TOTeM 33 gathered 40 speakers and delegates at Santa Croce in Fossabanda in Pisa earlier this month.   The topic on this occasion was “Challenges in Rotary Kiln Combustion Processes”, with the TOTeM attempting to cover rotary kiln use in the cement, lime, and pulp & paper sectors.  The IFRF is pleased to announce that the slides used by the speakers at TOTeM 33 are now available for download by IFRF Members, together with summaries of the presentations made by the two rapporteurs, as well as the main conclusions from the TOTeM. 

Presentations available are:

• Rotary Kiln Operations – Problems and Solutions – Tom Lowes, CINAR Ltd, UK
• Chemical Issues in Cement Production – Kim Dam-Johansen, DTU Denmark
• Chemical Issues and Ring Formation in Lime Kilns – Honghi Tran, University of Toronto, Canada
• Lime Kiln Flue Gas Emissions – Present Status and Challenges – Mika Kottila, Andritz Oy, Finland
• Burning Alternative Fuels in Cement Kilns – Morten Boberg Larsen, F L Smidth, Denmark
• Burning Alternative Fuels in Pebble Lime Kilns – Cliff Rennie, Lime Kiln Systems, UK
• Effects of Burning Alternative Fuels in Lime Kiln Flames – Terry Adams, TN Adams Consulting, USA
• Cement Kiln Modelling, Fred Lockwood, Imperial College London, UK
• Challenges in Lime Kiln Modelling – Jerry Yuan, Process Simulations Ltd, Canada

It was clear that rotary kiln users in the lime and cement sectors are facing specific as well as some common challenges.  These latter include:

• burning a wider range of alternative fuels more frequently than in the past
• problems of increased ring formation that result from the use of alternative fuels
• reducing NOx emissions

A significant number of ongoing research needs was identified, in particular:

• combustion characterisation of alternative kiln fuels
• rapid and reliable simulation of kiln firing processes

These and many other issues are summarised in the TOTeM 33 Conclusions.

The IFRF would like to thank all the speakers at TOTeM 33 for agreeing to share their presentations with IFRF Members.  For quick access to all the information click here.

TOTeM 34, “Industrial Furnaces for the Metals Industry” will take place in Tokyo from 22 to 24 July.  Details of the meeting will be published on the IFRF Events Calendar and in the MNM as soon as they become available.