Application of factorial analysis for quicklime production from limestone

Abstract

Production of quicklime from limestone was investigated in this study. Two level Full Factorial Design has been employed to study the effect of different experimental variables on the production of quicklime. Two variables of calcinations temperature (800 ^oC and 1000 ^oC), calcinations time (30 mins and 60 mins) and limestone particle size (0.3 mm and 6 mm) were used to identify the significant effects and interactions in the limestone calcination batch studies. An empirical model has been developed using the experimental data. The results show that production of quicklime was strongly affected by the variations in calcinations temperature, calcinations time and limestone particle sizes. The factorial analysis also suggested that there is a significant interaction between calcination temperature and calcination time to produce quicklime of high yield and reactivity. The maximum quicklime quality yield of 94.97% was achieved when the production was carried out at 1000 °C, calcinations time of 30 minutes with limestone particle size of 0.3 mm. The result of Mean Absolute Percentage Error (MAPE) of 3.44% less than minimum of 15% obtained from the validation and confirmatory experiment shows that the regression is suitable for predicting the yield of quicklime from limestone.

Keywords: limestone, quicklime, Full Factorial Design, Yield, Reactivity