Preheater

PREHEATER PARTS

From first stage to last, our preheater components are designed to achieve the best combination of heat transfer, pressure drop, separation efficiency and building height. And as the first company to introduce preheaters to the cement industry, we should know what we are talking about! Read on and allow us to introduce some of our state-of-the-art solutions.

Double separator

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Splash box

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kTube

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High-efficiency cyclone

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Components & Features

We provide the complete preheater. But more than that, we are the process experts. It is in our DNA – and the DNA of all of our solutions.

Components & Features

Double separator

Waste Gas Duct Options

  1.   Outlet spiral
  2.   Holderbank bend

Sat at the top of the preheater, we designed our double separator to enlarge the distance between dip tube and cyclone outlet. We also incorporate a longer-than-standard dip tube. The result is a higher separation efficiency of 96% and dust losses of just < 25 g/m3.

With such high separation efficiency, raw meal recirculation is reduced to a minimum. And this is where the benefits mount up, as pressure drop and heat loss from the preheater are significantly lowered, ensuring a stable and energy-efficient pyroprocess.

A final note on the design of our double separators. Our standard waste gas duct utilizes an outlet spiral. This reduces the height of the duct by about 60 % compared to the common Holderbank design – and means the height of the preheater tower can be lower than it would otherwise be.

Waste Gas Duct Options

  1.   Outlet spiral
  2.   Holderbank bend

Upgrade older preheaters

Our double separators are also available as an upgrade to older preheaters. So, you can enjoy the benefits of low overall pressure drop and raw meal losses – without the significant CAPEX required of a complete preheater upgrade. Upgrades can be executed quickly and offer a fast return on investment.

Components & Features

High-efficiency cyclones

Prestressed cyclone ceiling

  1. During erection
    The cyclone ceiling is pretensioned in relation to the cylone size.
  2. In operation
    When the preheater is commissioned, the pre-stressed ceiling reshapes to its orginal dimensions as a result of thermal expansion.

Downsize your cyclone without downsizing performance. Our cyclones, dip tubes and gas riser ducts are optimized to provide best-in-class heat transfer and pressure drop. All while reducing cyclone weight, footprint and volume. And that is not just marketing talk: we have proven performance at plants around the world.

We also make cyclone maintenance a much easier prospect. Our cyclone cone features a 70° incline and long distance between dip tube and cone tip – both features that prevent material build-up without needing a vortex breaker. And the cone tip is bent for a more controlled, continuous flow of raw meal.

Our cyclones also include a prestressed ceiling that eliminates maintenance for cleaning and improves operational safety, as proper compensation for thermal stress is always guaranteed. Compare this to the standard expansion joints used by other suppliers, which require repeated and time-consuming maintenance.

Prestressed cyclone ceiling

  1. During erection
    The cyclone ceiling is pretensioned in relation to the cylone size.
  2. In operation
    When the preheater is commissioned, the pre-stressed ceiling reshapes to its orginal dimensions as a result of thermal expansion.

Putting numbers on improvement

We know engineers like numbers. So here are some statistics on our latest cyclones. Like a 15 % weight reduction, an 18 % smaller footprint, and a 21 % reduction in volume.

Components & Features

Cyclone sizing

Cyclone sizing flexibility

  1.  80 HE – Ø 8,0 m
  2.  85 HE – Ø 8,5 m
  3.  90 HE – Ø 9,0 m

Example: 5-stage preheater 85 HE 67 (height: approx. 120-130 m) The cyclone diameter depends on the desired pressure drop level

The optimum cyclone size depends on a range of factors, including production capacity, the type of fuels used, and the desired pressure drop. It also takes into account the balance between CAPEX and OPEX.

A larger cyclone reduces pressure drop and therefore requires less electrical energy, yielding higher operational cost efficiency. But as it requires a larger building footprint, CAPEX is higher. Smaller cyclones mean lower initial investment but operate with slightly higher pressure drop and energy demand.

Our experienced process experts will take all of these factors into account and create a preheater design that best meets your specific application requirements.

Cyclone sizing flexibility

  1.  80 HE – Ø 8,0 m
  2.  85 HE – Ø 8,5 m
  3.  90 HE – Ø 9,0 m

Example: 5-stage preheater 85 HE 67 (height: approx. 120-130 m) The cyclone diameter depends on the desired pressure drop level

Components & Features

Splash box

Splash boxes may not be the biggest part of the preheater – but they play an important role. Ours are equipped with an adjustable dispersion plate, allowing our splash boxes to be customized to your process and ensure optimum control and uniform distribution of raw meal into the hot gas flow.

The benefit? Better heat transfer – and improved preheater efficiency. It’s yet another example where our process knowledge and attention to detail can provide a tailored solution to achieve best possible performance.

Upgrade your splash box

Our splash boxes are not just for KHD preheaters. They can be installed as a low-CAPEX retrofit in any preheater – and installed quickly and easily. It is a cost-effective way to upgrade your preheater in comparison with replacing your cyclone or undertaking other, more extensive modifications.

Components & Features

Air-cooled flap box

Flap boxes keep process gases on the correct route and are therefore critical to process efficiency. It is a job, however, that makes them particularly susceptible to high levels of wear. To protect against this, our flaps are air-cooled to eliminate hot spots and significantly increase lifetime.

Components & Features

kTube

  1.   Top segment (connects the suspension with the middle and bottom segments)
  2.   Middle segment (repeated element over the entire length oft the dip tube)
  3.   Bottom segment (closing segment to seal and fortify dip tube construction)

Most available dip tube designs have suspensions with complex sealings that often leak false air. On top of that, the segments are large, unwieldy and expensive. Due to that the installation of a part that should be straighforward is labor-intensive and time-consuming. KHD’s kTube changes this. Its ceramic suspension is easy to assemble and highly resistant to corrosion. It keeps false air out effectively and has a much higher wear life.


The remaining elements of KHD’s kTube are ingenious. The entire dip tube consist only of three different segments. Each of them can be lifted and handled by one person. The kTube design is based around quick and simple installation without welding. As a result, an entire kTube can be installed in as little as three to four days!


The modular kTube design fits all cyclone diameters, is very corrosion resistant and can be installed quickly by a single person without high costs. Hence, the kTube offers a considerable performance-enhancing potential when retrofit to existing preheaters.

  1.   Top segment (connects the suspension with the middle and bottom segments)
  2.   Middle segment (repeated element over the entire length oft the dip tube)
  3.   Bottom segment (closing segment to seal and fortify dip tube construction)

Key Benefits

Boost overall efficiency. Optimize operating costs. Reduce emissions. Support higher adoption of alternative fuels. Our preheater components can do it all.

Key Benefits

A highly-efficient preheater

All of our preheater components have one aim in common: to ensure best possible overall preheater performance. Whether that is by limiting pressure drop, facilitating efficient heat transfer, preventing material loss… Combined, our solutions add up to the highest standards of process efficiency.

The bottom line is a preheater that boosts your plant’s overall efficiency, optimizes operating costs, reduces emissions and supports higher adoption of alternative fuels.

Key Benefits

The benefits of modularity

Many of our preheater components are also available as modular retrofits to your existing preheater – whether KHD or third-party supplied – for a CAPEX-light solution to improving your preheater performance.

Contact

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