Pulp and paper mill lime kiln ID fans are some of the most difficult to design. Typically, they are oversized and operate with a damper that remains 40–50 percent closed. The pressure loss across the fan inlet or outlet damper can result in a significant waste of energy, meaning that these fans often operate very inefficiently.
One way to overcome this concern is to consider a hybrid design. Hybrid fan designs are custom solutions that blend features of radial, forward-curved, and backward-inclined fans to meet flow requirements while reducing excessive horsepower consumption.
A recent hybrid fan installation by ProcessBarron at a pulp and paper plant in the Southeastern United States resulted in some significant efficiency improvements, including a 25-percent reduction in gas usage MM Btu/ton lime and a 40-percent reduction in purchased lime.
While these gains are specific to the pulp and paper industry, hybrid ID fan engineering principles can be applied to any air handling systems, including those that operate in any cement plant, power plant, steel plant, lime plant, or petroleum refinery.
Find out more about hybrid ID fan design by reading the article our Air Handling Group’s Chief Engineer Moni Talukder published in the TAPPI journal Paper 360°. Or call us at 1-888-663-2028 and we’ll be happy to discuss hybrid fan designs or any other innovations that could improve your air handling system.