There is provided a kiln assembly comprising a kiln having an external heat supply and a heat treatment chamber configured to contain material to be processed, the heat treatment chamber including a hot section wherein the material flowing therein is heated by the external heat supply; a pre-heating section; a cooling section; and a heat transfer conduit circuit. The pre-heating, hot, and cooling sections are in material communication. The heat transfer conduit circuit forms a closed loop in which circulates a heat transfer fluid and has a pre-heating segment and a cooling segment respectively in heat exchange with the pre-heating and the cooling sections. The heat transfer fluid respectively releases heat to the material located in the pre-heating section and absorbs heat from the material located in the cooling section. There is also provided a method for recovering heat during operation of a kiln assembly.

The invention provides a powder-gas heat exchanger for exchanging heat between a powder stream and a gas stream in counter-current flow comprising a powder stream mass flow rate substantially equal to a gas stream mass flow rate in a vertical shaft heat exchanger. A hot gas stream may be adapted for use in heating a cool solids stream, or a cool gas stream may be adapted for use in cooling a hot solids stream.

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 of producing cement clinker and a second calcined material, wherein the cement clinker is produced in a first production line and the second calcined material is produced from a raw material in a second production line by carrying out the following procedures e) optionally drying the raw material in a dryer, g) calcining the optionally dried raw material in a rotary kiln to obtain the second calcined material, wherein the sensible heat of a hot gas in the first production line is used as a heat source in the calcining step g) for calcining the raw material, and wherein the rotary kiln exhaust gas coming from the calcining step g) is introduced into the first production line for the secondary combustion of the rotary kiln exhaust gas.