An Experimental Study on Binderless Briquetting of Low‐Rank Coals

The potential of binderless briquetting as a means of transforming low‐rank coals into low moisture high grade solid fuel products has been studied. Using two dried low‐rank coals, binderless briquettes with high mechanical strength have been successfully produced through mechanical compression. An increase in heating value was achieved as a result of moisture reduction in the briquettes compared to as‐received coals. The residue moisture content in the briquettes had a predominant effect on briquetting characteristics and there existed an optimum moisture content for the maximum briquettes strength. The chemical structure and wettability of binderless briquettes were analyzed using FTIR and contact angle measurement. The results showed that hydrophobicity and chemical structure significantly affected the briquette properties.     

Experimental study on microwave drying of Chinese and Indonesian low-rank coals

Drying characteristics of low rank coals in a local microwave oven operating at 2.45 GHz were investigated. Effects of coal particle size, microwave power level, and coal sample size on drying characteristics were studied. Weight losses and temperature history of the samples were measured during drying. Drying rates were then obtained vs. drying time and moisture content. It was found that drying rate was increased with increasing coal particle size showing different trends from conventional drying methods reported in the literature. It was also observed that drying rate increased with increasing power output of the microwave oven or with decreasing coal sample weight. Effects of coal ash content and coal type were also investigated by comparing Chinese and Indonesian low rank coals. Ash content seems to be the governing factor in determining the drying characteristics for coal samples with small particle sizes. Drying mechanism of coals under microwave drying conditions was also discussed.     

Pyrolytic characteristics of blended coal and woody biomass

Pyrolytic characteristics of biomass/coal mixtures were investigated under conditions pertinent to pulverised fuel boilers. It was found that the mixtures of biomass/coal follow the behaviour of their parent materials in an additive manner. The two fuels did not chemically interact under inert conditions indicating a general lack of synergistic effects. As such, the yield of the major pyrolysis products is linearly proportional to the percentage of biomass and coal in the mixture. Even the compositions of the gaseous products from blended samples are linearly proportional to those of their parent fuels. These findings can potentially help to understand and predict the behaviour of biomass/coal blends in practical systems.