Numerical modelling of calcination reaction mechanism for cement production

Calcination is a thermo-chemical process, widely used in the cement industry, where limestone is converted by thermal decomposition into lime CaO and carbon dioxide CO2. The focus of this paper is on the implementation and validation of the endothermic calcination reaction mechanism of limestone in a commercial finite volume based CFD code. This code is used to simulate the turbulent flow field, the temperature field, concentrations of the reactants and products, as well as the interaction of particles with the gas phase, by solving the mathematical equations, which govern these processes. For calcination, the effects of temperature, decomposition pressure, diffusion and pore efficiency were taken into account. A simple three-dimensional geometry of a pipe reactor was used for numerical simulations. To verify the accuracy of the modelling approach, the numerical predictions were compared with experimental data, yielding satisfying results and proper trends of physical parameters influencing the process.

► Calcination process was investigated and a reaction mechanism was modelled.
► Numerical model was tested on a single particle in a single mesh cube.
► The calcination model was validated by simulating the IFRF pipe reactor.
► Presented model is in good agreement with the reported experimental measurements.