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Monarch's
Preheater Towers
There
are two separate
kilns in operation
at Monarch. They
consist of one preheater
kiln and one precalciner
kiln. Kilns #4 and
#5 were installed
in 1973 and 1975,
respectively, and
in 2001 Kiln #5 was
upgraded to a precalciner
kiln. Hot gases
from the fuel-fired
end of the kiln travel
through the kiln
and up through each
of the four stages
prior to being sent
to the baghouse or
roller mill. As the
hot gases rise up
the tower, raw kiln
feed is pneumatically
conveyed to the top
stages of the tower.
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As
the feed makes
its way down
the tower, it
absorbs heat
from the hot
gas, ultimately
reaching 2,000º
F at the entrance of the kiln.
The
rotation of the kiln causes the feed to move closer
to the clinkering point in the kiln, where the
final chemical reaction takes place at operating
temperatures in the 2,800º F range. The
duct work added in 1994 between the clinker coolers
and the baghouses acts as a heat exchanger. The
air from the clinker cooler enters through the
top of the unit and passes down these tubes where
fans blow cooler ambient air across the tubes
cooling the hot gases to a safe temperature range
before entering the Clinker Cooler Dust Collection
System.
An
exterior view of the #5 kiln
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