Planetary cooler system for rotary drums such as kilns

Abstract

A planetary cooler system is disclosed for cooling hot pulverous or granular material produced and exited from the discharge end of an inclined rotary drum such as a rotary kiln. A plurality of cooler tubes are mounted in planetary fashion about the material discharge end of the kiln with the axis of each tube in parallel, or approximately parallel, relation to the axis of the drum. A conduit communicates the discharge portion of the rotary drum with each cooler tube for the passage of hot material therethrough in countercurrent to preheated cooling air passing from the cooler tube to the drum to serve as combustion air. The conduit is so positioned as to divide each cooler into at least two sections, a first section of the cooler tube extending away from the conduit in a direction generally upstream of the flow of material inside the kiln, and the second section extending away from the conduit in a direction generally downstream of the flow of material in the kiln. Both sections of each cooler tube have a material outlet end portion for discharging hot material such as cement clinker, and each outlet end portion has means associated therewith to permit the entrance of cooling air therein and to discharge hot material from the cooler tube section. The arrangement permits a greater capacity to handle relatively large volumes of material from the rotary kiln without altering the load to which the kiln sections are subjected. Also the necessity to increase the number of cooler tubes or diameters of the components involved is also avoided.