Abstract: A journal and end closure for a tubular vessel particularly a shell supported tubular grinding mill. The mill shell is conventional to the point of the journal. The journal and end closure are formed by a pair of spaced apart cylindrical members and a T-shaped ring member, each secured to one another in an end-to-end relationship by welding. An annular plate is secured by welding to the leg of the T-shaped ring member to form part of the end enclosure for the mill. The T-shaped ring member is made from a material with controlled sulphur and impurity levels. The two cylindrical sections are rolled so that the grain structure of the metal is generally parallel to the longitudinal axis of the tubular vessel. The dimensions of the T-shaped member are selected to prevent high areas of stress from being concentrated at the junction of the T-shaped member with the two cylindrical members and the junction of the annular member with the leg of the T-shaped member.

Abstract: A wear resistant plate is secured to the surface of a refractory grid of a fluid bed apparatus to both improve the wear life of the refractory grid and to serve as a means for retaining the fluidizing air nozzles in place. Anchor bolts or studs are embedded in the refractory material. These can be either embedded in cast refractory during the casting process or in the case of factory fired refractory bricks, T-shaped grooves are formed in the sides of the bricks. Wear resistant plates are then secured to the surface of the refractory by using the anchor bolts and suitable fasteners. The wear resistant plates have openings therethrough which are aligned with but larger than the fluidizing air holes in the refractory grid. The fluidizing air holes through the grid have nozzles positioned therein. These nozzles are secured to the grid by using a fastener arrangement to releasably secure the nozzles to the wear resistant plate or by shaping the wear resistant plate to act as a fastener.

Abstract: A method for converting existing long rotary kiln wet or dry process cement making plants to a more energy efficient operation including removing a central section of an existing rotary kiln and replacing it with a furnace and associated material separator for calcining material received from a first beginning section of the existing kiln which functions as a preheater and for supplying the calcined material to an end portion of the existing kiln which serves as a clinkering device.

Abstract: Apparatus for preheating solid particulate material which material is to be subjected to thermal processing in a furnace. The preheater includes a vessel having an inlet for solid particulate material to be heated, an outlet for preheated material, an inlet for hot exhaust gas from the furnace and an outlet for spent preheating gas. The various inlets and outlets are positioned with respect to each other to achieve countercurrent contact between gas and solids. A gas-solids contact zone is defined within the vessel. A plurality of superimposed conduits connect the solid material inlet with the gas-solids contact zone. A valve is positioned in each of these conduits to control the flow of material to the gas-solids contact zone and thereby control the depth of material within that zone. The greater the depth of material within the gas solids contact zone, the greater amount of preheating that will be accomplished due to a greater length of time that the solid particulate material is exposed to the hot gas.

Abstract: A wear resistant plate is secured to the surface of a refractory grid of a fluid bed apparatus to both improve the wear life of the refractory grid and to serve as a means for retaining the fluidizing air nozzles in place. Anchor bolts or studs are embedded in the refractory material. These can be either embedded in cast refractory during the casting process or in the case of factory fired refractory bricks, T-shaped grooves are formed in the sides of the bricks. Wear resistant plates are then secured to the surface of the refractory by using the anchor bolts and suitable fasteners. The wear resistant plates have openings therethrough which are aligned with but larger than the fluidizing air holes in the refractory grid. The fluidizing air holes through the grid have nozzles positioned therein. These nozzles are secured to the grid by using a fastener arrangement to releasably secure the nozzles to the wear resistant plate or by shaping the wear resistant plate to act as a fastener.

Abstract: A cement clinker manufacturing apparatus which includes a suspension preheater, a precalcining furnace, a clinkering furnace such as a rotary kiln and a clinker cooler. Combustion air for use in the clinkering furnace is supplied from the clinker cooler. Combustion air for use in the calcining furnace is supplied from an indirect heat exchanger which receives hot gas from the outlet of the suspension preheater. This hot gas is placed in indirect heat exchange with ambient air to heat the ambient air. The thus heated ambient air is then supplied to the calcining furnace. The invention is particularly useful where the clinker cooler exhaust air cannot be used in the calcining furnace as preheated combustion air. A valve can be provided for regulating the volume of heated air supplied to the calcining furnace from the indirect heat exchanger.

Abstract: A process for treating the dust catch from a cement manufacturing operation for producing cement clinker. The process includes blending the dust catch from a cement manufacturing operation with appropriate additives to produce a feed material. The blended feed material is pelletized and then supplied to a rotary kiln where it is burned at reducing conditions to produce cement clinker. The product discharged from the kiln is cooled and the exhaust gases from the kiln are quenched and the particulates collected. The process can be used to produce an alkali rich product from the exhaust system.

Abstract: An attached tube cooler for a rotary kiln for cooling solid particulate material discharged from the kiln. The cooler includes a plurality of cylindrical vessels attached to and circumferentially spaced around the discharge end of the kiln for rotation therewith. Each cooler tube has an inlet for solid particulate material communicating with the outlet of the kiln, an outlet for cooled solid particulate material, an inlet for cooling gas and an outlet for gas which communicates with the kiln so that gas heated in the cooler tube can be supplied as combustion air to the kiln. Heat exchange fins are mounted inside the cooling tube at an angle such that the trailing surface of the fins in the direction of tube rotation forms an acute angle with the side wall of the cooler tube. A helical conveyor having a central opening therethrough advances material through the cooler tube.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for calcining finely divided material such as limestone and dolomite. The apparatus is especially useful for calcining materials having a size of less than 1/4 inch. The apparatus includes a first stage fluidized bed calcining apparatus and a second stage flash calcining apparatus. Raw material is supplied to the fluid bed reactor. The large particles are calcined within this reactor, withdrawn from the reactor and supplied to a cooler. The fines are elutriated with the spent fluidizing gas and supplied to a cyclone separator. The separated fines are supplied to a flash calciner where they are calcined. The separated spent fluidizing gases may be used as combustion gas in the flash calciner. The calcined fines are removed from the flash calciner and supplied to a cyclone separator and from there to a cooler.

Abstract: A conveyor system for solid bulk materials such as cement, alumina, and rock which combines the principles of a fluidizing gravity conveyor and a vibratory conveyor wherein the air supplied to the plenum chamber of the conveyor is rapidly and continuously pulsed in an on-off manner. The apparatus may take the form of a conveyor section with a pair of plenum chambers and the fluidizing gas alternately supplied to the two plenum chambers, or the invention may be used in a storage and material discharge vessel wherein a pair of conventional fluidizing gravity conveyors are employed along the length of the vessel with the pulsing taking place by alternating the supply of gas between the two conveyors.

Abstract: Apparatus for conveying solid particulate material including a casing having bore therethrough and an inlet for material to be conveyed and an outlet. A screw impeller is rotatably mounted in the casing by front and rear bearings with the rear bearing being near the inlet. The outlet is intermediate the inlet and the forward bearing. A discharge chamber is flow connected immediately adjacent the casing outlet. Nozzles for supplying gas under pressure are provided in the discharge chamber for discharging material from the discharge chamber into and through a pneumatic conveying line. The screw impeller includes a feed screw section which terminates adjacent the casing outlet and a reversing section with reverse flights between the forward bearing and the casing outlet to prevent material from entering the forward bearing. A restriction plate may be placed in the casing outlet to reduce the size of the outlet opening to less than the bore through the casing.

Abstract: An apparatus for burning cement raw meal to produce cement clinker which includes a pair of parallel suspension preheaters each adapted to receive cement raw meal and hot spent combustion gas for preheating the cement raw meal. Each of the suspension preheaters discharges preheated raw meal into a single calcining furnace. Combustion takes place in the calcining furnace to produce a calcined raw meal. The spent combustion gases from the calcining furnace are supplied in proportional quantities to each of the parallel suspension preheaters. From the calcining furnace, the calcined raw meal is supplied to a rotary kiln for clinkering the calcined raw meal. Hot cement clinker is discharged into a cooler where the clinker is cooled by passing cooling air upwardly therethrough. The cooling air is heated by the hot clinker and the hottest portion is supplied to the rotary kiln and to the calcining furnace to serve as combustion air.

Abstract: A wear resistant lining for the inside wall of the bottom shell of a gyratory crusher which includes a plurality of flat plates made out of wear resistant steel plate and having a generally trapezoidal shape and each having a pair of spaced apart holes therein. The plates are placed on the inside of the bottom shell of a gyratory crusher adjacent to each other to encircle the inside of the bottom shell. The holes in each plate are fitted with universal fittings which permit alignment of fasteners which pass through into a hole in the bottom shell of the crusher to enable the wear resistant plates to be secured to the inside of the shell.

Abstract: A spray nozzle which employs compressed air for atomizing the liquid to be sprayed and for projecting these droplets into the desired spray pattern. The nozzle includes a tubular member and a liquid supply conduit and nozzle head mounted within the tubular member. There is an annular passage through the nozzle with a converging portion and a portion diverging from the converging portion. Liquid and gas are supplied to the converging portion. The compressed gas is supplied in a manner to achieve swirling of both the gas and liquid within the converging portion. The compressed gas discharges the atomized liquid in a hollow conical spray pattern.

Abstract: A compressor capacity control and lubrication system including a nonmodulating capacity regulator for an oil flooded gas compressor such as a rotary screw compressor. The system includes an on-off intake regulator. The lubrication system insures sufficient supply of cooling and sealing lubrication when the machine is operating at loaded conditions and a limited quantity of cooling lubrication when the machine is operating at unloaded conditions. This is accomplished by the use of a pair of gas-liquid reservoirs. One of the reservoirs is vented to atmosphere during unloaded operation of the compressor. Lubricant is supplied from both reservoirs to the compressor when the machine is operating at loaded conditions, but only one of the reservoirs when operating at unloaded conditions.

Abstract: The invention discloses a method and apparatus for conditioning the gases discharged from a cupola. The apparatus consists of three flow connected vessels comprising first the cupola with improved gas conditioning means therein, secondly, a water spray tower and thirdly, a baghouse dust collector. The improved gas conditioning method and apparatus comprises a movably mounted conduit and nozzle for spraying cooling water through the cupola charge door during the burn-down period of cupola operation when the bed gas is not used to pre-heat the new charges in the cupola. The cooling water is used instead of large quantities of dilution air to temper the discharge gas at this point. Therefore, by the improved method, during burn-down the temperature of the discharged gas can be maintained at slightly above the normal cupola operational temperature without requiring discharge ducts and dust collecion capacity for the additional dilution air.

Abstract: The invention discloses a method and apparatus for conditioning the gases discharged from a cupola. The apparatus consists of three flow connected vessels comprising first the cupola with improved gas conditioning means therein, secondly, a water spray tower and thirdly, a baghouse dust collector. The improved gas conditioning method and apparatus comprises a movably mounted conduit and nozzle for spraying cooling water through the cupola charge door during the burn-down period of cupola operation when the bed gas is not used to pre-heat the new charges in the cupola. The cooling water is used instead of large quantities of dilution air to temper the discharge gas at this point. Therefore, by the improved method, during burn-down the temperature of the discharged gas can be maintained at slightly above the normal cupola operational temperature without requiring discharge ducts and dust collection capacity for the additional dilution air.