Lower-carbon fuel mix. Stable flame. Controlled clinker quality.
Cement production is one of the most energy-intensive industrial processes, and rotary kilns require high-temperature combustion to produce clinker. To reduce carbon emissions, manufacturers are exploring the use of hydrogen together with conventional fuels in rotary burners.
However, this transition is not only a fuel change. Introducing hydrogen into the rotary burner changes flame behavior, heat transfer, oxygen demand, burner momentum, and kiln atmosphere. If these effects are not controlled, manufacturers may face unstable combustion, uneven heat distribution, higher NOx formation, reduced thermal efficiency, or inconsistent clinker quality.
Simularge’s physics-based digital twin predicts uncertain process behavior and potential product quality deviations, and guides manufacturers on how to prevent them before they occur by providing real-time visibility into combustion, temperature distribution, gas flow, and heat transfer behavior during hydrogen co-firing.
Instead of relying only on insufficient sensor readings, the digital twin predicts critical internal process conditions such as flame stability, thermal profile, oxygen concentration, fuel-air mixing and clinker burning zone temperature.
The digital twin can support:
Hydrogen co-firing strategy optimization
Rotary burner combustion and flame stability prediction
Real-time temperature and heat transfer distribution analysis
Fuel-air ratio and oxygen control optimization
Clinker quality and burning zone stability prediction
Reduced fuel consumption through optimized combustion
Safer and more controlled transition to low-carbon cement production
Comparable industrial implementations of real-time, model-based kiln control demonstrate the following potential operational improvements:
2-4% Lower Fuel Consumption
Model-based process control reduced fuel consumption across cement production operations. [2]
5–10% Higher Production
Predictive process control increased production while maintaining process and quality constraints. [2]
3–8% Lower Electricity Consumption
Model-based process control reduced electricity use across cement production operations. [2]
15% Lower Average NOx Emissions
Continuous process optimization reduced average NOx emissions and improved emissions stability. [1]
Up to 6% Lower Cement-Production Emissions
A modelled 20% green-hydrogen fuel blend reduced cement-production emissions by approximately 6%. [3]
For cement producers, reducing carbon emissions cannot come at the expense of process efficiency or clinker quality.
Contact us to discover how Simularge can make hydrogen co-firing in rotary burners predictable, controllable, and optimized for low-carbon cement manufacturing, enabling a seamless transition to low-carbon production.
References:
[1] Zanoli, S. M., Pepe, C., & Astolfi, G. (2023). “Advanced Process Control for Clinker Rotary Kiln and Grate Cooler.” Sensors, 23(5), 2805.
DOI: 10.3390/s23052805
[2] Zhang, Z., Nielsen, M. K., Hørsholt, S., Muralidharan, G., & Jørgensen, J. B. (2021). “Digitalization, Control and Optimization for Cement Plants.” Computer Aided Chemical Engineering, 50, 1319–1324.
DOI: 10.1016/B978-0-323-88506-5.50203-5
[3] Okeke, I. J., Kamath, D., Nimbalkar, S. U., & Cresko, J. (2024). “The Role of Low-Carbon Fuels and Carbon Capture in Decarbonizing the U.S. Clinker Manufacturing for Cement Production: CO₂ Emissions Reduction Potentials.” Energies, 17(20), 5233.
DOI: 10.3390/en17205233
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