A shaft furnace for firing carbonate-containing material may include, in a flow direction of the material, a preheating zone, a firing zone, a cooling zone, and a material outlet for discharging the material from the shaft furnace. Burner lances project into the firing zone. At least one burner lance has a first penetration depth into the firing zone and at least one further burner lance has a second penetration depth into the firing zone that is greater than the first penetration depth. A primary air conduit may be configured to convey combustion air and may be connected to at least one burner lance. An oxygen conduit for conveying oxygen into the firing zone may be arranged such that oxygen flows from the oxygen conduit at least one burner lance having the second penetration depth.

A method for the thermal treatment of mineral raw materials such as limestone or dolomite is shown and described, which includes at least the following steps of a. providing a mineral bulk material and a conductive material and b. placing the mineral bulk material and the conductive material into a kiln, generating an electromagnetic field inside the kiln, thermally treating the mineral bulk material in the kiln by means of electromagnetic excitation of the conductive material in the electromagnetic field, and removing the thermally treated mineral bulk material and the conductive material from the kiln. Using the method described, even large quantities of mineral bulk material can be efficiently converted.

A cement production plant may include a preheater for preheating raw meal, a calciner for calcining the preheated raw meal, and a furnace with a furnace burner for firing the raw meal to form cement clinker. The furnace has a combustion gas inlet for admitting a combustion gas with an oxygen content of 30% to 75% into the furnace. The cement production plant may also include a cooler for cooling the cement clinker. The calciner and the furnace each have at least one respective fuel inlet for admitting at least one fuel into the calciner and the furnace. The calciner and the furnace each have at least one respective inert gas inlet for respectively admitting inert gas into the calciner and the furnace.

A cement clinker producing system, capable of providing a gas containing a carbon dioxide gas at a high concentration by increasing a carbon dioxide gas concentration for a part of an exhaust gas, includes a cyclone preheater to preheat a cement clinker raw material, a rotary kiln to burn the preheated cement clinker raw material so as to provide cement clinker, a calcination furnace to promote decarbonation of the cement clinker raw material, a clinker cooler to cool the cement clinker, a kiln exhaust-gas discharge passages to discharge an exhaust gas generated in the rotary kiln, a combustion-supporting gas supply device to supply a combustion-supporting gas having a higher oxygen concentration than air, a combustion-supporting gas supply passage to guide the combustion-supporting gas to the calcination furnace, and a calcination furnace exhaust-gas discharge passage to discharge a carbon dioxide gas-containing exhaust gas generated in the calcination furnace.

A method for producing burnt end products from an educt (starting raw materials) of carbonate-containing materials involves preheating the educt using heat recovered from the reaction. The educt and a fluidizing medium including steam are input into a first reaction zone. Heat is transferred to the first reaction zone using mechanical components so as to heat the first reaction zone to a predetermined temperature range for a predetermined time period. The educt is burned in the first reaction zone over the predetermined time period during which the first reaction zone is maintained within the predetermined temperature range. The hot gases that form in the first reaction zone include CO.sub.2 and steam. Hot end product is discharged from the first reaction zone after the predetermined time period elapses. Heat contained in the hot gases and end product that are discharged from the first reaction zone is used to preheat the educt.

Disclosed is a clinker production plant including: a preheating unit; a calcination unit; a kiln; and a cooler. The calcination assembly includes a calcination reactor for calcination by combustion of a solid so-called alternative fuel. The calcination reactor is arranged such that at least part of the combustion fumes from the kiln pass partly through the calcination reactor before entering the preheating unit, and a tertiary gas flow including air leaving the cooler passing at least in part through the calcination reactor before entering the preheating unit. The calcination reactor includes a system for controlling the residence time of the alternative solid fuel.

A method of producing clinker includes placing a pre-clinker mixture comprising a source of CaO into a starting material feed port in a vertically-oriented reaction chamber of a vertical reactor. The method includes placing a gaseous combustion mixture into the combustion mixture inlet. The method includes combusting the gaseous combustion mixture within the vertical reactor to heat the pre-clinker mixture, release CO 2 therefrom, and form the clinker therefrom. The method also includes removing the clinker from the product exit port.

An apparatus for production of burnt lime or dolomite has: a shaft furnace having a preheating zone, a reaction zone, a separation zone and a cooling zone; a first feed apparatus for CO.sub.2 at the boundary of the separation zone to the reaction zone; a first removal apparatus at the boundary of the cooling zone to the separation zone; a second removal apparatus for CO.sub.2 at the start of the preheating zone; and at least one heating apparatus, wherein the heating apparatus has a regenerator system.

The regenerator system has at least two regenerators, a preheater, a feed for fuel and a feed for fresh air; the second removal apparatus opens into the at least one heating apparatus; and the first feed apparatus is formed by the at least one heating apparatus for the shaft furnace.

The present invention relates to a rotary kiln for burning carbonate-containing material, in particular limestone or dolomite, including a rotary tube with an inlet end for the feeding of the material to be burned and an outlet end for the discharging of the burned material, the rotary tube having an inlet zone at its inlet end and an outlet zone at its outlet end wherein a preheating zone and a combustion zone are arranged between the inlet zone and outlet zone, the rotary kiln being characterized according to the invention in that in the inlet zone of the rotary tube at least one projection is provided, the at least one projection having at least one sliding surface inclined to the longitudinal axis of the rotary tube for conveying the material to be burned from the inlet zone into the preheating zone. The present invention further relates to a method for burning carbonate-containing material, in particular limestone or dolomite.

A calcination unit able to decarbonate raw materials intended for clinker production, the unit including: a main duct in which the raw materials circulate according to a first movement direction, the raw materials being calcined in the main duct; a solid fuel supply duct opening onto the main duct via a fuel outlet, the solid fuel moving according to a second movement direction; a retaining device located in the main duct and arranged opposite the solid fuel outlet so that the solid fuel arriving in the main duct via the fuel outlet passes through the retaining device.