LIME KILN DESIGNS

SMALL-TO-MEDIUM SCALE OIL FIRED LIME

KILNS

Lime is a very important basic

material used in a variety of different
industries. These include
construction, agriculture, chemicals
and several processing industries.
There are two forms of lime:
quicklime and hydrated lime.
Quicklime is produced by heating
rock or stone containing calcium
carbonate (limestone, marble, chalk,
geologically stratified seashell beds,
etc.,) to a temperature of around
1000°C for several hours. In this
process, known as 'calcining' or
simply 'burning', the carbon dioxide
in the calcium carbonate is driven off
leaving calcium oxide plus any
impurities.

Quicklime is an unstable and

hazardous product and is therefore
normally hydrated, becoming more
stable, and easier and safer to
handle. Hydrated lime is produced by
adding water to quicklime in a
process called 'hydration' or 'slaking',
where the calcium oxide and water 6 ton per day kiln in Bali
combine chemically to form calcium
hydroxide.

During slaking the quicklime lumps will disintegrate to a fine powder. If high quality limes are
required some form of screening and/or classification will be required at this stage to grade
the lime. Hydrated lime is normally supplied and sold in bagged form.

If quicklime is hydrated with a large amount of water and well agitated, it forms a milky
suspension known as milk of lime. Allowing the solids to settle and drawing off the excess
water forms a paste-like residue known as lime putty. Methods of burning lime range from
traditional and simple to highly sophisticated and automated. The former are by their nature
labour-intensive and energy inefficient, while the latter are the opposite. In addition the
former tends to produce unevenly burned lime, with a proportion that is underburnt and/ or
overburnt, while the latter produces lime of a very consistent quality.

The type of kilns described in this leaflet are small to medium sized (6 to 16 tonnes output
per day). These attempt to combine the advantages of traditional kilns, by being reasonably
simple to construct and operate, but still retain the advantages of a high quality product and
energy efficient production associated with larger; more sophisticated kilns.

Description of the Kilns

This leaflet considers the production of quicklime in vertical shaft kilns fired with oil. Other
leaflets in this series describe kilns which can be fired with coal or wood.
Lime kiln designs Practical Action

Vertical shaft kilns work on a very simple principal. The raw material is fed in at the top of the
kiln and the product is withdrawn from the bottom, causing the material to move slowly
downwards through the kiln. Heat to calcine the material is introduced roughly in the middle
of the kiln and therefore any material above is preheated by rising hot exhaust gases, and
any below cooled by incoming air. In this way, material entering the kiln at the top is first
preheated, then calcined and finally cooled during its passage through the kiln.

For vertical shaft kilns the feed rock should be crushed to sizes between 40 and 150 mm.
Since it typically takes 1.75 kg of limestone to produce 1 kg of lime the transportation of the
raw material should be kept to a minimum. Therefore lime kilns are normally located close
to the limestone quarry.

The use of oil as fuel has both advantages and disadvantages compared with the more
traditional methods using coal or wood as a mixed feed with the limestone. The main
advantage is that there is normally no contamination of the lime with soot or ash. Better
control can also be achieved over kiln temperatures ensuring a better quality, more valuable
lime. The main disadvantages are that the kiln design needs to be more sophisticated, and
therefore is more expensive. In some locations wood or coal is both cheaper and more
readily available than oil. The latter point is significant in that use of oil in these locations may
require importation. In oil-producing countries the use of oil as fuel could be practicable even
when the quality of lime is of secondary importance.

Practically all types of fuel oil can be used. In the case of bunker C oil, this has to be
preheated to 100-120°C to make it less viscous. The use of waste oil, such as old engine
oil, is not recommended for very high quality lime, but may be acceptable for lime of lower
quality. It may be necessary to mix waste oil with a quantity of fresh oil, as it is rarely
available in sufficient quantities for a continuous production run.

Examples of oil-
fired lime kilns
Below are described a
number of kilns from
Indonesia with a range
of outputs between 6
and 16 tonnes per day.
The numbers in
brackets in the text refer
to components of the
kilns highlighted on
respective diagrams.
Note that the technical
details were taken from
actual kilns built and in
production, so those
illustrated may not be
the only, or even the
best, methods of the
type described.

6 Ton per Day Kiln

(Figure 1)
The casing of the kiln is
a brick-built body
reinforced by metallic
rings (1), (4). The wall

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Figure 1: 6 ton per day kiln
Lime kiln designs Practical Action

thickness is approximately 1 metre on the lower part, and 0.5 metres on the upper. The
inside of the kiln is lined with refractory bricks, which are normally of fired clay, with
magnesite in the burning zone (2). Behind the refractory lining of the cylindrical portion,
lightweight insulating refractory bricks are located. It is recommended that aluminium foil is
placed behind the insulating layer.

Other kiln dimensions (in cm) are marked on the diagram. To obtain sufficient draught for a
naturally ventilated kiln, a chimney should be located on top of the kiln. This is normally
made of sheet metal. The kiln is charged by a chute (6) equipped with a cover, which is
closed during firing to maintain the draught. For 6 ton per day production, l0.5 tons of
limestone are required, or 438 kg per hour. The kiln can be said to be divided into three
zones: the preheating zone, the firing zone, and the cooling zone. In the preheating zone,
which occupies the top 3 metres of the kiln, the limestone is preheated up to around 900°C
by flue gases from the firing zone. The burning zone occupies the next 1.7 metres, where the
temperature reaches 1100°C. Typically the speed of limestone through the kiln is about 0.2
metres per hour, so it takes 8 to 9 hours for the stone to pass through the firing zone. The
three burners (7) are placed at 120 degrees to each other, and operate by the atomization of
the fuel oil with steam. Oil and water for the burners are stored in barrels (8) and (9). The
remaining portion of the kiln is the cooling zone, where the quicklime cools naturally before
being discharged.

Discharge is effected through

3 channels (10) by manually
operated scrapers. The
quicklime is then taken away
for hydration or temporary
storage. The kiln is equipped
with a steel or timber
structure (12) and platform
(13) for access, and is
erected on a substantial
concrete foundation (11). The
energy consumption of the
kiln has been estimated as
1500 kcal/kg of quicklime, or
156 g of a typical
petrochemical oil per kg of
lime. This corresponds to 13
kg of fuel oil per burner per
hour.

10 Ton per Day Kiln

(Figure 2)
This particular example of a
kiln has a rectangular cross
section of 1x2 metres, and is
made of concrete (1)
reinforced with iron mats. The
insulation and refractory
lining is 0.5 metres thick (2).
A housing (3) made of
concrete is situated on top of
the kiln, and the kiln is
charged through a gate on
the housing, by means of a
bridge (5). Limestone is
Figure 2: 10 ton per day kiln

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Lime kiln designs Practical Action

supplied by a road vehicle from the quarry.

The kiln draught is produced by a chimney (4), 10 metres high and 0.6 metre diameter,
located at the top of the housing. The burners (6) are located 4 metres up the kiln, making
the heights of the zones 5.5 metres preheating, 2.5 metres burning, and 4 metres cooling.
There are four burners (6), two at each side, which are somewhat displaced out of directly
opposite alignment. Other features of note are the burner inspection platform (7), and the
four kiln discharge channels (8).

16 Ton per Day Kiln

(Figure 3)
The shell of this kiln is
cylindrical and made out
of sheet metal (1). An
electricity supply is
required for this kiln to
operate a forced draught
system; hence it is really
a low production, and not
a low cost kiln.

Limestone is loaded by a
pulley-operated skip hoist
(2), and the rate of
charging of stone into the
kiln is controlled by a
load cell. Stone input to
the kiln is by a special
gate (5), which can be
sealed against air
leakage when closed so
the kiln can be left open
at the top.

Flue gas is removed by a

chimney (3). Another
feature of this kiln is a
pipe (4) to recycle some
of the flue gas into one of
three combustion
chambers (6). The
lengths of the preheating,
burning and cooling
zones are 5.5, 2.5 and 4.0 metres respectively.
Figure 3: 16 ton per day kiln
The combustion chambers
(6) are fed with fuel oil, air and recycled flue gas. The fuel oil is
gasified by the heat in the combustion chambers without the need for atomisation with
steam. A fan (8) supplies air to the combustion chamber, another fan (9) recycles flue gas
to the combustion chamber, while a third fan (7) feeds cooling air into the kiln. By controlling
the relative amounts of cooling air and recycled flue gas entering the kiln, good control over
temperature in the kiln can be obtained.

This type of kiln is very efficient in terms of its energy usage, consuming only 1100 kcal per
kilo of quicklime.

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Lime kiln designs Practical Action

References and further reading

• Lime: An Introduction Practical Action Technical Brief

http://practicalaction.org/practicalanswers/product_info.php?cPath=27_66&products
_id=210
• Hydraulic Lime: An Introduction Practical Action Technical Brief
http://practicalaction.org/practicalanswers/product_info.php?cPath=27_66&products
_id=242
• Lime Kiln Designs: Small-to-medium scale oil fired lime kilns Practical Action
Technical Brief
http://practicalaction.org/practicalanswers/product_info.php?cPath=27_66&products
_id=243
• Methods of Testing Lime in the Field Practical Action Technical Brief
http://practicalaction.org/practicalanswers/product_info.php?cPath=27_66&products
_id=193
• How to Calculate the Energy Efficiency of Your Lime Burning Process Practical
Action Technical Brief
http://practicalaction.org/practicalanswers/product_info.php?cPath=27_66&products
_id=231
• A Case Study in Lime Production: A traditional kiln at Bounoura, Algeria, Practical
Action Technical Brief
http://practicalaction.org/practicalanswers/product_info.php?cPath=27_66&products
_id=244
• A Small Lime Kiln for Batch and Continuous Firing, Chris Stevens, Practical Action
Technical Brief, 1999
http://practicalaction.org/practicalanswers/product_info.php?cPath=27_66&products
_id=207
• A Case Study in Lime Production No.1: Traditional batch techniques at Chenkumbi,
Malawi, Practical Action Technical Brief
http://practicalaction.org/practicalanswers/product_info.php?cPath=27_66&products
_id=246
• A Case Study in Lime Production No2 Improved Techniques at Chenkumbi, Malawi
Practical Action Technical Brief
• A Case Study in Lime Production: Improved design of a lime kiln in Sri Lanka,
Practical Action Technical Brief
• A Case Study in Lime Production: Traditional techniques in Sri Lanka, Practical
Action Technical Brief
• How to Build a Small Vertical Shaft Lime Kiln: An example of a continuous
production, mixed feed kiln from Zimbabwe, Kelvin Mason, Practical Action
Technical Brief, 1999
• A Case Study in Lime Production: Traditional batch techniques in Patarrá, Costa
Rica, Practical Action Technical Brief
http://practicalaction.org/practicalanswers/product_info.php?cPath=27_66&products
_id=245
• A Case Study in Lime Production: Improved techniques at Nicoya Costa Rica, 29
tonnes per batch, fuelwood kiln, Practical Action Technical Brief
• *
The Small-scale Vertical Shaft Lime Kiln: A Practical Guide to Design, Construction
and operation, Kelvin Mason, ITDG Publishing ISBN 1 85339 465 3, 1999
Order online from Development Bookshop
http://developmentbookshop.com/product_info.php?cPath=8&products_id=442
• *
Lime and Alternative Binders in East Africa Elijah Agevi et al, ITDG Publishing, 1995
Order online from Development Bookshop
http://developmentbookshop.com/product_info.php?cPath=8&products_id=317
• *
Lime and Other Alternative Cements Neville Hill Stafford Holmes David Mather,
ITDG Publishing, ISBN 1 85339 178 6, 1992
Order online from Development Bookshop
http://developmentbookshop.com/product_info.php?cPath=8&products_id=45
• Small Scale Production of Lime for Building John Spiropoulos GATE/GTZ, 1985

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Lime kiln designs Practical Action

• ISBN 3 528 02016 4, 1985 http://80.237.211.43/basin/publications/books/lime.pdf

• *
Building with Lime: A Practical Introduction Stafford Holmes & Michael Wingate,
ITDG Publishing, ISBN 9781 85339 5475 (Revised Edition),
Order online from Development Bookshop
http://developmentbookshop.com/product_info.php?cPath=8&products_id=537
• *
Small-scale Lime Burning: A Practical Introduction, Wingate, M. and others, IT
Publications, London, 1985
• Appropriate Vertical Shaft Lime Kilns in Indonesia, UNDP / UNIDO Building
Materials Project in Indonesia, Bandung, 1983
• Chemistry and Technology of Lime and Limestone, R. Boynton, John Wiley and
Sons Inc., 1980
*
These publications can also be ordered from:
Practical Action Publishing,
The Schumacher Centre for Technology & Development,
Bourton on Dunsmore,
Rugby,
Warwickshire CV23 9QZ,
United Kingdom
Tel +44 (0)1926 634501
Fax +44 (0)1926 634502
[email protected]

This technical brief was originally prepared for basin, Building Advisory Service and
Information Network.

Website: http://www.basin.info/

For further information contact:

Practical Action
The Schumacher Centre for Technology & Development
Bourton Hall, Bourton on Dunsmore, Rugby
CV23 9Z, United Kingdom
Tel: 44 (0) 1926 634400
Fax: 44 (0) 1926 634401
E-mail: [email protected]
Website: http://www.practicalaction.org

This Technical Brief is possible thanks to the collaboration of DFID-UK and The Tony Bullard Trust.