ATLAS COPCO | HEIDELBERGCEMENT AG

HeidelbergCement making savings with new compressed air supply

1 Mill house and tyre storage: the rotary kiln can be operated with up to 100 % waste-derived fuel. In addition to plastics, used tyres, solvents and animal meal are used as a source of energy

2 The new compressed air station was commissioned in March 2015. A speed-controlled GA 90 VSD screw compressor from Atlas Copco feeds the compressed air together with three other GA-90 compressors into the 6.5-bar plant network

3 In the winter months, an adsorption dryer lowers the dew point of the compressed air so far that no condensation can form in the pipelines

4 In the warm months of the year, the more economical refrigerant dryer prepares the compressed air

5 Before the compressed air is fed into the adsorption or refrigerant dryer, it passes through an active coal and fine dust filter

All Atlas Copco Kompressoren und Drucklufttechnik

Panorama of the 70-m-high heat exchanger tower. The Lengfurt cement plant has been a feature in the region since 1899, the aspects of environmental protection and energy efficiency are firmly anchored in the company philosophy

All Atlas Copco Kompressoren und Drucklufttechnik

At HeidelbergCement AG’s plant in Triefenstein-Lengfurt, around 400 t fuels are used daily in the rotary kiln. It is therefore important to exploit all saving potential, not only in the process engineering. A new efficiency level has now been achieved with the modernization of the compressed air supply with four new GA-screw compressors from Atlas Copco. As a result, HeidelbergCement is saving 150 000 kWh in electricity per annum.

For its daily production of 3000 t clinker, the rotary kiln measuring 78 m in length and 5.2 m in diameter needs around 400 t fuel per day.

In view of such a huge amount of energy, isn’t the efficiency of the compressed air station negligible? “No way,” explains Dominik Azadi, Head of Maintenance and responsible for the energy management system at Lengfurt cement plant owned by HeidelbergCement AG. “Naturally, the fuels as energy sources account for the largest part of our energy consumption. This, however, is necessitated by the process. For this reason, we, naturally, look at other areas for...