STRATEGIES FOR REDUCING CEMENT KILN

BAGHOUSE CORROSION PROBLEMS

For Presentation at the IEEE/PCA
Cement Industry Technical Conference
Vancouver, British Columbia
May 2001

By:

Neal W. Biege – Vice President

Diana L. Smith – General Manager, Sales & Marketing
Fuller Bulk Handling Corp.

Robert E. Shenk – Process Engineer

F.L.Smidth Inc.

INTRODUCTION

Corrosion costs big time! The costs associated with corrosion of cement kiln baghouses can be as much
as $100,000 to $500,000 per year for each kiln baghouse, depending upon the severity of the problem.
Corrosion is caused by acid attack on carbon steel, resulting from the presence of acid producing
compounds in raw material, fuels and additives. These compounds typically contain sulfur and chloride.
However, weak acids such as carbonic acid can cause slow corrosion over a long period of time.

The costs of baghouse corrosion include:

1. Repair of tube sheets and bag collars
2. Repair of walls/hopper
3. Cost of new, replacement dust collector
4. Kiln downtime
5. Bag replacement
6. Environmental permit non-compliance fines
7. Reduced production
8. Personnel morale due to unpleasant task of bag replacement
9. Safety hazards
10. Management distraction from making cement

This paper explores the causes and costs of cement kiln baghouse corrosion. Typical system
arrangements are discussed with a focus on identifying key problem areas for each unique system.
Ways to identify the cause of the corrosion as well as strategies to reduce corrosion will be elaborated on.
Finally, four case studies will be discussed to detail real world problems and solutions.
CAUSES OF CORROSION
Chemical reactions between acid compounds and carbon steel cause corrosion. The major chemical
reactions are as follows:

Agent Acid Corrosion

Carbonic Iron Oxide Type of corrosion that
CO2
H2CO3 FeO occurs in atmosphere
Sulfurous Iron Sulfite
SO2
H2SO3 FeSO3
Sulfuric Iron Sulfate
SO3 Type of corrosion that
H2SO4 FeSO4
Hydrochloric Iron Chloride occurs in baghouses
CaCl2
HCl FeCl2
Hydrochloric Iron Chloride
Cl2
HCl FeCl2

These reactions do not take place in the gaseous phase. The presence of liquid H2O is necessary to
cause the reactions to take place. Therefore, three things are needed for corrosion to occur in a
baghouse:
1. Acid producing compounds
2. Condensation
3. Plain carbon steel

Eliminating any one of the three will solve the problem. Since the first two items can be at least partially
eliminated in most cases, this paper will focus heavily on those. The replacement of plain carbon steel by
more expensive alloys or expensive coatings will only be touched upon briefly.

Acid Producing Compounds

The major sources of acid producing compounds are as follows:
1. Pyritic Sulfur in raw materials
2. Sulfur in fuels
3. Chloride in raw materials
4. Chloride from the addition of CaCl2
5. Chloride in fuels

Pyritic Sulfur burns to form SO2 in the temperature range of 400 – 600°C (750 – 1110°F). The amount of
SO2 from pyritic sulfur that actually makes it to the kiln baghouse is dependent upon the kiln system, kiln
efficiency, and the handling of the kiln exit gases. During the combustion of fuels containing sulfur, it is
expected to generate a certain amount of SO2 gases. Again, the amount that actually makes it to the kiln
baghouse is highly dependent upon the system design, efficiency, and operational parameters.

Chloride containing compounds require high temperatures to decompose. These high temperatures can
be found in the lower stages of a preheater/precalciner system and in the burning zone of the kiln. The
gaseous chloride will then circulate throughout the entire system. The amount of chloride that actually
makes it to the kiln baghouse is dependent upon the system design and the efficiency of the system.

Condensation
The acid producing compounds need to be in aqueous form to function as an acid, and thereby promote
corrosion. Water in the cement process can come from a number of sources.

All kiln gases have H2O from the combustion of fuel and from the inherent moisture in the kiln feed. In
some cases, additional H2O is added in water spray form. In systems designed to utilize the kiln exit
gases for drying in an in-line raw mill, the amount of H2O vapor to the kiln baghouse can be greatly
increased. The total amount of water vapor in the gas stream as well as the temperature of the gas
dictates the dew point temperature. If the process gas temperature is within 20°C (36°F) of the dew point
temperature, localized condensation of water and acid formation is a potential problem.

Sources of Condensation:
• Operating near or below the acid dew point during normal operation
• Lack of proper insulation of the dust collector
• Improper water spray operation
• Inadequate mixing of cold air with hot kiln gases before entering the baghouse
• Leakage at doors and hatches and discharge devices
• Poor gas distribution in dust collector
• Frequent start-up/shutdown (passing through acid dew point)
• Poor start-up procedures (inadequate fabric pre-coat during initial start-up)
• Frequent isolation of compartments and opening of doors to change bags

Materials of Construction
The third item present to have corrosion is plain carbon steel. As everyone knows, plain carbon steel
corrodes slowly in ambient conditions (lying in the maintenance yard) due primarily to weak carbonic acid
formed by the reaction of water (condensation) and the CO2 in the air reacting with the iron. The
corroded parts will then lead to shorter lifetimes and require sooner than expected maintenance. This
same carbon steel located inside a building will last much longer if it is kept dry.

In a baghouse that same carbon steel even in the presence of acid producing components will last a long
time if it is kept hot and dry.

In some processes where the opportunity to control temperature in the presence of acid producing
compounds does not exist, plain carbon steel is eliminated from the equation by:
• Replacing with other material such as stainless steel or various plastics
• Extensive coatings

In most cement kiln applications other strategies can reduce the problem significantly enough to eliminate
the need for these extreme measures. These will be discussed further under the section ”Strategies to
Reduce Corrosion”.

DIFFERENT TYPES OF CEMENT KILN SYSTEMS

Different types of cement kiln systems and resulting configurations of the venting system provide different
conditions for corrosion and different strategies for reducing corrosion. The major types of kiln systems
are as follows (refer to the attached schematics):
• Wet kilns
• Long dry kilns
• Preheater/precalciner kilns
• Preheater/precalciner kilns with all kiln gases passing through the raw mill
• Preheater/precalciner kilns with partial bypass of kiln gases around the mill

The exhaust gases from a wet and long dry system are usually vented directly to a baghouse.
Suspension preheater kilns and precalciner kilns typically send their exhaust gases to the raw mill area
for drying of the raw materials. In some instances where the raw materials are very dry, a simultaneous
bypass of kiln gases around the mill and recycle of mill exit gases is utilized.

In most cases when all the kiln gases are passed through the roller mill, the majority of the sulfur and
chloride containing compounds are scrubbed out of the gases due to the intimate contact of raw material
and gases found inside a raw mill. Even though the baghouse runs at low temperatures when the mill
operates (80 – 100°C / 176 – 212°F), corrosion does not occur as rapidly due to the lack of acid
compounds.
Figure 1 – Long Dry Or Wet Kiln System
Figure 2 – Preheater System
Figure 3 – Preheater/Precalciner Kilns With All Kiln Gases Passing Through The Raw Mill
Figure 4 – Preheater/Precalciner Kilns With Partial Bypass Of Kiln Gases Around The Mill
In the case of partial by-pass of kiln gases around the mill, the acid components in the bypass gases are
not scrubbed out by the raw mill. When this gas is mixed with the low temperature mill exit gases, the
resulting gas mixture is below the acid dew point and corrosion occurs.

COST OF CORROSION
The cost of corrosion goes beyond the obvious such as replacing corroded tube sheets, walls in hoppers
and the actual replacement of the entire dust collector with the required kiln shutdowns. 7

They include other costs that are not so obviously caused by corrosion. These other costs manifest
themselves in short bag life. This short bag life leads to other items listed in the introduction of this paper.

• High bag replacement costs

• Environmental fines
• Curtailed production
• Personnel problems due to the difficult task of replacing bags
• Safety hazards
• Management distraction from making cement

The causes of short bag life differ, depending upon the type of collector.

Reverse Air Collectors:

1. Anti-collapse rings in bags corrode thereby causing wear of the bags from the inside out
(Figure 5).
2. Corrosion of tube sheet, collars and tensioning devices causes inadequate bag tensioning
and accelerates bag wear (Figure 6)
3. Crystallization of acid compounds in between the glass fiber causes etching and wearing of
the glass and advanced wear.

Figure 5 – Bag Ring Corrosion Figure 6 – Tube Sheet Corrosion

Jet Pulse Collectors:

1. Corrosion of cages causes wear of the bags inside out
2. Corrosion of tube sheet holes around bag seal causes leakage of dust around bag. Resulting
dust on tube sheet gets blown into the clean side of the bag causes advanced wear
3. Crystallization of acid compounds in glass fibers causes etching, wearing and shortening of
bag life.
This advanced wear of bags due to corrosion often starts a downward spiral. As bags begin to have
holes, emissions go up, frequent isolation of compartments and opening of doors accelerates corrosion
and wear. If bags are not replaced quickly enough and tube sheets are not cleaned, the dust on the top
clean side of the tube sheet is blown back into the bags causing advanced wear. Bag wear caused by
corrosion could make bags that should last 4-6 years, wear out in 4-6 months. The results can be
disastrous for the plant in many ways.

STRATEGIES TO REDUCE CORROSION

If baghouse corrosion is suspected, the inside of the baghouse should be inspected. During the internal
inspection, careful notation must be made about the location of all corrosion sites. A detailed corrosion
inspection along with other plant data will often answer what is causing the corrosion. In general the
following advice can be considered as an effective guide to minimize kiln baghouse corrosion.

Keep it hot or get it out! That is, keep the cement kiln baghouse well above acid dew point or get rid of
the acid producing compounds.

Keep it hot!
Dew point is the temperature where water vapor condenses out of the gas stream. The dew point is
highly dependent upon the percentage of water vapor and temperature of the gas stream. Very small
amounts of water in terms of percentage of the gas stream build up to large quantities of water in the
baghouse over a period of time. Acid dew point is the temperature where water that contains acid
producing compounds condenses. The Sulfuric acid dew point is usually much higher than the water dew
point, whereas the hydrochloric acid dew point is typically lower than that of water.

Figure 7 – Typical Hydrochloric Acid, Sulfuric Acid and Water Dew Points
200

180

160

140
Dew Point Temperature (°C)

H2SO4
120

100

80

H2O
60

HCl
40

20

0
0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5 3 3.5 4 4.5 5 5.5 6 6.5 7 7.5 8 8.5 9 9.5 10 10.5 11 11.5 12
Gas Stream Volumetric % H20

Strategies to Keep the Baghouse Hot:

1. Proper control system, training and discipline of the operators
2. Process modification
3. Proper insulation
4. Leakage prevention
5. Proper start-up/shut down procedures
6. Proper system design from the beginning
Controls should be adjusted to keep the dust collector hot, well above acid dew point. Fiberglass bags
and membranes on glass bags can tolerate temperatures around 260°C (500°F) but last longer around
250°C (480°F). Operators should control temperatures as close to 250°C (480°F) as possible to prevent
corrosion if they have acid producing compounds.

Some regulations require a maximum temperature of 205°C (400°F) to control dioxin/furans. In this case,
operators should run as close to 205°C (400°F) as possible to prevent acid dew point problems.

Actions needed to accomplish this are:

1. Proper types and adjustment of controls to prevent the necessity of large safety factors.
2. Proper location, design and operation of bleed air dampers and water spray systems
3. The thermocouple at the inlet to the baghouse should be properly located to insure that all
gases have had adequate time to mix.
4. A thermocouple should be located at the exit of the baghouse to insure the temperature drop
over the baghouse is kept to a minimum. A high temperature difference over the baghouse
would indicate excess leakage into the baghouse.
5. Training and discipline of the operators

Process Modification
In some cases the original plant process designers sized the baghouse fan to operate at low
temperatures to minimize the capital cost and power consumption of the system. If nothing can be done
to remove the acid containing components it might be necessary to increase the baghouse and fan size in
order to operate at a higher temperature. An alternative to increasing the baghouse size is to replace the
filter bags with e-PTFE membrane material which can filter a higher volume of gas, provided the inlet and
outlet dampers are large enough to handle the higher gas flow.
The only other alternatives are:
1. Live with corrosion problems
2. Use special coatings or alloy materials to prevent corrosion

Proper Insulation
Even when the gas passing through the baghouse is
hot enough, if the baghouse is not insulated properly
the steel surfaces will usually be cold enough to cause
condensation. It is absolutely necessary to insulate all Outer Door
process baghouses venting products of combustion.
Walk-In
During start-up conditions this condensation will be at Plenum
such large quantities that the hoppers and material
handling equipment may fill up with water. Inner Door

The details of insulation are very important in

preventing condensation. The areas around doors
and on doors may be the most difficult. It is an Tube Sheet
advantage to have a double door arrangement - one
door to seal the dust collector and another door to seal
the insulation around the dust collector (see Figure 8).

Figure 8 – Insulated Double Door

Preventing Leakage
One of the causes of corrosion in baghouses is leakage around access doors and discharge devices.
Strategies to reduce leakage are:
1. Have good double sealed doors
2. Have a minimum number of doors. A top access collector has much more area to seal than a
walk in plenum collector. The corrosion problem associated with top access can be a primary
reason to choose a walk-in plenum collector instead of a top access collector/walk-in plenum.
3. Proper sealing of all doors.
4. Use the proper seal material for the temperature.
5. Replace the seals when hard and worn out.
6. Start-up/shut down procedures:
a) Protect bags from condensation during initial start-up by pre-coating them
b) Vent refractory dry-out gases through another method or don’t put the bags in the
collector until refractories are dried out.

Occasionally kilns are started up and expected to run at reduced capacity for some time and the dampers
of some of the compartments of the baghouse are isolated until needed for full capacity at a later time.
Usually these dampers are not completely airtight and some of the kiln gases leak into an unused cold
compartment causing severe corrosion and ruining the bags. Unused compartments should be positively
blanked off to prevent this from happening.

Get It Out!
In other words, get rid of acid causing compounds. Without acid containing compounds even at low
temperatures (like roller mill exit gas temperatures) corrosion will be minimized or eliminated.
Strategies to eliminate acid producing compounds:
1. Run all the kiln gases through the mill. The mill is an effective scrubber of acid producing
compounds due to the intimate contact of raw material and gas.
2. Change raw material if economically feasible. Individual testing of each raw material
component can be performed to determine what the bad actor in the mix is. If the pyritic
sulfur is an outside purchased component that makes up a small percentage of the raw mix, it
may be feasible to change sources.
3. The same lime injection sometimes needed to reduce SO2 will also reduce corrosion.
4. If CaCl2 is added to help alkali removal, inject it into the kiln burning zone instead of adding it
to the raw mix. This will minimize chloride carryover to the kiln baghouse.

When all else fails!

If none of the above strategies to reduce corrosion causing conditions can be achieved, there are options
available to reduce the effects of corrosion:
1. Change materials of construction
2. Purchase bag materials that are more acid resistant
3. Use special alloy bag accessories like reverse air anti-collapse rings, cages on jet pulse and
bag hardware.
4. Use acid resistive coatings

Materials of Construction
Stainless steel resists sulfuric acid attack but not hydrochloric acid. Additionally, stainless steel is
corrosion resistant, not corrosion proof. Eventually, if the acid compounds are present and condensation
is occurring, the stainless steel will corrode as well although the process of corrosion will be much slower
than plain carbon steel. For larger process collectors, stainless steel can be very costly. An evaluation of
capital investment as compared to operating life must be made.

Acid Resistant Bags

Some suppliers have acid resistant fabrics using certain fabric finishes that coat the glass fiber better.
Also, some suppliers can supply alloy rings and sew them into the bag so that they don’t move and cause
fabric wear when corroded.
Alloy Bag Accessories
Stainless steel and other alloys sometimes coated with Teflon are used in bag rings, collars, suspension
devices and cages to minimize corrosion.

Coatings
There are new coatings available that are designed for service at the temperatures of a kiln baghouse.
These coatings typically require costly surface preparation in addition to the cost of the coating material
itself. There is limited experience with the use of these coatings so the long term benefits of corrosion
resistance are not clear yet.

CASE STUDIES
Four case studies where severe corrosion problems were solved will be discussed:
1. Case A – A lime kiln baghouse improperly insulated
2. Case B – A roller mill was installed in a plant where a preheater kiln and a preheater/
precalciner kiln were vented to one dust collector. The new lower mixed gas temperature
accelerated the destruction of an older dust collector.
3. Case C – A new plant with a preheater/precalciner kiln and a roller mill experienced severe
corrosion and bag life problems.
4. Case D– A new baghouse on a wet kiln suffered severe corrosion problems.

Case A – A jet pulse baghouse was installed on an older lime kiln. The dust collector was not insulated
and severe corrosion problems occurred above the tube sheet on the clean air side. The lime dust below
the tube sheet on the dirty side prevented corrosion. The unit was properly insulated to prevent
condensation above the tube sheet. Consequently, without condensation, the acid attack was minimized
and the corrosion stopped.

Actions Taken:
1. A complete analysis was done on the gas and material flows and temperatures.
2. The unit was properly insulated to prevent condensation above the tube sheet.

Case B – After a new roller mill was installed in a plant where a preheater kiln and a
preheater/precalciner kiln were vented to one dust collector (see Flowsheet Figure 9), the corrosion
problem that was already evident was accelerated by the lower mixed gas temperature from mill gases
and partial mill bypass.

Actions Taken:
1. A complete analysis was done on the gas and material flows, temperatures and pressures of
the plant.
2. A new process flow was designed to keep the kiln gases above 205°C (400°F) at all
conditions.
3. A new jet pulse dust collector was installed as well as new plant ductwork with new dampers
and controls.
Figure 9 – Flowsheet, Case B
Case C – A new kiln and roller mill were installed with the kiln gases partially bypassed around the mill.
Within two years after start-up, the metallic portions of the reverse air collector were corroded and very
short bag life was experienced.

Action Taken:
1. A complete analysis of gas and material flow was done to determine the problem.
2. The problem was determined to be chlorides in the kiln gas and a continuous partial bypass
of the mill causing the worst case scenario: a low dust collector temperature with the
presence of acidic compounds.
3. A process flow was designed to take all the gases through the mill thereby scrubbing the
chlorides. Corroded parts of the tube sheets, collars and bag hardware were replaced to
allow the proper tensioning of the bags.
4. New woven fiberglass bags were installed with a better acid resistant finish The anti-collapse
rings were alloy coated and sewn in a way to prevent movement.

Case D – A new dust collector was installed on a wet kiln with too low of a back end temperature.
Corrosion of doors and walls became evident almost immediately.

Action Taken:

1. Increased back end temperature of the kiln.

2. Improve insulation around doors.

CONCLUSIONS
The cause of corrosion of kiln baghouses is quite simple – a chemical reaction between iron and acid.
The cures are also simple in principle – “keep it hot” or “keep it out”, but the actual execution of the
cure sometimes is much more complex and difficult. An experienced baghouse supplier or consultant
with cement process experience may be required to properly analyze the causes and the most cost
effective solution.

Special alloys and coatings are the “last ditch” efforts only if the “keep it hot” or “get it out”
approaches cannot be executed.

It is hoped this paper gives the operators and designers of cement plant venting systems a better
understanding of cause and cure of baghouse corrosion.