Computational study of multiphase flow in cement plant gas conditioning towers: a review

Abstract

Gas conditioning or cooling towers have broad industrial applicability, especially in the cement industry. Most cement factories deal with the same problems as others do. However, the solutions to these problems are barely internationally published and have not received much attention, which results in spending a lot of time and money researching the previous solutions. Iran is among the top ten cement manufacturing countries in the world. Therefore, many of these problems have occurred in Iranian cement factories. The purpose of the present paper is to provide a review of studies in this field over the last decades, with a particular focus on advances in Iran. This paper concludes the most important findings of the literature to suggest the best possible solutions for improving the performance and lifetime of gas conditioning towers and for decreasing the common problems, such as dust build-up and wet bottom. Furthermore, the paper reviews the numerical methods for modelling different aspects of these towers. The results can also be used to reduce water and energy consumption, air pollution, and repair and maintenance costs of cement factories.