Tilting Rotary Drum Furnace for Aluminum Oxide Calcination
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current methods for producing aluminum oxide calcinates are not flexible or economical, lacking direct control over process parameters and requiring rigid kiln systems that do not allow for quick adjustments to varying starting material properties.
Innovation Solution
The method involves calcining aluminum oxide-containing concentrates from processed aluminum salt slags in a tiltable rotary drum kiln, allowing for flexible control of burner intensity, rotation speed, inclination, and residence time, enabling production of high-quality calcinates with varying degrees of calcination.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If a rigid rotary kiln is used for calcination, then the equipment structure is simple and stable, but the process flexibility and ability to adjust parameters are poor
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs a tilting rotary drum furnace instead of a rigid rotary kiln, allowing the furnace to be tilted to different angles during operation. This dynamic adjustment capability enables flexible control of material residence time, heating rate, and calcination degree, directly resolving the contradiction between process flexibility and equipment simplicity.
2Manufacturing precision
If the calcination temperature and time are increased to improve product quality, then the calcinate quality improves, but the energy consumption increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements a preheating zone before the main calcination zone, where incoming material is preheated by heat exchange with outgoing hot calcinate. This preliminary heating action reduces the temperature gap that needs to be bridged in the main calcination zone, thereby improving product quality while reducing overall energy consumption.
Solution Approach 2:
The rotary drum furnace operates continuously with material constantly moving through different thermal zones. The continuous rotation ensures uninterrupted heating and calcination processes, maintaining consistent product quality while optimizing energy utilization through continuous heat exchange between incoming and outgoing material streams.
3Manufacturing precision
If the material residence time is extended to achieve complete calcination, then the product quality improves, but the production efficiency decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The furnace is divided into distinct zones with different functional characteristics: a preheating zone, a main calcination zone, and a cooling zone. Material spends different amounts of time in each zone depending on the required calcination degree, allowing optimized residence time distribution that achieves complete calcination while maintaining high production efficiency.
Solution Approach 2:
The tilting angle of the rotary drum can be dynamically adjusted to control material flow rate and residence time. By increasing the tilt angle, material moves faster through the furnace (reducing residence time but maintaining calcination quality). By decreasing the tilt angle, material moves slower (increasing residence time for more complete calcination). This dynamic control resolves the contradiction between calcination completeness and production efficiency.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This approach enables cost-effective and reliable production of aluminum oxide calcinates, suitable for desulfurization of pig iron and refractory materials, with improved product quality and process adaptability compared to traditional methods.
Implementation Method 1
calcining the aluminum oxide-containing starting material in a tilting rotary drum furnace to produce a partially or completely calcined material
Implementation Method 2
dried, in particular by utilizing an exothermic post-reaction
Implementation Method 3
The remaining residue (salt and oxide impurities) is subjected to solid-liquid separation
Implementation Method 4
calcination is understood as the burning of a material with the aim of removing bound water and volatile components and sintering the particles together
Data Source
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AI summary
A process for the production of aluminium oxide calcinates, characterized by the following steps: providing an aluminium oxide-containing starting material, in particular an aluminium oxide-containing concentrate of a processed aluminium salt slag, and calcining the aluminium oxide-containing starting material in a tilting rotary drum furnace (10) to a partially or fully calcined material.