Image: Nordkalk AB
PhD project within the Industrial Doctoral School at Umeå University. The project ended on 31 May 2024 when Karin Sandström defended her dissertation.
The project focuses on the impact of new fuels and fuel ash product quality and process performance in the production of quicklime and cement clinker. The overall goal is to be able to describe the impact of ash and fuels on the processes' availability, energy efficiency and emissions, as well as on product quality.
Nordkalk AB, SMA Mineral AB, Cementa AB, Umeå university, Swedish Mineral Processing Research association (MinFo)
3 000 000 kr
The production of cement clinker and quicklime requires high temperatures, which is energy-intensive and with large carbon dioxide emissions as a result. Today, fossil fuels are mainly used for this purpose. When using alternative fuels and fuel mixtures, it must be noted that the processes are directly fired, which means that the flame, ash and combustion gases are in direct contact with the product, which affects both process and product quality.
The purpose of my doctoral project is to describe ash and the impact of fuels on the processes' availability, energy efficiency and emissions, as well as on product quality. The work includes characterization of fuels and their ashes through laboratory work, chemical equilibrium calculations, predictive process simulations and experimental full-scale experiments. The overall goal is to generate new knowledge and expertise on how new fuels can contribute to more sustainable production of quicklime and cement clinker.
