Calciners Rotary Kiln Fans
Industrial Calciner Rotary Kiln Application
The industrial calciner refractory furnace or oven is an indirect rotary kiln used to remove moisture in the production process of materials and products such as cement, lime, and gypsum. The calciner rotary kiln, or indirect kiln, is a rotating drum inside an externally-heated furnace that can reach temperatures as high as 3000°F that must be tightly controlled to remain even across the surface of the drum.
In these applications, very large supply fans pull clean, ambient air into the hot rotating drum where it moves across the material that enters from the opposite end. The air draws the moisture out of the material, leaving the converted powder, or clinker in the case of cement, to exit through a product outlet at the bottom. The rotary kiln also has one or more exhaust fan(s), which pull out the gas and/or water vapor before it goes through various other potential applications for dust or pollution control including oxidizers, bag houses, cyclones, or others.
Primary Industries for Calciners
Many varied industries use calciners in their processes. The indirect rotary kiln is a prominent application in these and other industries:
- Cement
- Infrastructure
- Building Materials
- Lime/Limestone
- Gypsum
- Process Metallurgy
- Food Processing
- Pharmaceuticals
Calciner Fan Selection & Specification
Because the fan supplies clean ambient air into the calciner drum, high-efficiency models with backward inclined or backward curved impellers are optimal. The fan size and design depends on airflow. There are just a few models that we use depending on the specific application.
Industrial Fan Designs Commonly Used for Calciner Rotary Kilns
Fan Arrangements, Accessories, & Design
Fan Arrangements indicate how the motors mount to and drive the fans. On the calciner fan, the motor size determines the arrangement, typically an Arrangement 1 belt-drive motor up to about 250HP. When the motor gets bigger than about 250HP, which is common, we would use an Arrangement 8 direct-drive motor.
Industrial Fan Designs Commonly Used for Calciner Rotary Kilns
Arrangement 1 – Belt Drive with an overhung impeller. The fan and motor mount separately to a unitary base.
Arrangement 8 – Direct Drive with an overhung impeller. The fan shaft is directly coupled to the motor shaft with a flexible coupling.
When it comes to design and accessories, it’s all about protecting and optimizing operations, maintenance, and life of the fan and bearings. On the rotary kiln, there is an additional complication of calculating how to dry the material. If you’re not careful, you could end up too close to the maximum and still needing more speed. Because of that, we tend to recommend designing with a 15% performance margin in rotary kilns and dryers to leave a little wiggle room.
In industrial calciner applications, we often recommend:
- Airflow Meter to measure the energy transfer in the fan
- Inlet Box if space is limited for the ductwork
- Inlet Filter to ensure the airstream is clean
- Flexible Coupling Drive to reduce belt pull on the bearings and related maintenance
- Vibration isolators to help maintain supply fan balance
- Vibration and temperature sensors to monitor bearing and fan health and prevent unplanned outages
- Split Housing for easier maintenance access to the fan wheel and shaft
- Proper installation and maintenance to ensure safe startup and operations
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If you feel overwhelmed by all this information, don’t despair! We have a team of application engineers who are happy to talk with you and select the best fan for your application. You can call 715-365-3267, email [email protected], or send us your information, and one of our engineers will connect with you.
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