This week’s photo shows a rotary kiln’s leaf seals. The set-up consists of a series of overlapping spring steel plates that are attached to the housing, and ride on the rotating shell. Rotary kilns run at a higher temperature than the ambient air, thus any …
Variable Frequency Drives, or VFDs, are not a new technology, but only in recent decades have advancements in the field lowered many of the barriers associated with widespread VFD use, allowing their application in a range of settings. A recent market study anticipates that the …
Incinerators across the United States and abroad are preparing for a tidal wave of medical waste from the COVID-19 pandemic, with some countries already in the thick of it. As waste management companies prepare for the increased demand, we’ve put together the list below on …
Thermal desorption is the process of using heat to drive off an organic chemical from an inorganic mineral. Unlike incineration, it is a separation process that relies on different reaction temperatures of absorbent minerals and chemicals. The organic chemical is vaporized at high temperatures, resulting …
The “working” layer and insulating layer refer to a rotary kiln’s multiple layers of refractory. Refractory is what protects the kiln from high internal temperatures, and maintains heat retention. Sometimes it is desirable to use multiple layers of refractory, especially when higher efficiency is preferred, …
Sintering is the process of heating a material to a point just before melting via a rotary kiln. The objective here is to use the high internal temperature of the rotary kiln to increase the strength of the material. The most common use of this …
This week’s photo highlights the interior of a batch rotary kiln. The rod-like structures at the bottom of the image (labeled “C”) are two thermocouples. They are typically used in the kiln to measure bed and exhaust gas temperatures. The upper rod is an airline …
Indirect-fired rotary kilns, also commonly called calciners, are a specialized thermal processing machine used to cause chemical reactions and phase changes in materials for a variety of industrial purposes. Used in settings where the processing environment must be kept inert, or where entrainment of fines …
This week’s photo highlights a rotary kiln dam in 3D. Oftentimes, it is necessary to increase retention time and/or bed depth in a kiln. This is achieved through the use of a dam. A rotary kiln dam works by forcing material to build up behind …
This week’s photo shows a batch kiln from FEECO’s Innovation Center. The batch kiln can be used for a variety of high-temp, thermal process testing applications, including waste incineration, mineral roasting, proppant sintering, and more. The batch kiln simulates conditions of a commercial size rotary …