocity (m/s)

• It generates the secondary air and the fuels mixing.

• Proportional to the heat release: Specific Impulse (N/MW)

Combustion 8
Peers Conference 2019 – Rotary Kiln Burner
Rotary Kiln Burner & Flame Theory

 Burner design takes into account:

 Kiln characteristics and dimensions
 Cooler characteristics and secondary air temperature and flow pattern
 Product type (soft, hard/dead burned)
 Fuels type and substitution ratio
 Customer targets : Improve combustion efficiency, higher alternative fuel ratio, low NOx emission…
 Main design criteria:
 Primary air momentum : the harder to burn a fuel, the higher the impulse necessary to optimize its combustion.
 3-5 N/MW : HFO / NG (around 6-8 % primary air)
 5-6 N/MW : HFO / NG + Low LHV gas at low pressure (around 9-10 % primary air)
 6-7 N/MW : Pulverized coal / Petcoke (around 10-12 % primary air)
 7-8 N/MW : Main fuel + High alternative solid fuel substitution (around 12-14 % primary air)
 Swirl number : Usually between 0.10 < swirl < 0.3

Combustion 9
 Fives Pillard
Rotaflam® Burner

Combustion 10
Peers Conference 2019 – Rotary Kiln Burner
Fives Pillard Rotaflam® Burner – Multichannel Burner
HFO / NG / Biogas / NCG / Petcoke HFO / Methanol – Ignitor trial
 Rotaflam® Multichannel Burner

1. Adjustable Axial air, Radial air & Natural Gas tips

 Flame shaping:
 Adjustable tips cross section during operation
 Independently adjustable primary air & natural gas
pressure & flowrates
2. Central stabilizer
 Improved flame stability (bluff body = internal recirculation)
 Possibility for integrated warm-up burner for gaseous or liquid
fuel
 Possibility for integrated igniter & flame detection
 Possibility for integrated lance for solid, liquid or gaseous fuels
3. Fuel concentration for NOx reduction
 Fuel injection inside primary air
 Low O2 content at flame core

Combustion 11
Peers Conference 2019 – Rotary Kiln Burner
Fives Pillard Rotaflam® Burner – Main Characteristics

 Axial primary air

Adjustable cross section
 Radial primary air
Adjustable cross section

 Natural gas
Adjustable cross section

 Coal / Petcoke /
Anthracite / Lignite

 Central stabilizer
• ASF / ALF / HFO / DO
• Ignitor / Flame detection

Combustion 12
 Peers Conference 2019 – Rotary Kiln Burner
Fives Pillard Rotaflam® Burner – Main Characteristics
Axial & Radial air pressure control

Natural gas Coal

Axial air tip

adjustment

Radial air tip

adjustment

Cooling air

Axial air
Radial air

Combustion 13
Peers Conference 2019 – Rotary Kiln Burner
Fives Pillard Rotaflam® Burner – Main Characteristics

Travel Rails

Burner Trolley
Vertical & Horizontal
Movable Point

Rotating Point

Combustion 14
Peers Conference 2019 – Rotary Kiln Burner
Fives Pillard Rotaflam® Burner – Adjustable momentum principle
Axial tip: CLOSED (minimum section) Axial tip: OPEN (minimum section)
Air flowrate: REDUCED Air flowrate: INCREASED
Momentum: REDUCED (for similar pressure) Momentum: INCREASED (for similar pressure)

Slot effect for higher sec. Slot effect for higher sec.
air absorption efficiency air absorption efficiency

Combustion 15
Peers Conference 2019 – Rotary Kiln Burner
Fives Pillard Rotaflam® Burner – Adjustable momentum principle

Axial tip Axial tip Radial tip

OPEN CLOSED CLOSED

Stroke: + 35 mm Stroke: + 35 mm

Combustion 16
Peers Conference 2019 – Rotary Kiln Burner
Fives Pillard Rotaflam® Burner – Shell Scanner vs. Flame Shape
Lime reburning kiln shell scanner
 Example: Flame shape impact
on kiln shell temperature profile.

o The initial flame was wider

and lazier, with erratic
combustion at the flame
end. The temperature in
the calcining zone was
higher.

o After changing the burner

settings and the liquid fuel
nozzle, the flame shape
changed. The flame was
thinner and more
centered, thus lowering
the shell temperature.

Combustion 17
Peers Conference 2019 – Rotary Kiln Burner
Fives Pillard Rotaflam® Burner – Natural Gas
 Natural gas injected via annular section, inside axial & radial air channels

 Stabilizer creates a « bluff body » effect to improve flame internal

recirculation, favoring early ignition

 Adjustable cross-section allowing to vary the gas pressure from 200 to 800
mbar for a fixed gas flowrate (momentum control independent of flowrate)
Axial air
 Possibility to split the gas injection between annular injection & gas gun in the
burner center Radial air
Natural Gas
 Lower primary air required as the gas generates enough momentum for
mixing with hot secondary air

 Radial air not mandatory / Gas can generate swirl to improve mixing

As the natural gas is injected at high pressure

(200-800 mbar), it generates a high momentum.
Thus, a lower amount of air is required when firing
100% gas.

Combustion 18
Peers Conference 2019 – Rotary Kiln Burner
Fives Pillard Rotaflam® Burner – Liquid Fuel Injectors

 The key parameter for a proper liquid fuel combustion is the

Atomization quality vs. Flame intensity (Lime Reburning Kiln)
atomization quality.
NOx (mg/Nm3 at 7%O2)
 The size of the fuel droplets will determine how fast it will burn
and how far it will go. Thus, it is possible to change the flame
length and shape by changing the atomization quality.

Assisted Atomization (steam or compressd air)

Atomizing steam pressure

Lower atomizing steam pressure means bigger droplets, longer and

less intense flame (lower peak temperature, lower NOx)

Combustion 19
Peers Conference 2019 – Rotary Kiln Burner
Fives Pillard Rotaflam® Burner – NCG & SOG
 It is possible to inject waste gases via the main burner or through a separate burner, according to waste gas characteristics
(pressure, LHV, flowrate…). However, the kiln operation is always a compromise when trying to operate as an incinerator.
 Waste gases may have variable LHV, pressure and flowrate, disturbing the flame and the process
 In most cases, burning malodorous gases in a lime kiln results in a significant increase in the NOx levels as the
malodorous gases carry additional nitrogen to the kiln.
 It may also increase the ring formation due to high sulphur content (corrosive).
NCG via nozzle injection CNCG and SOG via annular injection

Combustion 20
Peers Conference 2019 – Rotary Kiln Burner
Fives Pillard Rotaflam® Burner – Recent Developments

 PGZ – Premix Gas Nozzle (Pillard Patented Technology)

o NOx reduction principle based on a 5-20% of the NG is premixed with air at sub-stoichiometric conditions and injected in
the burner center. Stabilization of main gas flame, reducing the ignition distance (less secondary air mixed to the gas prior
to ignition) and generating HCN and NH3 radicals.

Rotaflam® with premix gas installed on a lime reburning kiln in Europe

Example of a gas premix
flame on a Pillard Novaflam®
burner installed on a clinker
kiln -20%

Different Injection nozzles

Combustion 21
Peers Conference 2019 – Rotary Kiln Burner
Fives Pillard Rotaflam® Burner – P&P & Pebble Lime References
CHILE
CHILE
UKRAINE

URUGUAY
AUSTRIA
CHINA

Combustion
 THANK YOU
Fives Pillard
13 rue Raymond Teissère
Marseille 13008 – FRANCE
email: [email protected]
Combustion