Cement advanced furnace and process

A suspension shaft furnace and process for producing clinkers from discrete pellets of cement-forming batch materials, the furnace having a top vertical shaft section comprising a pellet-feeding and preheating zone, an intermediate fluidized bed section containing fuel inlet conduits for clinkering of the pellets in a fluidized bed, an air-permeable clinker-impermeable support for supporting the pellets as a fluidized bed, and a lower clinker-cooling section beneath the fluidized bed section. Clinker-discharge means permit the gravity flow of clinkers from the top of the fluidized bed down into a cooling zone in the cooling section. Air inlet means supply a combustion-supporting cooling gas up through the cooling zone, to cool the clinkers therein, and upstream through the fluidized bed section to support the combustion of fuel at the fuel inlet conduits. Heated combustion supporting gas passes upstream to the vertical shaft section to heat pellets being fed downstream and regulates their speed and dwell time prior to their entry into the fluidized bed section.