Assessment of Slurry Transport Efficiency after Applying Deflocculant in the Lime Production Process

The paper presents a method for improving the lime production process by increasing the efficiency of the lime slurry transport that occurs in it. The aim of the study was to reduce the energy demand of the pump installed in the discharge line. The presented solution consists of applying an additive called deflocculant to the transported slurry in order to reduce its viscosity while increasing the concentration of solids content. The deflocculant applied to the slurry is composed of waste material from the lime slaking process and an environmentally neutral chemical substance in the form of sodium-water glass. The rheological studies conducted confirm the positive effect of the selected deflocculant on the properties of the slurry tested. As a result of the analysis, it has been shown that the proposed solution has a substantial effect on reducing the friction factor of the transported slurry, thus reducing the energy consumption in the investigated process.