Pyroprocessing

Pyroprocessing by KHD. Fueling innovation since decades.

We are the pyro experts. By designing the first preheater and calciner we revolutionized the field, creating the model for all cement plants around the world today. That culture of disruptive innovation continues to run through our DNA and determines our actions, day in, day out. Add decades of experience and refined process know-how from countless installations in the field. So, when it comes to the Pyroprocess, why would you go anywhere else?

Explore our range of pyroprocessing technology

  • Clay Calcination

    Our expert clay calcination solutions provide a high-quality supplementary cementitious material for a lower-carbon cement.

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  • Bypass

    Our kiln gas bypasses offer optimal removal of unwanted materials, improving kiln reliability and availability. 

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  • Firing Systems

    From the burners themselves to fuel control and smart burner management systems, we are your one-stop-shop for safe and reliable firing systems.

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  • Preheater

    A preheater should offer an optimal balance between heat transfer, pressure drop, separation efficiency, and building height. Solving that equation is not always easy. But it is our bread and butter.

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  • Pyroredox®

    Say no to NOX with the Pyrodedox: the ultimate solution for cost-effective NOX emissions reduction.  

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  • Pyrorotor®

    Discover the Pyrorotor – our most advanced technology for processing alternative fuels. 

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  • Clinker Cooler

    Designed for maximum availability, reliability, and service life, our clinker coolers provide high-efficiency cooling, high heat recuperation, and lowest component wear rate.

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  • Rotary Kiln

    Can your kiln take the heat? Ours can. Discover how we engineer our kilns to thrive amid the burn.

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ISO Plant Illustrations

Pyroprocessing

Whether you are looking for a complete pyro line or to retrofit select components. Or perhaps you want to optimize what you already have. We have the products, systems and expertise to be your partner for pyroprocessing success.

Preheater

A preheater should offer an optimal balance between heat transfer, pressure drop, separation efficiency and building height. Solving that equation is not always easy. But it is our bread and butter.

Clay Calcination

The use of calcined clay as an alternative cementitious material offers the opportunity to reduce the carbon intensity of cement. Our calciner is based on components with long-established pedigrees in the cement industry, for performance you can trust.

Pyrorotor®

Discover the Pyrorotor – our most advanced technology for processing alternative fuels.

Pyroredox®

Say no to NOX with the Pyrodedox®: the ultimate solution for cost-effective NOX emissions reduction.

Rotary Kilns

The kiln is the heart of the pyroprocess. And with over 500 kiln installations and upgrades completed around the world, we are the expert cardiologists.

Calciners

We introduced them into the cement process in the 1960s, and our calciners continue to set the standard today.

Firing Systems

From the burners themselves to fuel control and smart burner management systems, we are your one-stop-shop for safe and reliable firing systems.

Clinker Coolers

From the burners themselves to fuel control and smart burner management systems, we are your one-stop-shop for safe and reliable firing systems.

Automation Solutions

From high-precision kiln shell temperature monitoring to intelligent burner management, our automation and control systems enhance you pyroprocess.

Process Knowledge

Process knowledge underpins everything – but it’s not something that comes easy. It’s taken us since 1856 to become the experts we are today.

Pyroprocessing

The pyroprocess is the central element to the clinker-making process. Without heat – and lots of it – the raw meal would not react to create the cementitious material that is so important to modern life.

But creating the temperatures required to form clinker comes at a cost. Reaching 1500 °C in the kiln, the cement pyroprocess is one of the hottest industrial processes and requires a huge amount of energy, traditionally in the form of fossil fuels (most often coal). Meanwhile, the chemical reactions that take place as the raw meal is turned into clinker release various pollutants – including NOx and significant quantities of CO2 from the breakdown of limestone. The cement pyroprocess therefore presents a range of challenges: from the purely economic (in terms of energy costs) to the social costs of air and ecosystem pollution, and, of course, the environmental. Since building the first preheater, we have been at the forefront of development efforts to tackle all of these challenges. The preheater alone helped to cut heat consumption in the pyroprocess by nearly 50 % at the time.

Subsequent innovations have continued to improve energy efficiency and reduce energy costs, e.g., by allowing greater use of alternative fuels, as well as controlling the production of pollutants, and improving reliability and availability through the pyro line. As we look to the future, we know cement production will never be a truly clean process. We are however committed to using the latest technologies to relentlessly improve the performance of our pyroprocessing equipment and so to reduce the environmental impact of cement production. Because we believe that what is good for the planet can ultimately also be good for our clients’ business. The times are changing; there is no doubt about it. But we are one old dog that can still learn new tricks.

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