Improving the coal-feeding conveying system in a Holcim cement plant
Aerzen has improved the pneumatic conveying coal feeding system to the main burner at the Holcim Colombia plant. The plant is located in Nobsa, a small town 2.5 h away from Bogotá. The plant capacity is about 3Mt/year of cement and has a market share in Colombia of 12 %, with high growth expectations following the establishment of the Lafarge Holcim joint venture in 2015.
In 2014, Aerzen USA optimised the pneumatic coal-conveying transport to the main burner, also known as the Pfister system. In this application, two Aerzen GM 35S tri-lobe blowers from the 1990s were in operation. Each machine operated at an intake volume flow of 37.4 m³/min, differential pressure of 600 mbar and with a 75 kW (100 HP) electric motor. The noise generated was calculated at 102 dB as the machines did not have acoustic hoods (local Colombian regulations define 80 dB as the maximum allowed noise level). Power consumption demand for the system was measured at an average of 54 kW per machine, which represented an annual energy cost of US$ 78000 (considering a kW cost of 0.1 USD$ and 20000 h MTBR – Mean Time Between Repairs).
At Holcim Colombia, each production area is independent in its operation. This makes upgrading projects for specific applications easier. At Holcim, the corporate policy says that every kW counts.
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