Improving Sustainability in Cement Manufacturing through Waste Heat Recovery, Case Study: Khash Cement Company

Mansouri, Somayeh; Sadeghi, Jafar; Sardashti Birjandi, Mohammad Reza; Koohestanian, Esmaeil

doi:10.22034/ijche.2025.500293.1491

Improving Sustainability in Cement Manufacturing through Waste Heat Recovery, Case Study: Khash Cement Company

Articles in Press

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

Somayeh Mansouri ¹

Jafar Sadeghi ²

Mohammad Reza Sardashti Birjandi ¹

Esmaeil Koohestanian ³

¹ 1- Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Sistan and Baluchestan, P.O. Box 98164-161, Zahedan, Iran

² 1- Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Sistan and Baluchestan, Zahedan, Iran

³ 2- Department of Chemical Engineering, Iranshahr Branch, Islamic Azad University, Iranshahr, Iran

10.22034/ijche.2025.500293.1491

Abstract

In this study, the potential for waste heat recovery in the 2600-ton-per-day rotary kiln system of Khash Cement Plant was investigated. A comprehensive mass and energy balance was conducted using operational data. Results indicate that around 40% of the input energy is lost through heat dissipation. The main sources of energy loss are: preheater exhaust gases (28.8%), hot air discharged from the grate cooler (3.6%), and radiation and convection losses from the kiln surface (5%). Two recovery strategies were evaluated: (1) utilizing preheater and cooler exhaust gases through a Waste Heat Recovery System (WHRS) to generate electricity, and (2) recovering heat from the kiln surface using a heat exchanger. Implementing these solutions could increase the thermal efficiency of the system from 50.6% to 67.5%, contributing significantly to energy conservation, operational cost reduction, and environmental sustainability.

Keywords

Cement rotary kiln

Mass and energy balance

Waste heat recovery

Energy efficiency

Sustainability

Subjects