Several research and development breakthroughs in the field of refractories have led to advancements that have seen significant improvements in the reliability of refractory linings in furnaces across different mineral processing sectors.
Hence refractory lining life has been significantly stretched; however due to the adverse conditions inside furnaces, regular refractory maintenance stoppages remain inevitable. In the particular case of rotary kilns, considering their shapes and orientation; refractory installation gets more complex. Specialized technics have to be employed and attention is always biased towards reducing of the duration of each kiln refractory maintenance outages. Variations in outage duration may have a huge impact on a manufacturer’s competitiveness and profitability. This article is a brief overview of some tools that can be used to reduce the duration of outages.
Bricking Solutions and Brokk AB, are two of the most respected names in the refractory maintenance landscape. Their synergism as key players in the “circle of refractory maintenance system” has already met the unique needs of cement plants in over 75 countries worldwide. Birthed as a result of the companies’ continued focus on minimizing kiln downtime by creating products to improve safety, speed, and quality at every step in the refractory maintenance process. The “circle of refractory maintenance system simply defines a complete list of products that can be employed at every step of the kiln refractory maintenance process to contribute towards getting the kiln back in operation quicker and turning profits longer.
Each component of the circle of refractory maintenance system shall be briefly described below:
Bricking Machines: Custom designed for kiln diameters varying between 2.4M - 7.6M, not only is it the safest bricking machine in the industry, it is also the best.
Kiln Access Ramps: Kiln Access is a critical factor in the smooth operation of your refractory installation. Each ramp is custom designed by certified professional engineers and are made with high grade 6061 T6 aluminium, strong as steel and half the weight. Lightweight T6 aluminium construction is easy to handle and install, most ramps install in 1.5 - 2 hours. Typically, the reduction of downtime will recover the cost of a kiln ramp after one shutdown.
Safety Cages: Safety Inspection Cages allow personnel to safely enter the kiln from falling debris for patchwork or inspection. The new universal safety cage has been designed to be lighter and safer than previous models; one cage is suitable for kiln sizes ranging from 4M up to 6M.
Muck-it Bucket: The Muck-It-Bucket is designed to easily attach to skid steers and has a radiused bottom for easy removal of debris from the kiln
Radialign: The Radialign laser alignment device ensures refractory is installed perpendicular to the axis of the kiln.
Burner Alignment: The Burner Alignment device helps to ensure the optimal burner position.
Hydraulic Conveyor systems: The Hydraulic Conveyor is aluminum and modular so it is easy to set up to transport brick into the kiln. This is perfect for when there is no access for a fork lift to enter the kiln.
Inclined Conveyor: The electric Incline Conveyor allows for the transfer refractory from the kiln floor to the brick lining machine work platform. This is perfect for when there is no access for a fork lift to enter the kiln.
Port-A-Track: The Port-A-Trac is an aluminum, modular system for transporting full pallets of brick underneath your brick lining machine.
Suspended Platforms: The suspended platform is an all-aluminum platform custom designed for cyclones, vertical lime kilns and BOF process furnaces. The suspended platform allows personnel to safely and easily inspect or install refractory.
BBS Services: Bricking Solutions ensures the provision of world class support services to clients through its worldwide network of agents.
Dickinson Group of Companies is the official appointed Bricking Solutions’ (USA) distributors and agents in South Africa, Angola, Namibia, Botswana, Malawi, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Tanzania, Kenya and Mozambique for their complete range of custom rotary kiln refractory maintenance products.