Primary Industries for Calciners
Many varied industries use calciner 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.
These are the arrangement options:
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 tight 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
Talk with Our Application Engineers
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.
Content Related to Rotary Kiln Applications
Here are related posts and case studies that might be of interest as you think about your application.
