0263±8762/96/$07.00+ 0.

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€ Institution of Chemical Engineers

SIMULATION AND CONTROL OF AN INDUSTRIAL

ROTARY CALCINER WITH A HEAT SHIELD AROUND
THE COMBUSTION ZONE
S. CIFTCI and N. K. KIM
Department of Chemical Engineering, Michigan Technological University, Houghton, Michigan, USA

W hile operating a high temperature rotary calciner, two frequently encountered

problems are shell overheating and the consequent deformation of the calciner,
and heat loss. A simple and relatively inexpensive solution is to install a
concentric metallic shield around the combustion zone. This heat shield can help to reduce
the shell temperature and recover some of the energy that would otherwise be lost. Steady
state temperature pro® les of an industrial calciner with a heat shield around its
combustion zone are computed via simulation. Open loop dynamics of the system are also
analysed and the information obtained is used to design a PID feedback controller.
Finally, the performance of the control system is tested with respect to various
disturbances.
Keywords: heat shield; rotary calciner; simulation; control

INTRODUCTION whereas at higher temperatures the activation energy

Rotary kilns are widely employed in the chemical industry
for a variety of processes. However, experimentation on
such processes is hardly possible due to the large scale and
high cost of operation. Therefore, mathematical modelling
and computer simulation are needed to evaluate each
process and design its control system. This paper
summarizes the results of steady state and dynamic
simulations of an industrial rotary calciner, used in the
production of soda ash from trona ore, having a heat
shield around its combustion zone. The results of steady
state and open loop dynamic simulations in the absence of
the heat shield have been published elsewhere1, 2. The
closed loop response under simple PID feedback control
schemes and an advanced control system has also been
reported3, 4. The design of the heat shield was discussed by
Kim and Srivastava4 and Kim et al.5 . The present study
focuses on static and dynamic simulations in the presence
of the heat shield, and variations in the calciner wall and
heat shield temperatures. A brief description of the
mathematical model utilized has also been included.
PROCESS DESCRIPTION
The calciner under study is employed for the endother-
mic decomposition of sodium sesquicarbonate (trona ore)
into crude soda ash according to the following reaction:
2(Na2 CO3 NaHCO3 2H 2O) ® 3Na2CO3
+ CO2 + 5H2O (1)
The reaction follows Arrhenius law and its ® rst order
with respect to the sodium sesquicarbonate content of
the solid. For temperatureslower than 95ÊC, the reaction
exhibits an activation energy of 33.8 kcal/gmole of trona,
901
becomes 12 kcal/gmole of trona.
The calciner, whose general layout is given in Figure 1,
consists of a long, cylindrical, mild steel shell. The heat
shield, also constructed from mild steel, is installed concen-
trically around the ® rst 6m of the kiln. Trona ore is fed into
the high end of the kiln and advances towards the lower
discharge end due to the inclination and rotation of the
shell. Heat for the reaction is provided by burning a natural
gas and air mixture using a single centreline burner. Since
the burner is also located at the high end of the kiln, the hot
combustion gases move co-currently and in direct contact
with the solid. Schematically the kiln can be divided into
three zones:
Combustion zone: The ® rst 6m of the kiln, the combustion
zone, is left bare to promote full ¯ ame development. Solid
particles slide down instead of showering through the
¯ ame. Therefore, the solid area available for heat and mass
transfer is relatively small in comparison to the lifter zone.
Lifter zone: The lifter zone is located between the sixth and
twenty-fourth metres of the kiln. It owes its name to the
presence of lifting ¯ ights which help to shower the solid
particles through the gas stream. Because of the showering,
the area of contact between the solid particles and hot gas
stream increases, allowing heat and mass transfer to take
place more extensively. This increases the reaction rate,
and the reaction goes almost to completion.
Discharge zone: The last 3 m of the kiln is left bare to
allow dust disengagement from the kiln o -gas.
HEAT SHIELD
An inevitable problem in the operation of the calciner
under study is shell overheating due to the ¯ ame in the
902 CIFTCI and KIM

Figure 1. General layout of the kiln.

Figure 2. Heat shield around the combustion zone.

combustion zone. An e cient and relatively inexpensive

solution is to install a concentric metallic shield around
the ® rst 6 m of the kiln.
Figure 2 shows this section of the kiln on an enlarged
scale4 . One end of the shield is completely closed
against the ® ring hood so that the air in® ltration takes
place at the other end of the shield. The air ¯ ow in the
annular space between the calciner shell and the heat shield
is of a turbulent nature which enhances the heat transfer

Figure 3. Heat ¯ ows considered in the development of the model. Figure 4. Temperature pro® les along the kiln.

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 SIMULATION AND CONTROL OF AN INDUSTRIAL ROTARY CALCINER
Table 1. Comparison of simulation and actual plant data, at the
discharge end.
Simulation Actual plant data
Calciner gas temperature 502.84K 495±530K
Solid spill temperature 466.25K 435±465K
Calciner shell temperature 361.01K 340±370K
Soda ash content of the product 88.80% 85±93%
from the hot calciner shell to the in® ltrated air. As the air
¯ ows from the in® ltration end to the ® ring end of the kiln, it
recovers energy from the shell. This leads to a decrease in
shell temperature and the air enters the kiln at a higher
temperature than the ambient temperature.
MATHEMATICAL MODEL
The mathematical model used for the simulations was
derived from mass and heat balance methods proposed
by Manitus et al.6 and Dumont and Belanger7 . Kim and
Srivastava1, 2, 3,4 used these equations as a basis for the
calciner under study. The equations modelling the heat
shield are also based on the research conducted by the
above-mentioned authors4.
Mass Transfer Equations
As solid material is heated up, free moisture contained
within it vaporizes (i.e. the solid dries). Due to the
decomposition reaction, carbon dioxide and water
vapour evolve from the solid particles. These result in a
decreasing solids ¯ ow rate, Qm , and increasing gas ¯ ow
rate, Qg, down the length of the calciner. The mass
balance for the solid can be written as:
1 d
(Q ) + d (Q )
Vm d t m d l m = - d
(R + R g) (2)
where R d is the rate of drying, depending on the free
moisture content of the solid, geometry of solid
distribution and the heat transfer coe cient between
the gas and solid. R g is the rate at which gaseous products
are formed according to reaction stoichiometry and the
rate of reaction. V m is the velocity of the solid particles
inside the calciner, which depends on parameters such as
the slope, diameter, length, rate of revolution of the
calciner, the physical characteristics of the solid in the
Figure 5. Temperature of pro® les along the combustion zone.
Trans IChemE, Vol 74, Part A, November 1996
903
Figure 6. Comparison of soda ash concentrations.
bare zones, and the dynamics of particle movement in
the gas stream in the lifter zone4.
The gaseous products of the reaction and evaporated
moisture join the gas phase, and thus the mass balance
for the kiln gas can be written as:
1 d
(Qg) + d (Qg) = R d + R g (3a)
Vg td d l
where V g is the velocity of the kiln gas. In the combustion
zone, it is assumed that the ¯ ame combustion products
are mixed linearly with the calciner gas. Taking this into
consideration, the mass balance for the calciner gas for
the ® rst 6 m of the kiln can be written as:
1 d
(Q ) + d (Q ) R + R g + d (Qc)
Vg d t g d l g = d
(3b)
d l
where Qc is the ¯ ow rate of the ¯ ame combustion
products.
Heat Transfer Equations
There are six main heat ¯ ow pathways calculated for
the entire length of the calciner, namely: H gm , from the
calciner gas to the solid material; Hgw, from the calciner
gas to the calciner wall; Hwm, from the calciner wall to the
solid material; H vg , from the evaporated vapour to the
calciner gas; H ev, consumed by the evaporation of free
moisture; and Hre, consumed by the endothermic
reaction. H vg , H ev and Hre become signi® cant in the
lifter zone, where the increased contact area between the
solid material and kiln gas causes drying and the reaction
to proceed faster. In addition, there are seven more heat
¯ ow pathways that should be considered along the
combustion zone, four of which arise from the presence
of the heat shield: Hws, from calciner wall to the heat
shield; Hsb , from the heat shield to the in® ltrated air; H wb ,
from the calciner wall to the in® ltrated air; and Hso , from
the heat shield to the ambient. The other three ¯ ows are
Table 2. Comparison of simulation and actual soda ash contents.
Simulation Actual plant data
Soda ash content of the solids at
5 metres from the feet end 63.94% 62±67%
12 metres from the feet end 80.78% 74±79%
17 metres from the feet end 86.88% 80±87%
904 CIFTCI and KIM

Table 3. Typical operating conditions for the calciner.

Trona ore feed rate, tons/hr 200

Natural gas rate, tons/hr 4.2
Combustion (primary) air rate, tons/hr 92.4
Trona ore feed composition, % mas
Sodium sesquicarbonate 90.83
Free moisture 0.72
Insolubles 8.45
Combustion and in® ltrated air composition
O2 22.93
N2 76.77
H2 O 0.72
Trona ore feed temperature, K 280
Combustion air temperature, K 280
In® ltrated air temperature, K 280
Ambient air temperature, K 280
Figure 8. Pro® les of heat shield temperature with changing ambient
temperature.

involved with the ¯ ame in the combustion zone, namely: 1 d

Hfg, from ¯ ame to the calciner gas; H fm , from ¯ ame to the (Qb CbT b ) = - d (Qb Cb Tb ) + Hwb + H sb (7)
solid material; and Hfw, from ¯ ame to the calciner wall. Vb d t d l
After the combustion zone, the rest of the kiln is exposed d
d t w w w = fw
to the surrounding air. Therefore, for the rest of the kiln, (M C T ) H + Hgw - H wm - Hwb - Hws (8a)
Hwo (heat ¯ ow from the calciner wall to the ambient)
should be considered instead of the heat ¯ ow pathways d
d t w w w = fw
(M C T ) H + Hgw - H wm - Hwo (8b)
related to the heat shield.
The above mentioned heat ¯ ows are shown in Figure 3. d
d t s s s = ws - sb - so
The direction of the heat ¯ ow is indicated via arrows. (M C T ) H H H (9)
However, heat ¯ ows H vg , Hre and Hev cannot be assigned
any direction. These ¯ ows are represented by circles in where Cg , Cm , Cb , Cw and Cs are the speci® c heats and T g,
order to distinguish them from the other ¯ uxes4 . Taking T m , T b , T w and T s are the temperatures of the calciner
these ¯ ows into consideration, the heat balance equations
for the calciner can be written as:
1 d d
Vg d t g g g = - d l g g g
(Q C T ) (Q C T ) + Hfg + Hvg
- H gm - Hgw (4)
1 d
(QmCm T m) = - d (Qm CmT m ) + H gm + Hwm
Vm d t d l
+ H fm - Hev - H re (5)
1 d d
(QcCcT f) = - (QcCcT f) - Hfw - Hfm - Hfg
Vg d t d l
(6)

Figure 9a. Dynamic response of the calciner wall and heat shield
temperatures to step changes of ± 5% in the sodium sesquicarbonate
Figure 7. Pro® les of calciner shell temperature with changing ambient content of the feed ore (from the steady state value of 90.83%): At 3m
temperature. from the feed end.

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 SIMULATION AND CONTROL OF AN INDUSTRIAL ROTARY CALCINER
Figure 9b. Dynamic response of the system to step changes of ± 5% in
the sodium sesquicarbonate content of the feed ore (from the steady
state value of 90.83%): At the discharge end.
gas, solids, in® ltrated (bulk) air, calciner wall and heat
shield, respectively. Cc is the speci® c heat of the ¯ ame
combustion products and T f is the ¯ ame temperature. Qb
is the mass ¯ ow rate of the in® ltrated air, and M w and M s
are the per unit length masses of the calciner wall and the
heat shield, respectively.
STEADY STATE SIMULATION
Steady state pro® le computation for the kiln requires
the solution of ® ve independent, nonlinear, ordinary
di erential equations and two algebraic equations. The
ordinary di erential equations are obtained by setting
the time derivatives in equations (2) through (7) equal to
zero. Setting the time derivatives of equations (8) and (9)
gives the algebraic equations. To solve this system of
equations, it is necessary to know the in® ltrated air
temperature at the feed end (L = 0 m). However, since
this temperature is not available immediately, a suitable
value is assumed and the simulation is carried out up to
6 m from the feed end. At this point, the computed
in® ltrated air temperature is compared to the ambient
temperature. If the di erence between two temperatures
is less than 1 K, the simulation is then completed.
Trans IChemE, Vol 74, Part A, November 1996
905
Figure 10a. Dynamic response of the calciner wall and heat shield
temperatures to step changes of ± 0.5% in the free moisture content of
the feed ore (from the steadystate valueof 0.72%):At 3m from the feed
end.
Otherwise, a new value is assumed for the in® ltrated
air temperature and the computations are restarted at
L = 0 m.
Figure 4 shows the temperature pro® les of the solid
material, calciner wall and kiln gas. These pro® les show
sharp variations at 6 m from the feed end of the kiln. This
is the point where the ® rst row of the lifters start; because
they keep showering the solid particles through the hot
gas stream, the heat and mass transfer rates increase
greatly. The kiln gas loses heat to the solids and the
calciner wall, thus its temperature starts to decrease. The
solid temperature thereby rises until it reaches the
temperature at which the reaction starts and energy is
consumed within the solid due to the endothermic
reaction. After this point, the temperature of the solid
rises more slowly until the reaction is complete. In
comparison to the rest of the kiln, the calciner wall
temperature in the combustion zone is high as a
consequence of the heat transferred to it from the
¯ ame. In the lifter zone, however, the calciner wall
temperature decreases. Table 1 presents the available
plant data8, 9 and simulated values of calciner gas
temperature, solid spill temperature, calciner shell
temperature and soda ash content of the product at the
discharge end for comparison.
The temperature pro® les of the calciner wall, heat
shield and in® ltrated air along the combustion zone are
presented in Figure 5. The calciner wall temperature in
the absence of the heat shield is also presented for
comparison. A closer look at the kiln wall temperature
reveals that the shell does not su er from overheating
906 CIFTCI and KIM
Figure 10b. Dynamic response of the system to step changes of ± 0.5%
in the free moisture content of the feed ore (from the steady state value
of 0.72%): At the discharge end.
in the presence of the heat shield. Both heat shield
and in® ltrated air are at their highest temperature at
the feed end, decreasing towards the end of combus-
tion zone where air is in® ltrated at the ambient
temperature.
Steady State Simulation at a Lower Natural Gas Flow
Rate
According to Kim and Srivastava4 the heat shield
should reduce heat loss due to air in® ltration. If this is
true, the same product quality should be achievable at a
lower natural gas ¯ ow rate. To test this possibility,
steady state simulations were run at a 5% lower natural
gas ¯ ow rate (typical operating conditions for the
calciner are given in Table 3). Since the main concern is
product quality, i.e. the soda ash concentration of the
product, only soda ash concentration pro® les along the
kiln are given in this paper. Figure 6 compares the soda
ash concentration of the product for full (4200 kg h- 1 )
and 5% lower natural gas ¯ ow rate. The soda ash
concentration of the product resulting from unshielded
kiln simulations at the full natural gas burning rate is
also plotted to demonstrate the e ciency of the heat
Figure 11a. Dynamic response of the calciner wall and heat shield
temperatures to step changes of ± 20tph in the feed rate (from the
steady state value of 200tph): At 3m from the feed end.
shield. The product quality achieved at the discharge end
remains the same for both full and 5% lower natural gas
burning rates, thus verifying up to this point the energy
saving bene® ts of the heat shield. In addition to this,
Figure 6 also shows that the reaction is faster when the
shield is utilized.
Simulated values and actual plant data8,9 (full natural
gas burning rate in the presence of the heat shield) for the
soda ash content of the solids at 5, 12 and 17 metres from
the feed end are given in Table 2 for comparison. It can be
concluded that the simulated values are rather realistic.
EŒect of Changing Ambient Temperature on Calciner
Shell and Heat Shield
Steady state computations show that a heat shield can
reduce the shell temperature. However, the e ect of the
ambient temperature on the calciner shell and heat shield
should also be investigated. Steady state pro® les for the
calciner shell and heat shield temperatures are obtained
at four di erent ambient temperatures. The results are
displayed in Figures 7 and 8, respectively. It can clearly
be seen that both the kiln shell and heat shield get
warmer with increasing ambient temperature. The kiln
shell temperature still remains below the critical
temperature10 (672 K) of mild steel even for the highest
ambient temperature considered.
DYNAMIC SIMULATION
Computation of the dynamic response of the calciner
requires the solution of the set of partial di erential
Trans IChemE, Vol 74, Part A, November 1996
 SIMULATION AND CONTROL OF AN INDUSTRIAL ROTARY CALCINER 907

Table 4. PID controller settings.

Kc 50.0 [(kg/hr)/K]
s I 2.778 ´ 10- 3 hr- 1
s D 6.944 ´ 10- 4 hr- 1

determining the extent to which various disturbances

a ect the system.

Step Changes in the Sesquicarbonate Content of the Feed

Ore
One of the major disturbances in calciner operation is
the sodium sesquicarbonate content of trona ore. Since
trona is mined at di erent sites, its sodium sesquicarbo-
nate content can vary between 85% and 98%.
The system response to a step change of ± 5% in
sodium sesquicarbonate content of the feed ore from the
stead state value of 90.83% is presented in Figures 9a
and 9b. The ± 5% means a 5% increase (or a 5%
decrease) in the magnitude of the disturbance. The
positive change has been simulated ® rst and the negative
counterpart is shown in parentheses. The most important
change caused by these disturbances is an increase
(decrease) in the unreacted sodium sesquicarbonate
content of the product. By increasing (decreasing) the
sodium sesquicarbonate content of the feed, the total
amount of reactants entering the system is actually
increased (reduced). To end up with the same degree of

Figure 11b. Dynamic responseof the system to step changesof ± 20tph in

the feed rate(fromthe steadystatevalueof 200tph):At thedischargeend.

equations (2) through (9). Variations in the radial

direction are averaged to simplify these equations.
Therefore, the temperatures of the calciner gas, solids,
¯ ame, in® ltrated air, kiln shell and heat shield are
functions of time and position along the calciner shell
only. This assumption is fairly close to the actual
conditions, especially for the solid and kiln gas since
they are well mixed.

Open-Loop Response of the System and Discussion

The open loop response of the system was generated
for step disturbances in three principal inputs; the
sesquicarbonate content of the feed ore, the free moisture
content of the feed ore, and the feed ore rate. The
response of the calciner shell and the heat shield is
presented at 3 m from the feed end, because this point
was noted to be the hottest spot of the kiln shell for
steady state computation. Variations in calciner gas and
material temperatures, and concentration are presented
at the discharge end. Concentration pro® les are pre-
sented in terms of unreacted sesquicarbonate content of Figure 12a. Closed loop response of the calciner wall and heat shield
the solids. The sesquicarbonate content of the product temperatures to step changes of ± 5% in the sodium sesquicarbonate
should always be close to 0% for satisfactory kiln content of the feed ore (from the steady state value of 90.83%): At 3m
operation. This serves as the common reference value in from the feed end.

Trans IChemE, Vol 74, Part A, November 1996

908 CIFTCI and KIM
Figure 12b. Closed loop responseof the system to step changes of ± 5% in the sodium sesquicarbonatecontent of the feed ore (from the steady state
value of 90.83%). Natural gas ¯ ow rate at the feed end, rest of the system variables at the discharge end. PID control on o -gas temperature.
conversion as in the steady state; more (less) energy has
to be supplied into the system. No manipulations are
made for open loop simulations, with the result that for
the positive disturbance some of the sodium sesquicar-
bonate in the feed remains unreacted and slows up in the
product, whereas overcalcination is observed for the
negative disturbances.
While analysing the response of the system, one
important thing to keep in mind is the reaction rate.
Since the reaction is ® rst order with respect to sodium
sesquicarbonate, its rate increases (decreases) with increas-
ing (decreasing) sodium sesquicarbonate concentration.
Therefore, for a + 5% disturbance case, all of the additional
sodium sesquicarbonate does not end up in the spill.
Figure 9a shows the dynamic response of the calciner
wall and heat shield temperatures at 3m from the feed end.
Calciner wall and heat shield temperatures are directly
dependent on ¯ ame, kiln gas, material, in® ltrated air,
ambient temperatures, and on each other. In the combus-
tion zone, no reaction is taking place, and the above
mentioned temperatures thereby remain constant. There-
fore, pro® les of calciner wall and heat shield temperatures
remain ¯ at for both disturbances, as might be expected.
Figure 9b shows the pro® les of selected system
variables at the discharge end. The reaction starts to
take place once the solid enters the lifter zone. Due to the
increased (decreased) sodium sesquicarbonate concen-
tration, the reaction rate is also increased (reduced). The
increased (reduced) reaction rate causes the material
temperature to drop (rise) due to its endothermic nature.
This results in a decrease (rise) in kiln gas temperature,
because it now loses more (less) heat to the cold solid.
Notably, the increase (decrease) in sodium sesquicarbo-
nate content of the solid is not exactly 5% (or - 5%) at this
point due to the increased (reduced) consumption of the
reactant according to the rate law. The dead time observed
for solid temperature is almost the same as that observed
for sodium sesquicarbonate concentration, whereas the
dead time of gas temperature is much less, because of the
velocity di erence between the solid and the kiln gas.
Step Changes in the Free Moisture Content of the Feed
Ore
Free moisture content of the feed ore varies as a result
of changes in climate and storage conditions. Figures 10a
and 10b display the system response to step changes of
± 0.5% in free moisture in the feed ore, from the steady
state value of 0.72%.
Because of the additional (reduced) moisture, the
evaporation rate from solid to the gas increases (decreases)
and causes the solid temperature to drop (rise) below its
steady state value. A larger (smaller) amount of moisture
joins the hot gas stream and the kiln gas loses a greater
(smaller) amount of heat to it. Therefore, the kiln gas
temperature also decreases (increases). These reductions
(rises) in solid and gas temperatures result in a slower
(faster) reaction and increase (decrease) the unreacted
sodium sesquicarbonate concentration of the spill.
Figure 10a presents the change in calciner wall and
heat shield temperatures at 3 m, from the feed end.
Calciner wall temperature is dependent on kiln gas and
solid temperatures, which are reduced (raised) due to the
increased (decreased) evaporation rate. As a consequence,
Trans IChemE, Vol 74, Part A, November 1996
 SIMULATION AND CONTROL OF AN INDUSTRIAL ROTARY CALCINER
Figure 13a. Closed loop response of the calciner wall and heat shield
temperatures to step changes of ± 0.5% in the free moisture content of
the feed ore (from the steadystate valueof 0.72%): At 3m from the feed
end.
the wall temperature drops (rises) below (above) its steady
state value and causes the heat shield temperature also to
drop (rise) because of the direct dependency.
The response of the system at the discharge end is
displayed in Figure 10b. Calciner gas and solid material
temperatures decline (rise) from their steady state values
and the unreacted sodium sesquicarbonate content of the
® nal product increases (decreases) due to the reasons
mentioned in the two preceding paragraphs.
Step Changes in the Feed Rate
Variation of the feed rate is among the most commonly
encountered disturbances in chemical industry. The
calciner under study is designed to handle feed rates
between 160tph and 240 tph. Figures 11a and 11b present
the system response to step changes of ± 20 tph in ore feed
rate from the steady state value of 200 tph.
Increased (reduced) feed rate requires an increased
(reduced) energy supplement to achieve the same conver-
sion as the steady state. Since the fuel rate is not increased
(reduced), unreacted sodium sesquicarbonate concentra-
tion in the product is expected to increase (drop).
As can be seen from Figure 11a, wall and shield
temperatures decline (rise) from their steady state values.
Increased (reduced) feed rate increases (reduces) the solid
holdup within the kiln. This diminishes (increases)
the area of the kiln wall exposed to the hot kiln gas
and increases (decreases) the contact area between the
cold solid and kiln wall. Consequently, calciner wall
temperature decreases (rises) and causes the shield
Trans IChemE, Vol 74, Part A, November 1996
909
temperature also to decrease (rise), because it cannot
radiate as much (little) energy as in the steady state case.
Figure 11b presents the response of the system at the
discharge end. Due to the increased (diminished) solid area
exposed to the gas, the kiln gas loses more (less) energy to
the solid and its temperature decreases (rises) greatly.
However, this is not enough to avoid the reduction (rise) in
material temperature, since the solid mass per unit length
of the kiln is increased (decreased). This reduction (rise) in
solid temperature causes the reaction rate to decrease
(increase) and as a result unreacted sodium sesquicarbo-
nate concentration increases (drops).
Previous Control Schemes in the Absence of the Heat
Shield
As mentioned in the introduction, the closed loop
response under simple PID feedback control schemes
and advanced control systems has been reported in the
absence of the heat shield3, 4. Product sodium sesqui-
carbonate content, spill temperature and kiln o gas
temperature were the controlled variables of three
di erent PID schemes. The ® rst two schemes exhibited
a large dead time due to the large retention time of
solids in the kiln 4. The third control scheme had a
shorter dead time in comparison to the previous two,
however it was not very successful in meeting the control
objective4 . Later, a cascade control scheme with product
temperature control as the primary loop and o gas
temperature control as the secondary loop was designed.
The closed loop response was found to be quicker and the
peak deviations from the steady state values were found to
be lower4. Finally, a feedforward control scheme was
developed. The input-output model in the vicinity of the
steady state was derived, and this scheme successfully met
the control objective in this region4 .
Current PID Control Scheme for the Calciner
The controller designed in this study is a PID feedback
scheme, simple yet proven to be e ective. The Ziegler-
Nichols tuning method11 is used to calculate the
controller settings which are given in Table 4. Natural
gas ¯ ow rate to the burner is the manipulated variable,
whereas o -gas temperature is taken as the controlled
variable. Taking the o gas temperatureas the controlled
variable has two advantages.
1. The kiln gas has a much smaller retention time in
comparison to the solid, hence there is less dead time
observed in the response of the system.
2. Gas temperature may easily be measured on-line with
the help of thermocouples.
The closed loop response of the system to step changes
in various system inputs is then simulated to evaluate the
performance of the designed control scheme.
Closed-Loop System Response to Step Disturbances in
Sodium Sesquicarbonate Content of the Feed Ore
In checking the performance of the PID feedback
controller, one of the disturbances introduced to the
910
Figure 13b. Closed loop responseof the system to step changes of ± 0.5% in the free moisture content of the feed ore (from the steady state value of
0.72%). Natural gas ¯ ow rate at the feed end, rest of the system variables at the discharge end. PID control on o -gas temperature.
system is a step change of ± 5% in the sodium
sesquicarbonate content of the feed ore. The simulated
closed loop system response is presented in Figures 12a
and 12b.
The controlled variable, o gas temperature, shows
some minor oscillations for the ® rst 60 minutes, whereas
relatively large oscillations can be observed for the
manipulated variable, natural gas ¯ ow rate, before it
stabilizes. Increasing (decreasing) the sodium sesquicarbo-
nate content of the feed ore increases (decreases) the
amount of energy that should be supplied to the system.
Therefore, natural gas ¯ ow rate is stabilizing at a higher
(lower) ¯ ow rate for an increased (decreased) sodium
sesquicarbonate concentration of the feed ore as expected.
Unreacted sodium sesquicarbonate of the spill remains
within the speci® ed limit for satisfactory kiln operation.
The material temperature is stabilized within a range of
± 5 K of its steady state value.
In the combustion zone the main source of heat
transferred to the calciner wall is the radiation from the
¯ ame. Increasing (decreasing) natural gas ¯ ow rate to the
burner increases (decreases) the heat transferred to the
kiln wall. Consequently, the manipulations on the
natural gas ¯ ow rate in¯ uence the calciner wall
temperature which in turn causes the heat shield
temperature to rise or fall accordingly.
Closed-Loop System Response to Step Disturbances in
Free Moisture Content of the Feed Ore
The second disturbance introduced to the system to
CIFTCI and KIM
test the designed feedback controller is of the free
moisture content of the feed ore. The free moisture
content of the feed ore may vary depending on storage
conditions and climate. Step changes of ± 0.5% are
introduced to the system to examine the performance
of the calculated PID settings. (See Figures 13a, and
13b).
The controlled variable, o gas temperature, shows
minor oscillations for 50 minutes before reaching its
steady state value. Increasing (decreasing) free moisture
content of the feed requires more (less) energy to dry the
feed (i.e. to vaporize the free moisture of the feed), hence,
the manipulated variable, natural gas ¯ ow rate, is
increased (lowered) accordingly. The unreacted sodium
sesquicarbonate concentration is maintained below
0.2%, and the material temperature reaches steady
state within ± 2 K of its initial value.
Once more, an increase (decrease) in natural gas ¯ ow
rate results in a rise (fall) in both calciner wall and heat
shield temperatures.
Closed-Loop System Response to Step Disturbances in
Feed Rate
The ® nal disturbance introduced to the system is of the
ore feed rate. The system response to a step change of
± 20 tph is simulated, and the resulting pro® les are shown
in Figures 14a and 14b.
O gas temperature is observed to have some
oscillations with a peak amplitude of ± 0.2 K. Raising
(reducing) the feed rate requires an increased (reduced)
Trans IChemE, Vol 74, Part A, November 1996
 SIMULATION AND CONTROL OF AN INDUSTRIAL ROTARY CALCINER
Figure 14a. Closed loop response of the calciner wall and heat shield
temperatures to step changes of ± 20tph in the feed rate (from the
steady state value of 200tph): At 3m from the feed end.
Figure 14b. Closed loop responseof the system to step changes of ± 20tph in the feed rate (from the steady state value of 200tph). Natural gas ¯ ow
rate at the feed end, rest of the system variables at the discharge end, PID control on o -gas temperature.
Trans IChemE, Vol 74, Part A, November 1996
911
energy supplement to achieve the same conversion as in
the steady state case. Hence, natural gas ¯ ow rate reaches
steady state at a higher (lower) value for an increase
(decrease) in the feed rate. Since the PID control is at o -
gas temperature, it is not possible to keep the solid
material temperature exactly at its steady state value.
The o set in material temperature is ± 12 K. Looking at
the unreacted sodium sesquicarbonate concentration of
the spill, one can conclude that after steady state is
reached, the product quality is still maintained with an
increase in the feed rate. Conversely decrease in the feed
rate results in a rapidly decreasing unreacted sodium
sesquicarbonate concentration.
As in the previous case, calciner wall and heat shield
temperatures are dependent on the heat dissipated from
the ¯ ame. Consequently an increase (decrease) in natural
gas ¯ ow rate is re¯ ected as a rise (fall) in both
temperatures.
CONCLUDING REMARKS
In this study both steady state and dynamic models for
soda ash calciner with a heat shield around its combus-
tion zone were examined. Via computer simulation, it
has been veri® ed that the heat shield helps to reduce
energy loss due to air in® ltration at the feed end of the
calciner. The e ect of the ambient temperature on
calciner shell and heat shield was also investigated.
Both the kiln shell and the heat shield were found to get
warmer with increasing ambient temperature. The
responses of open loop simulations showed a similarity
912 CIFTCI and KIM

to the actually observed behaviour of the calciner. 2. Kim, N. K. and Srivastava, R., 1990, Simulation and control of an
However, a quantitative comparison, though highly industrial calciner, Ind Eng Chem Res, 29: 71.
3. Kim, N. K. and Srivastava, R., 1991, Computer simulation of an
desirable, is not available at this point. The primary industrialcalciner with an improved control scheme, IndEng Chem
control objective for the calciner system is to maintain Res, 30: 594.
the unreacted sodium sesquicarbonate content of the 4. Kim, N. K. and Srivastava, R., 1993, Design of a heat shield and
product between 0% and 0.2%. The closed loop advanced control systems for a rotary calciner, Chem Eng Comm,
122: 171.
simulations indicate that the designed PID controller 5. Kim, N. K., Lyon, J. E. and Suryanarayana, N. V., 1986, Heat
can meet the control objective. Heat transfer in the shields for high temperaturekilns, Ind Eng Chem Process Des Dev,
combustion zone is dominated by radiation from the 25: 843.
¯ ame. Therefore, variations in calciner shell and heat 6. Manitus, A., Kurcyvsz, E. and Kawecki, W., 1974, Mathematical
shield temperatures are directly connected to the model of the aluminium oxide rotary kiln, Ind Eng Chem Process
Des Dev 13: 841.
manipulated variable, natural gas ¯ ow rate. 7. Dumont, G. and Belanger, P. R., 1978, Steady state study of
a titanium dioxide rotary kiln, Ind Eng Chem Process Des Dev, 17:
107.
NOMENCLATURE 8. Srivastava,R., 1988, Simulation and controlof an industrial calciner,
Cb , Cc , Cg , Cm , Cs , Cw speci® c heat of the in® ltrated air, ¯ ame Master’s Thesis (Michigan Technological University, USA).
combustion products, calciner gas, solids, 9. Srivastava, R., 1992, Simulation of an industrialrotary kiln for the
heat shield, and the calciner wall, purpose of control system and energy conservation studies, PhD
kcalkg- 1 K - 1 Diss (Michigan Technological University, USA).
H ev , Hfg, Hfm, H fw, H gm heat ¯ ows de® ned in the text, kcalhr- 1 m- 1 10. Clarke, L. and Davidson, R., 1962, Manual for Process Engineering
H gw, Hre, H vg, Hsb , H so , Calculations, 2nd ed., (McGraw-Hill, New York, USA).
H wb , Hwm , Hws , Hwo 11. Stephanopoulos,G., 1984, Chemical ProcessControl(Prentice-Hall
l length, m Inc., Englewood Cli s, New Jersey, USA).
Ms mass per unit length of the shield, kgm- 1
Mw mass per unit length of the calciner wall,
kgm- 1
Qb , Qc , Qg, Qm ¯ ow rate of the in® ltrated air, ¯ ame ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
combustion products, calciner gas, and the
solids, kghr- 1 The authorswould like to dedicatethis paper to Esen Ciftci, the only
Rd , Rg rate of drying and rate of production of sister of the ® rst author, who passed away last winter by a tra c
gaseous products,kghr- 1 accident. We acknowledge the Chemical Engineering Department of
Sq sodium sesquicarbonatecontent of the solids, Michigan Technological University for the ® nancial and computer
% mass support during this study.
t time, hr
T am , T b , T f, T g, temperature of the ambient, in® ltrated air,
Tm , Ts, Tw ¯ ame, calciner gas, solids, heat shield, and
calciner wall, K ADDRESS
V g, V m velocity of the calciner gas and the velocityof
the solids, m hr- 1 Correspondence concerning this paper should be addressed to
Professor N. K. Kim, Department of Chemical Engineering, Michigan
TechnologicalUniversity, 1400 Townsend Drive, Houghton, Michigan
49931-1295, USA.
REFERENCES
1. Kim, N. K.,Srivastava, R. and Lyon, J., 1988, Simulation of an The manuscript was communicated via our InternationalEditor for the
industrial calciner with trona ore decomposition, Ind Eng Chem USA, Professor J. O. Wilkes. It was received 30 October 1995 and
Res, 27: 1194. accepted for publication after revision 7 May 1996.

Trans IChemE, Vol 74, Part A, November 1996