Today
Fuel covers uncertainty
- Operators watch fuel, feed, temperatures, O₂/CO and draught.
- Meal chemistry and fuel characteristics change during the campaign.
- Higher fuel rate is often the safe response, and it stays there.
Feed and fuel keep changing.Extra fuel becomes the default.
INSUS reads kiln, fuel, feed, gas and free-lime data the plant already logs, and recommends feasible fuel, air and feed settings for panel review. Operators and process engineers decide. Existing DCS and APC stay in charge.
01
Meal and fuel quality drift continuously.
02
Extra fuel covers uncertainty.
03
Advisory only. Recommendations stay under plant control.
The problem
The kiln is already unstablebefore anyone pulls a free lime.
Fuel rate, feed rate, air, draught, O₂/CO and meal chemistry interact continuously. Alternative fuels and varying raw meal make fixed recipes hard to trust. Free lime confirms the outcome after that clinker has moved. Between tickets, operators often raise fuel to protect stability. DCS and APC hold the kiln; they do not search for a lower specific-fuel point that still stays inside the quality envelope.
01Fuel mix and raw-meal chemistry change energy demand
02Fuel, air and feed interact; manual retuning is slow
03Extra fuel protects stability and becomes standing cost
- 01Fuel mix and raw-meal chemistry change energy demand
- 02Fuel, air and feed interact; manual retuning is slow
- 03Extra fuel protects stability and becomes standing cost
The shift
From covering uncertainty with fuelto a feasible fuel and feed recommendation.
The CRO, process engineer and kiln DCS stay in control. What changes is whether fuel, air and feed advice arrives with kiln-specific evidence while the panel can still act.
With INSUS
Fuel and feed advice with evidence
- Models learn how this kiln's fuel, air and feed relate to specific heat, free lime and stability.
- Advice proposes feasible settings inside agreed quality and safety limits.
- The CRO or process engineer reviews the recommendation before any panel change.
How it works
From kiln and fuel historyto a fuel and feed recommendation.
This fits OptiStudio as kiln decision support above the DCS and historian. Access is read-only on day one. It does not write setpoints or override APC.
Connect
Bring fuel, feed and quality data together
Connect read-only to DCS and historian tags for fuel and feed rates, temperatures, draught and gas conditions, plus LIMS free-lime results and fuel or meal property records where available.
Understand
Learn this kiln's fuel-to-stability link
Learn how fuel rate, fuel mix, feed, air and meal conditions have related to specific heat, free lime and stability on this kiln, not from a generic cement template.
Predict
Find a feasible fuel and feed window
Evaluate candidate fuel, air and feed settings against estimated thermal impact while applying the plant's quality and equipment constraints.
Advise
Recommend settings for panel review
Present ranked recommendations with rationale to the CRO or process engineer. Existing DCS and APC stay in charge of the loop. Safety interlocks are not touched.
Verify
Score advice against fuel and free lime
Compare recommendations with actual specific heat, free-lime results and kiln stability, then refine the plant-specific model.
Getting started
Start with one kilnand the fuel history you already keep.
For cement kilns where meal chemistry and fuel mix keep changing and extra fuel covers the gap. Delivered through OptiStudio as kiln decision support. Expert Services can help with data assessment and validation. Advisory and read-only. Models are built for the individual kiln.
- What we need. Fuel and feed rates, kiln temperatures, draught and gas analysis, free-lime and related LIMS results aligned to production periods, plus fuel or meal property records if available.
- What you see first. A kiln-specific view of fuel and feed versus specific heat and free lime, with advisory recommendations for panel review. No new sensors where the kiln is already instrumented.
- Where the limits are. Advisory only. Does not write setpoints or override DCS, APC or safety interlocks. No guaranteed fuel-saving percentage. Closed-loop writing is a later, plant-owned decision under defined safety rules.
Related for cement
Other cementstarting points
Kiln fuel and feed optimization sits beside clinker temperature optimization and cement quality prediction on the same plant.
- 01Clinker Production Temperature OptimizationRecommend kiln and burning-zone temperatures when the lever is the temperature window rather than fuel rate and feed.
- 02Cement Quality PredictionPredict cement quality from raw-material and process data before the lab ticket closes.
- 03Cement industryThe wider picture for cement plants: kiln conditions, fuel and feed, and quality prediction.
Questions cement plants ask us
Extra fuel is often used to protect kiln stability when meal chemistry and fuel mix keep changing, while free lime still arrives late. This use case recommends feasible fuel, air and feed settings for CRO or process engineer review.
This page focuses on fuel, air and feed. Temperature optimization focuses on the burning-zone temperature window. They are sibling kiln levers, not duplicates.
Fuel and feed rates, kiln temperatures, draught and gas tags from DCS and the historian, free-lime and related LIMS results, and fuel or meal property records where available.
No. Day one is advisory. Recommendations go to the CRO or process engineer. Existing DCS, PLCs and any APC stay on the loop. Safety interlocks are not touched.
Through OptiStudio as kiln decision support. Expert Services can support data assessment, integration and validation with your process team.
No. Specific fuel consumption depends on meal chemistry, fuel mix, equipment condition and operating practice. Value is judged against agreed baselines on the pilot kiln.
Models are kiln-specific and do not transfer unchanged. Missing or unreliable fuel, feed or gas tags are a data prerequisite. Closed-loop setpoint writing is out of scope for day one.
Cement · Kiln · Fuel and feed
Challenge the fuel margin with evidence from this kiln.
A back-test on one kiln and the fuel and free-lime history you already keep will show when extra fuel is protecting quality, and when it is only protecting habit.