Case Study · Ceramics & Refractories
Tunnel Kiln Burner Retrofit for Biscuit Firing
A 60 m roller-hearth tunnel kiln needed steady 1200C across the biscuit zone but the old burners drifted and over-fired the edges. Modulating Riello burners with ratio control flattened the curve and cut gas use.
The challenge
The old on/off burners let the biscuit zone swing, scorching edges while the centre stayed under-fired.
Manual air/fuel trim could not hold the 1200C profile as the kiln car speed varied through the shift.
High edge losses pushed gas consumption above the plant's energy budget.
Spares for the legacy burners were scarce and lead times long.
What we supplied & did
Fitted Riello RL100 modulating gas burners at the preheat and biscuit zones for continuous output control.
Installed a Dungs two-stage safety valve train with leak test and dual shut-off on each burner.
Added Honeywell UV flame scanners and a Siemens RWF55 air/fuel ratio controller linked to the zone thermocouples.
Tuned the burner/recuperator balance on site to widen the uniform-temperature window.
Measured results
What changed on the line
The biscuit zone holds a flat 1200C profile; edge scorch dropped and first-quality yield rose.
Ratio-linked modulation removed manual trimming and followed car speed automatically.
Gas use fell about 9% with fewer over-fire events.
Standard Riello/Dungs spares shortened any future downtime.
Equipment used in this project
Each category page covers what the part does, how it fails and what to check before ordering.
Gas Burners
Modulating firing for long tunnel kilns.
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Gas Pressure Regulator
Holds burner pressure against supply swing.
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Flame Detector
UV supervision in high-temperature duty.
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Burner Program Controller
Sequences ignition and ratio control.
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Send the load, the fuel and the process profile — we come back with matching burner, controls and a safety train, and a quotation.
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