Combustion of single coal particles in a jet

Fluidized bed combustion has attracted much interest in recent years, but there is very little data on the behavior of coal particles at these new conditions. Coal of much larger diameter (1–10 mm), much lower furnace temperatures (~850 °C), and different fluid mechanical conditions exist compared to pulverized coal furnaces. This paper presents experimental data on the behavior and combustion rates of individual coal particles aerodynamically suspended in a heated jet, to stimulate flow conditions in a fluidized bed.Tests of bituminous, sub-bituminous and lignite coals from 2 to 12 mm at jet temperatures of 705 and 816 °C in air and air diluted with equal parts of nitrogen were conducted. The ignition delay time varied from 2 to 44 sec. The devolatilization time extended up to 80 sec and was dependent mainly on particle size. The total burn time was independent of coal type and temperature, and varied as the square of the size and inversally with the oxygen concentration. The total turn time varied from 25 to 740 sec independently of coal type. The square law for the char burning rate was investigated.     

Volatile gas release characteristics of three typical Chinese coals under various pyrolysis conditions

In order to reveal the volatile gas release characteristics under various conditions (pyrolysis temperature, particle size, coal rank and pyrolysis time), three different rank coals (Shenhua 2# bituminous coal, Baorixile coal, and Zhaotong lignite coal) were pyrolyzed in a tubular furnace and the pyrolysis gas was analyzed by online balance and gas chromatography. Results suggest that increasing pyrolysis temperature causes increased release volume of volatile compounds and higher calorific value due to substantial increase of H₂, an incremental increase of CH₄ and the changes in molecule ingredients of C₂C₄ structures. Meanwhile, larger particle size can significantly reduce the released volume for its longer diffusion distance and lower specific surface area. Compared with bituminite, lignite yielded more valuable pyrolysis gases and lower primary reaction temperature. The ideal pyrolysis temperature is 700–800 °C for low rank lignite and 800–900 °C for bituminites. Basically, the productions of CO and CO₂ are associated with oxygen element content in coal while CO₂ releases early mainly by the decarboxylation reaction. Based on the results in the whole pyrolysis process, the CH₄ of higher rank coals is mostly produced by the rupture of aliphatic side chain while the main CH₄ source in lignite is the rupture of alkyl side chains in aromatics.     

褐煤提质技术浅析

褐煤因其热值低、含水量高、易风化自燃等特点,给其燃烧、运输、储存等方面带来了很多困难,如何实现褐煤的高效利用已成为亟待解决的问题。褐煤提质是指褐煤通过干燥或热解工艺降低水分、转化成具有烟煤性质的提质煤。提质技术已成为近年来褐煤应用方面的主要研究方向之一。     

Oxygen enriched co-combustion of biomass and bituminous coal

The oxy-fuel co-combustion behavior of two herbaceous biomass species (Bermuda grass and cornstalk) with bituminous coal was investigated by thermal gravimetric analysis (40°C/min). The incorporation of Bermuda grass or cornstalk could improve combustion indices of the bituminous coal. Once blending the biomass with bituminous coal, ignition temperatures of blends could be advanced by about 100–170°C. With increasing the oxygen concentration or blending ratio, the comprehensive performance index of the most blends and their parent samples increased. For the 80%grass/20%coal blend, there was a strong synergistic effect in its parent samples at 60% oxygen concentration.     

Comparative study of semi-industrial-scale flames of pulverized coals and biomass

Three p.f. flames have been studied in a semi-industrial furnace, using different fuels: a bituminous coal, a lignite, and a biomass (oak sawdust). The operating conditions were exactly the same for the two coals, and very similar to those for the biomass flame. The objective of the study was to evaluate the impact of differences in fuel composition on flame characteristics, through measurement of the spatial distribution of the main parameters: temperature and concentrations of O₂, CO, NO_x, unburnt hydrocarbons, and N₂O. The higher volatiles content in the lignite leads to higher temperatures and more intense combustion than the bituminous coal. Nevertheless, as might be expected, more marked differences are observed between the flames from the biomass and coals. The much higher volatiles content of the wood results in a more intense flame close to the burner, as indicated by visual observations and by concentrations of unburnt gases (CO and unburnt hydrocarbons) in that zone. It is remarkable that the combustion zone extends further for the biomass; while unburnt species were very low for the coals at an axial distance of 1 m, high values were detected for the pulverized oak. The measurements suggest that two stages can be distinguished in the biomass flame: a zone of intense combustion close to the burner, followed by a second region where the large biomass particles gradually devolatilize and are consumed.     

Electrochemical study of composite materials for coal-based direct carbon fuel cell

The efficient conversion of solid carbon fuels into energy by reducing the emission of harmful gases is important for clean environment. In this regards, direct carbon fuel cell (DCFC) is a system that converts solid carbon directly into electrical energy with high thermodynamic efficiency (100%), system efficiency of 80% and half emission of gases compared to conventional coal power plants. This can generate electricity from any carbonaceous fuel such as charcoal, carbon black, carbon fiber, graphite, lignite, bituminous coal and waste materials. In this paper, ternary carbonate-samarium doped ceria (LNK-SDC) electrolyte has been synthesized via co-precipitation technique, while LiNiCuZnFeO (LNCZFO) electrode has been prepared using solid state reaction method. Due to significant ionic conductivity of electrolyte LNK-SDC, it is used in DCFC. Three types of solid carbon (lignite, bituminous, sub-bituminous) are used as fuel to generate power. The X-ray diffraction confirmed the cubic crystalline structure of samarium doped ceria, whereas XRD pattern of LNCZFO showed its composite structure.The proximate and ultimate coal analysis showed that fuel (carbon) with higher carbon content and lower ash content was promising fuel for DCFC. The measured ionic conductivity of LNK-SDC is 0.0998 Scm^?1 and electronic conductivity of LNCZFO is 10.1 Scm^?1 at 700 °C, respectively. A maximum power density of 58 mWcm^?2 is obtained using sub-bituminous fuel.     

Experimental investigation on ignition and burnout characteristics of semi-coke and bituminous coal blends

Ignition and burnout characteristics of semi-coke and bituminous coal blends were investigated by thermogravimetric analyzer and drop tube furnace. The results showed that the ignitability index and the comprehensive combustion characteristic index of the blends decrease as the blending proportion of semi-coke increases, but the average activation energy of the blends increases gradually. Ignition mode of bituminous coal is changed from homogeneous to hetero-homogeneous ignition with the increasing of semi-coke content in the blends. When the mixing proportion of semi-coke is lower than 45%, the burnout rate is lower than the weighted value in the early stage of combustion and gradually higher than the weighted value with the development of combustion process. However, the burnout is always lower than the weighted value to mix with 67% semi-coke. Increasing furnace temperature from 850 °C to 1050 °C can improve the mid-term reaction process, alleviate the negative effects of semi-coke on the co-combustion process and increase the burnout rate. So less than 45% semi-coke blending ratio and increasing furnace temperature are recommended for semi-coke and bituminous coal co-combustion.     

Emissions of organic hazardous air pollutants during Chinese coal combustion

This paper provides a general investigation of the emissions of organic hazardous air pollutants (HAPs) during the combustion of several typical Chinese coals. First, the distribution of four types of HAP, i.e., aliphatics, cyclic hydrocarbons, monoaromatic compounds and PAHs, in the CH₂Cl₂ extracts of six Chinese coals were studied and the influences of the extractive times and coal varieties were also evaluated. Second, the partitioning of these HAPs in the flue gas during coal combustion in a small-scale reactor were investigated, depending on oven temperatures (500 °C, 600 °C, 700 °C, 800 °C, 900 °C) and coal varieties. The behaviors of HAP in the combustion flue gas were compared with those in the CH₂Cl₂ extracts. Finally, combustion was conducted at given conditions in two laboratory-scale reactors: a fluidized bed and a fixed bed. Two coals (Shengmu bituminous coal and Xunhuan anthracite coal) and one coke were considered in this case. The HAP partitioning both in flue gases and in ashes were evaluated and compared between the two combustors.     

Investigation of the Combustion Characteristics of Zonguldak Bituminous Coal Using DTA and DTG

Combustion characteristics of coking, semicoking, and noncoking Turkish bituminous coal samples from Zonguldak basin were investigated applying differential thermal analysis (DTA) and differential thermogravimetry (DTG) techniques. Results were compared with that of the coke from Zonguldak bituminous coal, a Turkish lignite sample from Soma, and a Siberian bituminous coal sample. The thermal data from both techniques showed some differences depending on the proximate analyses of the samples. Noncombustible components of the volatile matter led to important changes in thermal behavior. The data from both methods were evaluated jointly, and some thermal properties were interpreted considering these methods in a complementary combination.     

The effect of air staged combustion on NOx emissions in dried lignite combustion

Experiments were carried out in a multi-path air inlet one-dimensional furnace to assess NOx emission characteristics of the staged combustion of BRXL lignite and its dried coals. The impact of moisture content, multiple air staging, pulverized coal fineness and burnout air position on NOx emissions under deep, middle and shallow air-staged combustion conditions. Moreover, the impact of blending coals on NOx emissions was investigated in this paper. The unburned carbon concentration in fly ash was also tested. Experimental results based on the combustion of BRXL lignite and its dried coals show that NOx emissions can be reduced drastically by air-staged combustion. NOx emissions reduce with the increase of the air that is staged and the distance between the burner and burnout air position. Dried coal of BRXL lignite emits a smaller amount of NOx than that of BRXL lignite. However, the dried degree of BRXL lignite is closely related to R₉₀ fineness. Dried coal with optimal moisture content yields least NOx emissions. When deep or middle staged combustion was adopted, the application of multi-staged combustion is conducive to NOx reduction. However, when shallow staged combustion was adopted, NOx emissions are higher in multi-staged combustion than that in single-staged combustion with M_S = 0.54. Thus, the existence of a certain concentration of O₂ in reduction zone would significantly reduce NOx emissions. The blending coals that dried coals of BRXL lignite were blended with bituminous coals emit a larger amount of NOx than that of the dried coal alone. NOx emissions decrease with the increase of the proportion of dried coal in the blending coal. Moreover, the unburned carbon concentration in fly ash of dried coal in staged combustion is lower than that of BRXL lignite in staged combustion. On the whole, the dried coal of BRXL lignite is conducive to NOx reduction in staged combustion.     

The effect of heating on the wettability of lignite

Lignite is difficult to float because it owns high wettability. Furthermore, lignite can easily suffer the spontaneous combustion and magmatic intrusions which heat lignite from inside and have a heating impact on lignite properties. The heating process not only changes the physical and chemical properties of lignite but also changes its wettability. In this investigation, the changes in the wettability of lignite before and after the heating process were studied. The temperatures of the heating process were fixed at 500, 600, 700, 800, 900, and 1,000°С. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and contact angle measurements were used in the characterization of the wettability of lignite surface. Throughout this paper, it was found that the wettability of lignite could be decreased after the heating process. The lowest wettability of lignite surface could be obtained after heating at the temperature of 900°С.     

Technological aspects of sunflower biomass and brown coal co-firing

The technological problems occurring in the co-firing of biomass and brown coal (lignite) prompted this research project. During the fuel preparation, accidental self-ignition and explosions were several times reported by power plants operators. The aim of this study was to evaluate brown coal, sunflower husks and sunflower husk pellets as fuels for co-firing in energetic boilers. Sunflower husk had a lower ash content and calorific value than the pellets. The range of the combustion temperatures of the biomass (200–300 °C) was narrower than that of brown coal (200–800 °C). The formation of highly alkaline ash from the biomass resulted in the formation in boiler of agglomerates of ash. The elemental composition, thermogravimetric and biological analyses suggested that the pellets contained synthetic additives difficult to identify. The biological method was proposed for evaluating biomass additives. The use of additional agents in the pelletizing process may influence on the combustion parameters. Mixing biomass with brown coal may occasionally result in self-ignition in the logistic chain. Plastic additives and biological activity may contribute to self-ignition.     

不同采矿深度准东煤物化特性和燃烧性能研究

选取天池能源浅层和深层煤样进行研究,以大同烟煤作为对比,了解采矿深度对煤质及燃烧特性的影响,为准东煤的勘探和燃烧提供必要的理论依据。研究发现,随着采矿深度的增加,煤中水分减少、灰分降低、发热量增加、含硫量减少,煤质更加接近烟煤;煤灰中Fe2O3明显减少,煤的结渣趋势减轻;煤的着火温度略有降低,燃烧速率提高,燃烧特性变好。与大同烟煤相比,准东煤高水分、低发热量、低氮含量,燃烧时着火温度显著降低且燃烧速率低。     

Jet flames of a refuse derived fuel

This paper is concerned with combustion of a refuse derived fuel in a small-scale flame. The objective is to provide a direct comparison of the RDF flame properties with properties of pulverized coal flames fired under similar boundary conditions. Measurements of temperature, gas composition (O₂, CO₂, CO, NO) and burnout have demonstrated fundamental differences between the coal flames and the RDF flames. The pulverized coals ignite in the close vicinity of the burner and most of the combustion is completed within the first 300 ms. Despite the high volatile content of the RDF, its combustion extends far into the furnace and after 1.8 s residence time only a 94% burnout has been achieved. This effect has been attributed not only to the larger particle size of fluffy RDF particles but also to differences in RDF volatiles if compared to coal volatiles. Substantial amounts of oily tars have been observed in the RDF flames even though the flame temperatures exceeded 1300 °C. The presence of these tars has enhanced the slagging propensity of RDF flames and rapidly growing deposits of high carbon content have been observed.     

Effect of temperature on Lu’an bituminous char structure evolution in pyrolysis and combustion

In the process of pyrolysis and combustion of coal particles, coal structure evolution will be affected by the ash behavior, which will further affect the char reactivity, especially in the ash melting temperature zone. Lu’an bituminous char and ash samples were prepared at the N₂ and air atmospheres respectively across ash melting temperature. A scanning electron microscope (SEM) was used to observe the morphology of char and ash. The specific surface area (SSA) analyzer and thermogravimetric analyzer were respectively adopted to obtain the pore structure characteristics of the coal chars and combustion parameters. Besides, an X-ray diffractometer (XRD) was applied to investigate the graphitization degree of coal chars prepared at different pyrolysis temperatures. The SEM results indicated that the number density and physical dimension of ash spheres exuded from the char particles both gradually increased with the increasing temperature, thus the coalescence of ash spheres could be observed obviously above 1100°C. Some flocculent materials appeared on the surface of the char particles at 1300°C, and it could be speculated that β-Si₃N₄ was generated in the pyrolysis process under N₂. The SSA of the chars decreased with the increasing pyrolysis temperature. Inside the char particles, the micropore area and its proportion in the SSA also declined as the pyrolysis temperature increased. Furthermore, the constantly increasing pyrolysis temperature also caused the reactivity of char decrease, which is consistent with the results obtained by XRD. The higher combustion temperature resulted in the lower porosity and more fragments of the ash.     

A comparison of ignition characteristics of slurry fuels prepared using coal processing waste and finely divided coal

The scientific novelty of the research is that for the first time differences in the conditions and characteristics of the ignition and burning of droplets of slurries prepared on the basis of coals and waste from their enrichment have been established. The practical significance of the research results is that they illustrate the prospects of utilization of the numerous coal enrichment wastes by combustion in the composition of aqueous slurries with the generation of a rather large amount of energy and a relatively small negative environmental impact. The most significant characteristics were compared: the limiting (minimum) temperature; the ignition delay times; the maximum combustion temperature; the concentration of the main gas anthropogenic emissions. It has been found that fuel mixtures prepared from wet waste of coal flotation are characterized by higher inertia and ignition temperatures compared to slurries with high-quality coal dust. However, the established differences considering the availability and low cost of filter cakes illustrate the prospects of waste derived fuel combustion. The combustion heat of the investigated slurries based on coal and filter cake with addition of petroleum products differs by no more than 5–30%. The average difference between the duration of ignition for fuel droplets based on dust and filter cake of coking and low-caking coals is about 20%. At that the addition of waste turbine oil (10% wt.) into the filter cake reduces the duration of ignition by 12–25% and the ignition temperature – by 10–15 °C without a significant increase in anthropogenic gas emissions. The difference between the minimum ignition temperatures of coal and waste coal based slurries was from 10 °C to 80 °C. On environmental and economic indicators, coal waste is more attractive than coal.     

200MW褐煤机组改烧烟煤的试验研究

200MW褐煤机组在改为全烧烟煤时,进行了改前改后的对比性试验,试验中发现,在设备不做大的启动时,可全烧省内烟煤。锅炉效率基本达到烧褐煤时的设计值,燃烧稳定,130MW以上不需投油助燃,未发现结焦,炉膛平均温度水平略高于烧褐煤时的温度,煤粉细度高于经济煤粉细度,磨出口温度高,含氧量高,不能满足制粉系统防爆要求。     

Mineral transformation during combustion of coal blends

Mineral behaviour for two individual coals (I, J) and their two‐component coal blends and 800°C ash blends heating were studied. Ash samples were heated progressively from 800°C to IT (initial deformation temperature) at 100°C intervals under different conditions. Coal samples were heated from room temperature to the corresponding temperature. Mineral transformation at each temperature was determined by X‐ray diffraction and SEM measurements. The results show that Si, Al, Fe and Ca compounds have a great form variation during heating. Their forms at different temperatures depend on the chemical composition of the ash, the blending ratio and the atmosphere. For different coal ashes, the main mineral matters at 800°C were quartz, anhydrite, hematite, calcite and feldspar. As the temperature increased, oxidation, thermal decomposition, transformation and reaction occurred between the components. Comparing a 40% I+60% J ash blend with individual ashes, fayalite was formed at 1100°C for the blend; the reaction product existed in a glassy phase at 1300°C. For a coal blend having the same ash ratio as the ash blend, FeO reacted with amorphous SiO₂ or Al₂O₃ to form fayalite and hercynite at 1000°C. As the temperature increased to 1100°C, fayalite and hercynite increased obviously. At 1200°C, some iron inclusion compounds melted to become glassy phase matter. Compared with the ash blend, iron species undergo a different change during coal blend heating: fayalite and hercynite formed earlier, iron compounds melted to form a glassy phase at lower temperature. This may be caused by early combustion of the more reactive coal (J coal) in the blend inducing local variation in oxygen concentration gradients around the less reactive coal and consequently affecting the reaction atmosphere and Fe mineral behaviour and interaction. That is to say, for coal blends, the mineral transformation was affected by both the mineral species interaction and the combustion behaviour. The calculations were performed to examine the fate of mineral matter under different combustion conditions using a thermodynamic chemical equilibrium calculation program. Calculations from coal blends were comparable with experiments from ash blends, this is because the calculation program only considers the interaction among the mineral species but does not consider the combustion reaction. It indicates that combustion and the relative volatiles also affected the mineral behaviour and slagging during coal blend combustion. Meanwhile, the mineral species evaporations were measured at high temperature: the main evaporated species were Na, K pure species and compounds, Fe, FeO, SiO and SiO₂. The evaporation of Fe has an important effect on initial deposition. Calculations were comparable with the experiments. Copyright © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Partial slagging coal gasifier operational performance and product characteristics for energy sustainability in an integrated gasification combined cycle system

Operational performance of two ton/day coal partial slagging entrained-bed gasifier has been investigated. Coal to syngas conversion under operating temperature (1100–1300 °C), pressure (19.7–20.4 bar) and oxygen to coal ratio of 0.70 produced syngas at a flow rate of 177.5 Nm³/h. Composition of produced syngas was; CO 38–40 vol%, H₂ 22–23 vol%, CO₂ 7–8 vol%, and CH₄ 1.0–1.5 vol%. Carbon conversion and cold gas efficiency after one pass through operation were found to be 92.81% and 73.83% respectively. Fly ash fines produced were high in carbon content and acidic oxides than the bottom slag. Non-metal leaching nature of bottom slag was confirmed with ICP analysis. Based on the results, an industrial symbiosis can be established by recycling and reusing high carbon content fly ash fines in the gasifier. The same can be sold to other industries as a quality energy fuel. Slag produced can be used for the construction of roads and pavements.     

煤粉燃烧污染物排放特性的试验研究

由煤燃烧产生的NOx、SOx引起的污染受到世界各国的重视,降低污染物排放成为燃烧研究的重要课题.选择了某电厂常用的4种褐煤和3种烟煤,研究了单煤及其混煤的污染物排放特性.结果表明:氧浓度增加时,或煤粉较细时,NOx的排放增加;而水分能降低NOx的排放;SOx的排放规律不明显.