Cement kilns - Rotary furnaces

With the exception of vertical straight furnaces, now obsolete but still in service in the Far East (China, the world's leading producer, achieves 2/3 of its production with straight furnaces) and experimental furnaces under development (fluidized bed in Japan), all furnaces are now of the "rotary furnace" type.

Over the years, advances in processes have led to a gradual reduction in furnace dimensions, while production capacities have increased.

From a design point of view, however, there are certain invariants, whatever the size of the oven.

The article "Cement kilns" is the subject of several booklets:

• BE 8 844 Clinker firing plants ;

• BE 8 845 Rotary furnaces ;

• BE 8 846 Clinker coolers.

The subjects are not independent of each other.

Readers will need to refer back to the other issues often enough.