Drying out and heating-up of refractory linings

G&W Training Program: Refractories in the Portland Cement Industry

Cairo, June 9-14, 2007
Lars Vieten, REFRATECHNIK Cement GmbH
Illustration of an entire installation

static dynamic static

mainly monolithics mainly bricks mainly monolithics
 Drying out and heating-up diagram of refractory
castables/concretes (RCC, MCC, LCC, SC, JC)
1500
1400 Aufheizdiagramm feuerfester Massen (LCC, MCC, SC, JC)
1300 Heating diagramm of refractory concretes (LCC, MCC, SC, JC)
1200
1100
/ °C

1000
Temperatur / °C
Temperature / °C

900
Temperature

30 °C/h
800 bis zur Einsatztemperatur
up to temp. of application
700
600 Heating-up 10 h / 500 °C
500
400 Drying out 25 °C/h
300
200 20 h / 110 - 150 °C
min. 24 h Erhärtungsdauer 15 °C/h
100 min. 24 hrs setting time

0
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 110
Zeit nach Einbau / h
Time after installation / hrs Time after installation / hrs
How much water has to be removed ?

In case of a preheater lined with 2000 tonnes of refractory materials,

1000 tonnes thereof being concretes

average water content of 8 % Æ 80 tonnes of water

Rough estimation:
concrete weight (in tonnes) x 10% Æ total water amount (in tonnes)
Two different kinds of water are found:

1. Physically bonded water (free water):

Æ removed at 100-150°C
Evaporating already during setting process at room temperatures
and normally vaporising at 100°C

2. Chemically bonded water (water of crystallization):

Æ removed at 300-800°C
Water will be expelled at 300-800°C and will therefore play an important
role at the end of the drying out process and within the heating-up process
 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 hexagonal brucite sheets

Acc.V Spot Magn Det WD Exp Acc.V Spot Magn Det WD Exp Acc.V Spot Magn Det WD Exp
25.0 kV 4.0 540x SE 9.8 17 CRB Analyse Service GmbH 25.0 kV 4.0 10000x SE 9.9 13 CRB Analyse Service GmbH 25.0 kV 4.0 7800x SE 9.6 17 CRB Analyse Service GmbH
In the drying process a distinction is made between
two essential steps:

1. Conversion of physical and chemical bonded water to the vapour phase

by evaporation or vaporisation

2. Removal of vapour by vapour-diffusion or vapour-flow

 Drying out and heating-up diagram of refractory
castables/concretes (RCC, MCC, LCC, SC, JC)
1500
1400 Aufheizdiagramm feuerfester Massen (LCC, MCC, SC, JC)
1300 Heating diagramm of refractory concretes (LCC, MCC, SC, JC)
1200
1100
/ °C

1000
Temperatur / °C
Temperature / °C

900
Temperature

30 °C/h
800 bis zur Einsatztemperatur
up to temp. of application
700
600 Heating-up 10 h / 500 °C
500
400 Drying out 25 °C/h
300
200 20 h / 110 - 150 °C
min. 24 h Erhärtungsdauer 15 °C/h
100 min. 24 hrs setting time

0
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 110
Zeit nach Einbau / h
Time after installation / hrs Time after installation / hrs
Behaviour of drying rate as a function of drying time
Behaviour of drying rate
as a function of drying time

100
Phase 1 Phase 2
90
Drying rate (weight/hr)

80
70
60
Drying rate

Const. Drying Rate Decreasing Drying Rate

50
40
30
20

10
0
1 2 3 4 5
tkn
6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13
Dryiing time
Drying time (hr)
 Drying out and heating-up diagram of refractory
castables/concretes (RCC, MCC, LCC, SC, JC)
1500
1400 Aufheizdiagramm feuerfester Massen (LCC, MCC, SC, JC)
1300 Heating diagramm of refractory concretes (LCC, MCC, SC, JC)
1200
1100
Phase 1 Phase 2
/ °C

1000
Temperatur / °C
Temperature / °C

900
Temperature

30 °C/h
800 bis zur Einsatztemperatur
up to temp. of application
700
600
10 h / 500 °C
500
400 Drying out 25 °C/h
300
200 20 h / 110 - 150 °C
min. 24 h Erhärtungsdauer 15 °C/h
100 min. 24 hrs setting time

0
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 110
Zeit nach Einbau / h
Time after installation / hrs Time after installation / hrs
Phase 1: initial phase:

Evaporation of physical bonded water is relevant

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

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

2 Vaporisation of free water at 100°C

Physical bonded water can be found in very fine capillaries

3 Higher temperatures are necessary to overcome capillary forces
Vaporisation of capillary water at >100°C Æ (100-150°C)
Saturation vapour pressure as a function
of temperature

Temperature in °C Saturation vapour pressure in bar

Phase 1 20 0.02

50 0.12

Phase 1 100 1

150 5

200 15

250 40

300 86

350 165
Drying phase 1: initial phase

100°C
/1 bar

∆P≈ 1 bar

20°C
/0.02 bar
Phase 1: Pmeniscus > Poutlet

Gas Flow
Inlet Outlet

T [°C]
100°C Poutlet
/1 bar

∆P≈ 1 bar
Pmeniscus

20°C
/0.02 bar Pcapillary
Saturation vapour pressures vs. temperature

250
S a t u r a t io n va p o u r p r e s s u r e (b a r )

200

150

100

50
1bar (Atmospheric Pressure)

0
0 50 100 150 200 250 300 350 400
T e m pe ra t ure (°C )

Cold Face Hot Face

 1st rule of thumb for drying out process
during initial phase 1:

„low temperatures and high ventilation or air flow“

Behaviour of drying rate as a function
of drying time Behaviour of drying rate
as a function of drying time

100
Phase 1 Phase 2
Drying rate (weight/h)

90
Low vapour pressureÆLow drying rate
80
70
60
Drying rate

Const. Drying Rate Decreasing Drying Rate

50
40
30
20
10
0
1 2 3 4 5
tkn6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13
Drying tim e
Drying time (h)
 Drying out and heating-up diagram of refractory
castables/concretes (RCC, MCC, LCC, SC, JC)
1500
1400 Aufheizdiagramm feuerfester Massen (LCC, MCC, SC, JC)
1300 Heating diagramm of refractory concretes (LCC, MCC, SC, JC)
1200
1100
Phase 1 Phase 2
/ °C

1000
Temperatur / °C
Temperature / °C

900
Temperature

30 °C/h
800 bis zur Einsatztemperatur
up to temp. of application
700
600
10 h / 500 °C
500
400 Drying out 25 °C/h
300
200 20 h / 110 - 150 °C
min. 24 h Erhärtungsdauer 15 °C/h
100 min. 24 hrs setting time

0
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 110
Zeit nach Einbau / h
Time after installation / hrs Time after installation / hrs
 Phase 2:

Evaporation of chemically bonded water is relevant

1 Decomposition of water containing minerals:

2*(CAH10) ==> C2AH8 + AH3

C2AH8 + AH3 ==> C3AH6 + 2AH3
C3AH6 + 2AH3 ==> C12A7 + CA + H
C3AH6 + 2AH3 +A ==> CA + H
C12A7 + 5A ==> 12 CA
CA + A ==> CA2

2 Evaporation of chemical water at 300-800°C

 Saturation vapour pressure as a function
of temperature

Temperature in °C Saturation vapour pressure in bar

20 0.02

50 0.12

100 1

150 5

200 15

250 40

300 86
Phase 2
350 165
Phase 1: Pmeniscus > Poutlet Phase 2: Pmeniscus < Poutlet

Gas Flow
Inlet Outlet
T [°C]
100°C Poutlet 350°C Poutlet
/1 bar /165 bar

∆P≈ 164 bar

Pmeniscus Pmeniscus

20°C Pcapillary 100°C Pcapillary

/0.02 bar /1 bar
 2nd rule of thumb for drying-out process
at the advanced stage (phase 2):

„high temperatures and low ventilation or air flow“

Saturation vapour pressures vs. temperature

250
s a tu ra tio n v a p o u r p re s s u re ( b a r)

200

150

100

50
1bar (Atmospheric Pressure)

0
0 50 100 150 200 250 300 350 400
Te mpe ra ture (°C )

Cold Face Hot Face

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

Lower proportion of water

Lower porosity Lower water

vapour pressure

Higher capillary forces Slower drying rates

Trend in development of the product properties

RC-vibration castable LC- vibration castable

REFRACLAY 40 REFRACLAY 40 LCC
Cement content: 20 wt.-% ~5 wt.-%
Water addition: 10 – 12 % 6–7%
Bulk density: 2.05 g/cm³ 2.25 g/cm³
Apparent porosity: 20 – 22 % 14 – 15 %
Cold crushing strength: 35 – 45 N/mm2 90 – 110 N/mm2
Abrasion loss: 19 – 20 cm³ 4 – 5 cm³
Application temperature: 1450 °C 1500 °C
Alkali resistance:
Illustration of an entire installation

alumina bricks
gear basic bricks
tyre

static dynamic static

mainly monolithics mainly bricks mainly monolithics
 Drying out and heating-up diagram of refractory
castables/concretes (RCC, MCC, LCC, SC, JC)
1500
1400 Aufheizdiagramm feuerfester Massen (LCC, MCC, SC, JC)
1300 Heating diagramm of refractory concretes (LCC, MCC, SC, JC)
1200
1100
/ °C

1000
Temperatur / °C
Temperature / °C

900
Temperature

30 °C/h
800 bis zur Einsatztemperatur
up to temp. of application
700
600 Heating-up 10 h / 500 °C
500
400
25 °C/h
300
200 20 h / 110 - 150 °C
min. 24 h Erhärtungsdauer 15 °C/h
100 min. 24 hrs setting time

0
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 110
Zeit nach Einbau / h
Time after installation / hrs. Time after installation / hrs
Heating-up process:

Heating-up aims at bringing the whole plant to normal operating

temperatures, without destroying any elements
to be considered in the system !
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.
 Temperature distribution in brick and kiln shell during heating-up

Hot Face of Brick

Mid-Depth of Brick
Temperature in °C

Cold Face of Brick

Kiln Shell

Time in hrs
 Thermal expansion of alumina bricks and kiln shell

Hot Kiln
face shell
slow heating fast heating up
Original Size
400
Compression
1200 Axial and radial
compression Axial and Radial Pressure
1000 300
point
Æ Risk of thermal spalling
Point of
of initial pressure
equal expansion
temperature °C

800
200 Safe zone
600 Optimum Heating-Up
Installation
400 tolerance kiln shell
100
No pressure during
200 Alumina
initial expansion
bricks
Loose Bricks
-1 0 1 2 %
relative expansion
Æ Risk of Displacement
N/mm2
100 50 0
 Thermal expansion of magnesia spinel bricks
and kiln shell

Hot Kiln
face shell

1200 400
Compression
installation tolerance

1000 pointofofequal
Point initialexpansion
pressure
temperature °C

300
800
Safe zone
600 200
thermal expansion of
400 the kiln shell
100
200 thermal expansion of
high alumina
Magnesia bricks
spinel bricks

-1 0 1 2 %
relative expansion
N/mm2
100 50 0
Heating-up is limited by the tyres and
other mechanical parts

Squeezing at the tyres Girth Gear

Heating-up curve after short shutdowns
(cooling down of the burning zone not below 300°C)
In the temperature range of 300-600°C In the temperature range of 900-1200°C
1/3 revolution every 30 minutes continuous rotation required
In the temperature range of 600-900°C In the temperature range from 1200°C
1/3 revolution every 15 minutes Up to working temperature:
Bring the kiln up to normal operation
Heating-up curve after repairs
(up to max. 30 lin. metres of kiln lining)
In the temperature range of 300-600°C In the temperature range of 900-1200°C
1/3 revolution every 30 minutes continuous rotation required
In the temperature range of 600-900°C In the temperature range from 1200°C
1/3 revolution every 15 minutes Up to working temperature:
Bring the kiln up to normal operation
Heating-up curve for new plants
(up to max. 2000 tons/day)

In the temperature range of 300-600°C In the temperature range of 900-1200°C

1/3 revolution every 30 minutes continuous rotation required
In the temperature range of 600-900°C In the temperature range from 1200°C
1/3 revolution every 15 minutes Up to working temperature:
Bring the kiln up to normal operation
Heating-up curve for new plants
(more than 2000 tons/day)
In the temperature range of 300-600°C In the temperature range of 900-1200°C
1/3 revolution every 30 minutes continuous rotation required
In the temperature range of 600-900°C In the temperature range from 1200°C
1/3 revolution every 15 minutes Up to working temperature:
Bring the kiln up to normal operation
Part II: Different methods of drying out and heating-up
Lafarge Refractory Seminar, Mbeya, October 16-20, 2006

Lars Vieten, REFRATECHNIK Cement GmbH

1. 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 100°C

(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.

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

T2

ILC

T3

RRiser
Steig-
schacht T1
i
Kiln
Drehofen
s
Cooler e
Kühler r
FLS Kuwait
 1. Drying out and heating-up using exclusively
the central burner
1500
1400
1300
1200
1100
1000
Temperature / °C

900
800

700
600
500
400
300
200
100
0
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80

Time after installation / hrs

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

FLS Kuwait
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
3. Drying out and heating-up using the central burner
and calciner burner (no auxiliary burners)

Theoretically possible, but:

Drying out and heating-up time is limited (see process with central burner).

Early turning of rotary kiln is required.

Temperatures in rotary kiln do rise very fast Æ Danger of squeezing.

Too fast drying of castables (esp. wear benches) in the cooler as drying only
commences after first clinker has arrived.
4. Ideal curing and commissioning of a newly installed lining:
Drying out and heating-up using auxiliary burners

4.1. Plants without tertiary air duct

4.2. Plants with tertiary air duct

First general and preparatory steps:

1. Free access to all burners and fans

2. Drying by natural draught

3. Exhaust gases leave preheater via uppermost man doors

4. Thermocouples have to be installed according to general drying out schedule and

are to be connected to the central recorder

5. All man doors and openings have to be shut.

Typical auxiliary burner assembly situation for gas
Auxiliary burner for gas

Advantages:
clean and easy flame control

Disadvantages:
distribution of gas in the plant needs a lot of safety precautions
Typical auxiliary burner assembly situation for light oil
Auxiliary burner for light oil

Advantages:
oil storage and distribution relatively easy

Disadvantages:
high development of smoke Æ eventually cleaning of building
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, particularly 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 100°C.

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.
Bulkheaded kiln outlet
Bulkheading of a cooler exhaust gas duct
Example:
Drying out and heating-up curve for Lafarge Kujawy Plant, Poland
De-steaming holes are only necessary on the top of the cyclone roofs to control
the de-steaming progress
Drying out cooler section