MODEL-BASED OPTIMIZATION OF THE OPERATION OF THE COKE CALCINING KILN

A mathematical model was recently developed to simulate the calcinatio n process of regular petroleum coke suitable for aluminum industry app lications. The model is made of 14 ordinary differential equations des cribing energy and mass conservation in the gas and in the coke bed, a nd complemented by correlations and algebraic equations. It calculates temperature and concentration profiles in the kiln, and also yields o ther information important to kiln operation, such as calcined coke re covery factor and coke loss through the generation of dust. In this pa per it is demonstrated that the model is an efficient tool for the opt imization of kiln operation. The model is used to study the effect of key control variables upon kiln operation and productivity. Further, i t is shown that higher kiln productivity may be obtained with optimize d kiln control and without loss of satisfactory kiln operating conditi on.