Lime Production Process and Required Equipment
Lime production uses limestone with high calcium carbonate content as the main raw material, which is decomposed into calcium oxide (quicklime) and carbon dioxide through high-temperature calcination. The core process can be divided into four major stages: crushing, calcination, cooling, and grinding, and the supporting equipment needs to meet the requirements of high efficiency, energy conservation, and environmental protection.
Crushing stage: After coarse crushing by a jaw crusher, the large limestone is finely crushed to a particle size of 20-40mm by an impact crusher or cone crusher, and classified by a vibrating screen. Unqualified particles are returned for secondary crushing. This process requires a vibrating feeder to achieve uniform feeding, and a belt conveyor to complete material transfer.
Calcination stage: High temperature treatment is carried out using rotary kilns or vertical kilns (such as rotary kilns and Melz kilns). Taking the rotary kiln as an example, the material is preheated to 800-900 ℃ using the kiln tail gas through a vertical preheater, and some calcium carbonate is decomposed in advance; After entering the kiln, calcination is completed at 900-1200 ℃ to generate calcium oxide. The fuel can be mixed with coal powder, natural gas, or blast furnace gas to balance cost and quality.
Cooling and grinding: The calcined lime enters the grate cooler and is cooled to below 60 ℃ by air blowing. The hot air is recovered as secondary air for combustion assistance. The cooled lime blocks are ground to the required fineness by ball mills or Raymond mills, meeting the needs of different industries such as construction and metallurgy.
Environmental Protection and Automation: Bag filters are installed throughout the entire line to treat flue gas and ensure emissions meet standards; The DCS central control system realizes real-time monitoring and adjustment of production parameters, improving operational stability.
