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ASH ANALYSIS

AND

CLINKER FORMATION

OF

UTAH COALS

by

EA.RL B. ' BUTLER

A thesis submitted to the Faculty of the

University of Utah in partial fulfillment of the require­
ments for the degree of Master of Science.

May 15, 1936

Approved b y
----------�-------,��,--==�--�----------------
THIS THESIS IS
IS A
A RECORD OF
OF THE WORK
~~!ORK DONE IN
THE
THE UTAH ENGINEERING EXPERIMENT STATION ON:
ON:

ASH ANALYSIS
AND
CLINKER FORMATION
OF
UTAH COALS
.'

Utah
;¥0F~J2i~e~7~f~r·----
RavitzT^Di^crEor
Utah. Engineering Experiment Station

1.435.'11.
143551
 ii1
iii

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
ACKNOWLEDGMENT S

The
The author wishes
wishes to
to express
his
his appreciation to
to the
the Utah Engineering
Experiment Station for the Fellowship
for the
that
that made this
this work possible; to Professor
possible; to
H. o.
H. 0. Cowles,
Cowles, his
his Senior Investigator,
Investigator, for
encouragement and advice;
advice; to
to Dr.
Dr. S.
S. F.
F.
Ravitz
Ravitz for
for many helpful suggestions;
suggestions; to
Professor A.
A. L.
L. Crawford for the micro­
for the micro-
scopic examlnations;
examinations; and to
to Mrs. McIntosh,
Mrs, Mcintosh,
Librarian of the Engineering Library,
of the Library, for
her aid in
in searching through the literature.
the literature.
 iv

ABSTRACT
ABSTRACT

The
The object of
of this
this investigation was
to
to find if there is
if there is aa relation between the
analysis
analysis of
of coal
coal ash and clinker formation and
to
to determine if
if the
the use of
of additional agents
in
in coal will improve clinker formation.
coal will formation. The
conclusions reached are
are that
that aa monosilicate or
high silicate ash will
will give, the most desirable
give the
kind of
of clinker and that
that the
the addition of
of finely
divided silicia or
or of
of limestone can be
be used to
control clinker formation.
formation. The
The addition of
these
these agents
agents indiscriminately will
will not be
be of
any value.
value.
 Vv

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Page
Acknowledgments iii
Acknowledgments ill
Abstract iv
Abstract iv
Table of Contents v
Table of Contents v
List of Tables vi
List of Tables vi
I
Chapter I
Introduction 1
1

the Problem
History of the 2
Relevant Literature 6
Softenj.ng Temperature and Clinker
Softening
Formation 8
Ash Composition and Softening Temperature 9
The Effect of
The of Inerts
Inerts on
on Clinker Formation 10
Factors in
in Clinker Formation 12
Type
Type of
of Clinker Formation 14
Discussion 14
Chapter II
II
Experimental 16
Proximate
Proximate Analysis
Analysis 16
Ash
Ash Analysis
Analysis 17
17
Ash
Ash Fusion Temperature 21
21
Stoker Tests
Tests 23
23
Microscopic Examinations
Examinations 29
29

Chapter
Chapter III
III
Conclusion 31
31
Summary
Summary 31
31
Suggestions
Suggestions for
for Fur ther Work
Further Work 32
32
Bibliography 33
33
 vi
VI

LIST OF
OP TABLES

Chapter I
I

Table I
I 4
Proximate and
Proximate and Ash
Ash Analysis
Analysis Coal B
Coal B
Table II
Table II 4
Screen
Screen Size Distribution Coal
Size Distribution D
Coal D
Table III
Table 4
Analysis of
Analysis of Ash From
Prom Various
Various Sizes
Sizes of
Coal B

Table IV
Table 5
Fusion Temperatures of
of Treated and Un­
Un-
treated Ash

Table
Table V 5
Analysis
Analysis of
of Stoker
Stoker Clinker
Clinker

Chapter II

Table VI
VI 19
Proximate Analysis

Table
Table VII
VII 19
Ash Analysis

Table VIII
Table VIII 19
Ash Pounds
Pounds per 100 pounds Coal
100 pounds Coal and
Silicate Degree

Table IX 22
Temperatures of
Fusion Temperstures of Coal Ashes
Table X
Table 22
22
Distribution of
of Residue from Coal
Coal D
XI
Table XI 22
Analysis of
of Ash in
in Residue
Residue from Coal
Coal D
Table XII
XII 28
Amount and Kind of
Amount of Clinker
 " . '~' , /

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(
,
r~
. I

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f', "
",

CHAPTER I
I

INTRODUCTION

The residue left from the

the burning of
of coal
coal often
creates
creates aa serious problem,
problem, whether the
the coal
coal be burned in
in a
small stove or aa large
large furnace.
furnace. Clinkers
Clinkers are
are cursed or
blessed depending upon the type of
the type of furnace
furnace used and the
kind of
of clinker.
clinker. The
The purpose of
of this
this investigation was
was to
find if ~here is
if there is aa relation between the
the analysis
analysis of
of the
the coal
ash and the
the clinker formation.
formation. If this
If this is
is the
the case
case the
addition of
of inerts to the
inerts to the smaller sizes
sizes of
of coal will change
, !
the
the ash analysis and
and clinker formation may be
be controlled.
controlled.

Nature has
has supplied Utah
utah with an
an abundance of
coal.
coal. This
This coal is
is burned under aa variety of conditions.
of conditions,
there
there are
are many complaints about
about clinker formation and some
about the
the lack of
of clinker formation.
formation. It
It would be
be highly
desirable to
to be able to control clinker formation,
able to formation, if
if it
could be
be done
done at
at aa moderate cost.
cost.

The elimination of
of clinkers is
is not
not always desir-
always desir­
able.
able. The kind of
of clinker formed is more important than
is more
 22

the
the amount.
amount. Ashes are
Ashes are removed from an
an underfeed stokered
furnace
furnace easiest in
in large pieces
pieces with aa pair of tongs.
of tongs.
Clinkers
Clinkers are
are desirable providing they do
do not
not interfere with
the
the normal working of
of the
the furnace.
furnace. With overfeed.
overfeed firing
ash is
is removed after it
it drops
drops through aa grate.
grate. Clinkers
remain on top of the grate,
of the grate, hinder the
the action of
of the fur-
the fur­
nace,
nace, and are
are removed by distu.rbing
disturbing the
the fuel bed.
fuel bed. Clinkers
are
are not wanted.
wanted. The chain grate stoker carries
carries the
the ash out
of
of the
the combustion zone.
zone. The right kind of
of clinker will
protect the
the grates
grates from the
the hottest part of
of the
the fuel bed.
fuel bed.

In the
the places that
that clinkers are
are desirable the
kind of
of clinker becomes important.
important. The
The clinker must con­
con-
tain very little unburned coal,
coal, it
it must not
not stick to
to grates
or
or furnace
furnace walls,
walls, it
it must
must not clog grates or
or tuyeres
tuyeres and it
must be easily broken.
broken. In general,
general, aa desirable clinker is
porous
porous and brittle;
brittle; porous
porous to
to allow free
free passage of
of air
air in
the
the fuel bed; brittle so
fuel bed; so movements in
in the
the fuel
fuel bed can
break the
the clinker and to facilitate
and to facilitate removal of
of the
the largest
pieces.
pieces.
• <

There is
is very little published on kind of
of clinker
formation.
formation. There has
has been aa great amount of
of work done on
the
the amount
amount of clinker.
of clinker.

History of
of the
the Problem
 33

This
This investigation is
is aa continuation of
of work
done
done by Ravitz,
Ravitz, Cowles
Cowles and Peck/at the utah
Peck'at the Utah Engineering
Experiment Station. The same samples
Station. The samples of
of coal
coal were used for
this work.
this work.

Fused ash is
is aa slag.
slag. If the alumina be con­
If the con-
sidered aa basic constituent and the
the silicate degree be
calculated, the ash from Utah coals
calculated, the coals is
is aa high silicate
slag.
slag. This
This is
is responsible for
for one
one trouble--grate corro-
trouble—grate corro­
sion,
sion, since
since iron oxide
oxide on the grate will be
on the be readily
attached by the
the acid slag.
slag. From this
this viewpoint aa chem­
chem-
ically balanced,
balanced, monosilicate,
monosilicate, or aa basic,
basic, subsilicate,
subsilicate,
ash is
is desirable.
desirable. Ravitz, Cowles,
Ravitz, Cowles, and Peck/added
Peck'added aa cal­
cal-
culated amount of limestone to
to aa coal to
to make aa monosil­
monosil-
icate
icate ash and noted the
the effect on the
the kind of clinker.
of clinker.
They improved the
the kind of
of clinker from four
four out
out of five
of five
coals.
coals. The effect on amount of
of clinker was
was not recorded.
recorded.

In all
all cases
cases the
the iron content of
of the
the clinker was
not
not changed or was decreased.
or was decreased. This
This would
^ould tend to
to indicate
less
less grate corrosion.
corrosion. This
This is not conclusive because the
is not
fly
fly ash could not
not be
be taken into account.
into account.

A
A screen size
size was
was made
made on coal
coal B to
to find out
out if
the elimination of
the the fine
of the fine sizes
sizes from the
the coal
coal would be an
'Ravitz,
'Ravitz, S.
S. F.,
P., cowles, H. 0.,
Cowles, H. 0., and Peck, W. v.
Peck, W. V.
"Ash analysis
analysis and Clinker FornRtion
Formation of Western Stoker
Slacks."
Slaeks." Utah Engineering Experiment Station.
Station.
 Results of' Tests
Results of Tests on Coal
Coal B by
Ravitz,
Ravitz, Cowles,
Cowles, and Peck

Table I
I

Proximate Analysis
Analysis Analysis
Ash Analysis
BTU/lb 13,600 SiO
SiOo 54.0%
54.0$
Sulphur 0.84%
0.84$ Fe
Fe20~3
p 0 '7.9
7.9
Volatile 42.6 %
42.6 $ Al|o^
A1003 26.2
Fixed Carbon 54.0 %
54.0 $ > Ca
Cap '7.2
7.2
Ash 4.6 %$ » MgO 1.0

Table II

Screen Size Distribution of

of Coal B
Coal B

Screen Size Coal Distribution Ash Ccntent

Content Ash Distribution
..+ 10
10 mesh
mesh 6'7.0%
67.0$ 4.1%
4.1$ 61.
61.7 '7
t 48
+ 48 "" 24.6
24.6 4.0 21.5
21.5
+
+ 100 n
100 n 2.8
2.8 6.2
6.2 3.'7
3.7
...t 200 u
200 II 2.9
2.9 8.4
8.4 5.4
5.4
_- 200 200 If tt
2.'7
2.7 13.'7
13.7 7.'7
7.7

Table III

Analysis of
of Ash From Various Sizes
Sizes of
of Coal
Coal B

Screen Size Si0

Si022
Fe22°033
Pe A122°033
A1 CaO
t 10
+ 10 mesh
mesh 54.'7%
54.7$ 6.9$
6.9% 26.8%
26.8$ 5.0$
5.0%
11tI
48
tt 48 50.'7
50.7 9.2 25.4
25.4 6.0
t* 100 If"
100
200 *
tt 200 ..
n
50.'7
50.7
48.2
48.2
12.3
11.6
21.6
21.6
20.8
20.8
10.1
11.4
11.4
200 "
-- 200 43.2
43.2 14.2 1'7.6
17.6 11.6
 55

Results
Results of
of Tests
Tests on Coal
Coal B by
Ravitz,
Ravitz, Cowles,
Cowles, and Peck
continued

Table IV

Fusion Temperatures of
of Treated and
and Untreated Ash

CaO
CaO Added Fusion Temp
lbs.
lbs. per 100 lbs.
lbs. ash Silica Ratio
Ratio of
°F
Coal B none 1.76 2275
2.0 1.47 2165
77.5 1.0 2290

Table V

Analysis of Stoker Clinker From

Treated and
and Untreated Coals

Limestone added Silica Iron

lbs.
lbs, per ton of
of in
in in
moisture-free coal
coal Clinker Clinker
Coal
Coal B none 66.0
66.0 9.2
9.2
71.3
71.3 54.0
54.0 5.0
5.0
improvement.
improvement. They round
found the
the bases (Fe 0 and CaO)
(Fe 0~ CaO) con-
2 3 o

centrated in the
the rine
fine sizes;
sizes; thererore
therefore eliminating the
rines
fines would increase rather than decrease the
the silicate
degree.
degree.

Tables
Tables II to V give
to V give the results of
the results tests on Coal
of tests Coal B
by Ravitz,
Ravitz, Cowles,
Cowles, and Peck:
Peck* In their paper it
it is desig-
is desig­
nated as
as Coal E.
E.

Relevant Literature

The
The sortening
softening temperature of
of finely divided coal
ash has
has been connected with clinker formation many times.
times.
All the
the work has
has been with amount rather than kind of
clinker.
clinker. The method for
for determining the
the sortening temper-
softening temper­
ature
ature or
of coal ash has
has been standardized by the
the American
for Testing Materials~
Society ror Materials! The rirst
first equipment
eo uipment used
x

for
for the
the determination or
of ash softening temperatures was
was an
adaptation of the Melters furnace,
of the furnace, and only recently has
has a
J
better type
type rurnac€ proposed..
furnac-e been proposed 1

The chier
chief objections to
to the
the standard rurnace
furnace are
the
the limit or
of accuracy and the
the rew
few determinations possible
per day.
day. ~tandard specirications
Standard specifications allow aa tolerance of
American Society fo~
£American
£
Society for Testing
Testing Materials, standards:
Materials, Standards:
Part II, 1933.
Part II, 1933.
Barrett, E.
3
Barrett,
3 E. P.
P. "A Furnace
Furnace ror
for the
the Measurement of
or
Coal-Ash Softening Temperature,"
Temperature," Technical Paper 16,
16, Mineral
Industeries Experiment stHtion,
Station, Pennsylvania state
State College
(1935)
(1935)
 7
7

oF.
90°P.
90 Temperatures can be read to
to the
the nearest five
five
degrees
degrees with the
the pyrometers usually available.
available. Four
Pour or
five
five cones
cones are the maximum that
are the that can be observed at
at one
time
time in the
the standard furnace.
furnace. The
The furnace
furnace cools
cools so 310wly
so slowly
that
that only two
two runs
runs can be made per day.
day. Ten determinations
is the
per day is the maximum.
maximum. in preparing this
Often in this report one
run
run of
of four
four cones was all
cones was that could be made
all that made in
in one day.
one day.

Barret~claims for the horizontal muffle type

9
Barret claims for the
furnace the same atmosphere as
furnace the as in
in the
the standard furnace
furnace plus
more
more accurate temperature readings
readings and aa lower heat capac­
capac-
ity of
of the
the furnace. The cones
furnace. The cones are
are the
the hottest object
visible,
visible, clearly outlined against aa darker background.
background.
They need not
not be disturbed in
in order to
to see
see them and if
if an
optical pyrometer is
is used the
the temperature is
is easy to
to read.
read.
The
The author has
has found he
he must guard against reading the
maximum temperature visible in
in the
the standard furnace
furnace rather
than the temperature of
than the the cones.
of the cones. A
A couple of
of pieces
pieces of
friction tape
tape placed over the
the sight hole
hole to
to limit the
the field
of
of view to
to the
the area of the cones
of the has helped in
cones has in reading the
an optical pyrometer.
temperatures with an pyrometer.

If
If Barret's work had been published aa little
earlier aa horizontal muffle type furnace
furnace would have been
constructed in
in order to
to check his
his work
-'ork and verify his
r

claims.
claims.
 88

Softening Temperature and Clinker Formation

Among the
the published articles
articles correlating the
softening temperature and clinker rormation the most com­
formation the com-
p1ete
plete is
is the
the work of Nicholls and Selvig!
of Tficholls SelvigT They divided,
divided
their work into two parts.
two parts. tlPart II -- Laboratory Study of
"Part
! '

Nature,
Nature, Distribution and Fusibility of
of the
the Ash,tl
Ash," "part
"Part II
II --
A Study 'of
A study of Ash and
and Clinker From the
the Burning of Coa1s.11
Coals." The
same
same samples were
were used in
in both parts.
parts. Under Part I
I complete
analysis of
analysis of the
the ash '<-as
^as made,
made, including the
the forms
forms of
of sulphur
in the
in the coal.
coal. Next float
float and sink tests
tests were made on
on the
coals and the
coals the float
float and
and sink portions analysed separately.
separa-~ ely.

The ash in the

The float por-;,
the rloat portions
ions would represent intrinsic
jntrinsic ash
ash
and in the
the sink portions extranious ash.
ash. It
It was
was thought
that the
that the more
more intimately mixed intrinsic ash would have a
greater effect on clinker formation than total
total composition.
composition.
The sortening
The softening temperature of
of the
the sink portion agreed more
closely with that
closely of the
that or the original
original than
than did
did the
the softening
softening
temperature of
temperature of the float portion.
the float portion. The coals
The coals w'ere
were arranged
arranged
in order
in order of
of softening
softening temperature as aa prediction
temperature as of clin-
prediction of c1in-
kering under
kering under Part
Part II.
II.

An attempt was
was made to
to correlate the
the ash com-
position and softening temperature.
positlon temperature. The ra11o
ratio of A1203+Si02
of Alp0gfS10g>
1Nich611s,
fNicholls, P., Selvig, vr.~."arurlDLcketts,
P., Selvig, W. A.,-.and Ricketts, E. B.,
E. B.,
"Clinker Formation as to the Fusibility of
as Related to of Coal
1t
Ash.
Ash." U.
U. S.
S. B.
B. M.
M. Bulletin 364 (1932).
364 (1932).
 9
9

to
to Fe Na20~ K^O
3 t CaOt
2 03* MgOt NagOt K20 was
was plotted
plotted against
against softening
softening
0 C a 0
F®2 * MgOf
temperature.
temperature. The The higher the ratio the higher the
ratio the the softening
temperature;
temperature; but individual points
points deviated far
far from the
mean curve.
curve.

In Part II
II the
the coals
coals were burned in
in an especially
constructed furnace
furnace under the same
same carefully controlled
conditions.
conditions. Clinkering
Glinkering was
was measured only in
in terms
terms of
of the
amount of
of large
large size
size pieces
pieces in
In the residue. The
the residue. The percent
clinker was
was plotted against the
the ash SOftening
softening temperature
a~
as determined In
in Part
Part I.
I. The
The plots
plots showed that the
the lower
the
the softening temperature the
the higher the
the per cent
cent clinker
in the
in residue; but individual
the residue; Individual determinations deviated
materially from the
the mean curve.
curve.

Ash Composition and Softening Temperature

'j •

The composition of coal ash is too complex to

The composition of coal ash is too complex to
allow accurate plotting of softening temperature against
allow accurate plotting of softening temperature against
composition on a two component chart. Estep, Seltz,
composition on a two component chart. Estep, Seltz,
Bunker, and Stricklerl"in studying the effect of mixing
Bunker, and Strickler'in studying the effect of mixing
coals on the ash fusion temperature developed some plots
coals on the ash fusion temperature developed some plots
relating composition to softening temperature. The main
relating composition to softening temperature. The main
constituents of
of coal ash areare 3i0 2 , AlgO^,
SiOg, A1 20 3 , Fe203,·
Feg0 , and CaO.
5 CaO.
IEstep, T.
^Estep, a . , Seltz,
T. G., Seltz, H.,
H., Bunker,
Bunker, H. H. L.,
L., and
Strickler, H. S.,
Strickler, H. S., "The
"The Effect of Mixing Coals Coals on the Ash
on the
Fusion Temperature of the Mixture,"
of the Mixture,tt Carnegie Institute of
Technology,
Technology, Cooperative Bulletin 62 62 (1934).
(1934).
 10
10

They developed "Prism" plots to

"Prism" plots to represent composition-
softening temperature.
temperature. Softening temperature isotherms
were
were plotted on
on aa triangular diagram of
of Si02,
SiOg? A1203'
AlgOg, and
Fe203.
PegOg. A
A series
series of
of diagrams
diagrams were made each with aa constant
CaO t.q~mposi tion.
CaOComposition. Thus
Thus soft'ening
softening temperature was
was plotted
against the
the four
four most important analytical variables.
variables. They
claimed checks the specified gOOF
checks within the 90°P on
on their plots.
plots.
Most of
of the utah coals
the Utah coals have aa higher CaO
GaO content than the
plots
plots show.
show. The value of
of their work is
is in
in showing there
is
is aa close relation between composition and softening tem­
tem-
perature.
perature .

Jones
Jones and Butler 6 developed a different
Butler*developed a type
graph.
graph. They used Pennsylvania anthracite coals.
coals. The
ashes
ashes were high in in Si02 A1 2 0 3 • The
SiOg and AlgOg. The melting point of
the
the Si0 2 -A1 20 3 mixture corresponding to
SiOg-AlgO^ to the
the amount
amount in
in the
ash "'as
"as taken from the
the silica-alumina
si Ilea-alumina diagram.
diagram. From
Prom this
this
temperature was
was subtracted the
the measured softening temper­
temper-
ature.
ature. The
The difference was
was plotted against the
the per cent
bases
bases in
in the ash.
ash. This
This method of
of plotting is
is more accurate
than the
the method of
of Nicholls and Selvig;
Selvigf and simpler but not
etc~.
r
as accurate as
as as the
the plots of Estep,
plots of Estep, etc

The Effect of
The of Inerts
Inerts on Clinker
Glinker Formation
Jones and Butler,
'Jones
ff
Butler, "Analysis and Softening Temper-
ature of
of Coal Ash," Ind.
Goal Ash," Ind. and
and. Eng.
Eng. Chem.,
Ghem., January 15, 1936,
15, 1936,
-o. 25
'0.
 If
If the
the softening temperature is
is aa function of
of ash
composition and
and quantity of
of clinker aa function of
of softening
temperature then ash composition and clinker formation are
definitely related.
related. The
The question then becomes
becomes can addition
agents
agents be sufficiently mixed with
,~rith the
the coal to
to effectively
change the
the clinker formation.
formation. Ravitz, Cowles,
Ravitz, Cowles, and Peck'
Peck'
were
were able to change the
able to the kind of
of clinker by adding limestone
to
to the coal.
the coal.

Kaiser7tried
Sherman and Kaiser tried adding different agents
7

to
to one
one coal
coal to
to try and increase the
the amount of
of clinker.
clinker. The
object was
was to
to find an agent
agent that
that would promote the
the clinker-
ing
ing of
of any coal at aa moderate
moderate cost.
cost. Their
Their results
results are
are
interesting.
interesting.

Clinkering Agent
CIinkering Agent
wt/ton
Wt/ton Coal %
% of
of Fluxing·
Fluxing Kind of
Residue Agent Flux
'~ t 3
~ in.
3 in.
none 00 Ibs.
lbs. 12.3
12.3
none
sodium metasilicate 40 27.7 Na acid
40 27.7 2 ooSio
NagO.SiOg
Portland cement
sodium metasillcate 40
40 15.1 BasesfSiOg
BasestSi cr 2 basic
sodium sulphate
Portland cement 88
88 12.7 Na 0
Na20
2 basic
sodium
sodium carbonate
sulphate 20
20 8.3
8.3 NagO
Na20 basic
sodium silicate
sodium carbonate
('vater glass)
sodium silicate 42
42 11.5 Na 0.Si0
Na20.Si02
2 p acid
borax (water glass) 16.66 19.8 Na B 0
Na2B407
2 4 7 acid
borax
The
The last two' columns
last two columns were added by the author.
the author.
Without the
the analysis
analysis of
of the
the ash their results
results still
still show
'Sherman,
'Sherman, R. A. and Kaiser,
R. A. F. R.,
Kaiser, F. R., "Clinker Forma-
tion in
in Small Underfeed Stokers,"
Stokers," Information Bulletin.No.l,
Bulletin No.1,
Bituminous Coal Research,
Research, Inc.,
Inc., Battille Memorial Inst.
Inst.
(Jan.
(Jan. 1936)
1936)
, 12

the
the effect of
of composition on
on clinkering.
clinkering. The
The basic agents
had little
little effect.
effect. Borax is
is acid and also
also introduces a
a

fluxing agent not ordinarily present in

agent not in coal.
coal. The
The most
active clinkering agent,
agent, sodium metasilicate,
metasilicate, is acid.
is acid,

Factors in
factors in Clinker Formation

It has been shown from the

It has the work of
of others
others that
the clinkering of
the of coal
coal is
is directly dependent on the
the ash
analysis.
analysis. For comparison each investigator has burned his
tnvestigator has

coals under uniform conditions.

coals conditions. Ash analysis
analysis is
is not
not the
factor in clinker formation.
only fa.ctor formation. The other major factors
The factors

are time
are time and temperature.
temperature. the -ash
The longer the ash is
is in
in aa zone
of elevated temperature,
of temperature, the
the greater is
is the
the chance for

fusion and the

fusion of clinker.
the formation of clinker. Witness the greater
Witness the

of clinker in
formation of in aa small
small domestic stove
stove when the
fire is
fire is banked over night compared with the
the clinker formed
in the
in the day time.
time. More ash is
is released in
in the
the day
day and it
it is
to aa higher temperature but
subject to but for
for aa shorter period of
of

time.
time.

The design of
The of the
the furnace
furnace affects
affects the
the time
time the
ash
ash is
Is at
at an elevated temperature.
temperature. In
In overfeed firing,
firing, by
or stoker,
hand or stoker, the
the ash drops
drops to
to aa cooler portion of
of the
fuel bed as
fuel as soon as
as it
it is
is released by the
the burning of
of the
coal.
coal. The chain grate
grate stoker carries
carries the
the ash from the
the hot­
hot-

test part of'

test of the fuel bed after
the fuel after the
the ash
ash is
is released.
released. In
the
the underfeed stoker the
the ash falls
falls back into
into the
the hottest
part of the fuel
of the fuel bed after it
it is released.
is released. The
The ash is
forced out
out of
of the
the hot
hot zone
zone by burning coal and more
more ash.
ash.

other
Other factors
factors in
in the
the formation of
of clinker are:
are:
mineralogical
mine^alogical composition of
of the
the ash,
ash, amount of
of ash, burn-
ash, burn­
ing characteristics of
of the
the coal,
coal, atmosphere in the
the fuel bed,
fuel bed,
distribution of
of ash
ash in the coal,
in the coal, and temperature of
of the
the air
blast.
blast. Ash analysis does
does not tell
tell the
the whole story.
story. The
the elements are
way the are contained in the
the coal will have some
effect,
effect, especially the
the occurrence of
of carbonates and sul­
sul-
phates.
phates. A greater amount of
A of ash increases
increases the
the chances
chances for
clinker due
due to
to aa closer packing of
of the
the ash.
ash. If
If the
the ash Is
is
evenly distributed, the analysis
distributed, the will be
analysis will be aa better criterion
of
of clinker formation. pieces of
formation. Large pieces of inorganic material
are
are sometimes the
the starting point in
in developing aa clinker,
clinker,
besides materially changing the
the analysis.
analysis. The
The place of
of the
most
most intense evolution of
of heat from the
the coal
coal may be dif­
dif-
ferent
ferent for
for different coals.
coals. The
The hottest place may be
be close
to
to the
the coal or well above the coal,
above the coal, depending mainly on the
volatile.
volatile. An oxidizing atmosphere in the
the fuel
fuel bed will
tend to
to form the
the higher melting Fe203
FQ2°3 against the
the formation
of FeO
of PeO by a
a reducing atmosphere.
atmosphere. A
A preheated air
air blast
will increase the
the fuel
fuel bed temperature and promote clinker­
clinker-
ing.
ing.
 14
14

Type of
of Clinker
Glinker Formation

: ~.,.

There are
are three
three possible explanations why an
an ash
forms
forms aa desirable clinker.
clinker. The calcining of
of carbonates may
release C02
COg as
as the
the ash is
Is fusing in
in the
the fuel
fuel bed and puff
the
the slag out to form the
out to the porous clinker.
clinker. In
In this
this case the
mineralogical composition of
of the ash is the most
is the most important
facttfr. The ash may be
factor. viscuous or
be viscuous or mushy over aa wide
wide tem­
tem-
so that
perature range so that the gasses in the
the gasses the fuel
fuel bed can blow
through the slag and make the
the cclinker
linker porous. The differ­
porous. The differ-
ence in
ence in initial deformation temperature and softening or
of the
melting temperature of cones would be
the ash cones be an
an indication
of the
of the kind of clinker in
in this case. The
this case. The third explanation
is:
is: the ash does
the ash does not
not fuse
fuse but only sinters
but only sinters to
to build
build up
up a
a
clinker.
porous clinker. the fuel
Here the fuel bed temperatures would be
about the
about same as
the same as the softening temperature.
the softening temperature. A combination
A combination
of two,
of or all
two, or all of
of these
these explanations,
explanations, may
may be the actual
be the actual
reason for
reason for differences
differences in
in the
the kind of clinker
kind of clinker formation.
formation.

Discussion

Given the
the furnace,
furnace, aa type coal
coal and maximum fur­
fur-
nace
nace output to
to maintain,
maintain, sometimes the
the limiting factor
factor in
maintaining capacity is
is clinker formation.
formation. In this
this case
the
the time,
time, temperature,
temperature, and other factors
factors are
are beyond control
of
of the
the operator.
operator. At present the
At the only method of
of clinker
 15
15

control
control is
is in
in the
the selection of
of aa coal
coal with the
the desired
refradtory
refractory ash.
ash. If
If aa satisfactory ash is not available,
is not available,
the
the solution is to make
is to make aa satisfactory ash.
ash.

The
The use
use of
of the
the underfeed stoker has
has been increas­
increas-
ing
ing rapidly during the
the last
last few
few years.
years, it
it is
is by far
far the
most
most important stoker used on
on Utah coals. this reason
coals. For this
and because the
the tendency for
for clinker formation is
is aa maximum,
maximum,
the
the underfeed stoker has
has been chosen for the burning tests
for the
covered in
in this investigation.
this investigation.

Utah
Utah, coals
coals are
are particularly adapted to
to an inves­
inves-
tigation of
of clinker formation.
formation. The coal occurs in
coal occurs in thick
seams;
seams; it
it is
Is easy to
to mine
mine clean;
clean; extranious ash is
is com­
com-
paratively small
small in
in amount;
amount; and the
the ash
ash is
is distributed
fairly
fairly evenly through the
the coal.
coal.
 I': ": (~ CHAPTER II
II
''I:,>

EXPERIMENTAL
•

Samples Used
Samples

.. The
The samples
samples used for
for these
these tests
tests were
were stoker
slacks collected from
slacks from coal
coal yards
yards in
in Salt
Salt Lake
Lake Oity
City in
in the
spring of
of 1935.
1935. The
The samples
samples weighed from 500
500 to
to 1000 Ibs.
1000 lbs.
and were
were representative of
of all
all the
the stoker slack in
in the
dealer's
dealer's yard at that time.
at that time. None of
of the
the coals
coals had been
out the
prepared by screening out the fines
fines or
or washing.
washing. The tests
by Ravitz,
by Cowles, and Peck were made within aa short time
Ravitz, Cowles,

after the
the samples were taken.
taken. The samples were stored in

sacks in a
sacks a steam heated room and used for
for this
this investigation

from six to
to nine months later.
later. There was
was very little change

in coals detected by proximate analysis or B.T.U.

in the coals B.T.U.

determination.
determination. The
The analyses given in this
this report are
are the

analyses as determined at
at the time of
of the tests.
tes·ts.

Proximate Analysis
 , , ,
: "
,',",
f'

,<~ r

A proxlmate
proximate analysis
analysis "ras
was made
made on
on all
all the
the coals
acording to
to A.S.T.M.
A.S.T.M. specification.
specification. The
The volatile was
determined "
by
by the
the modified method for
for high volatile
volatile coals,
coals,

and the heating value

and the was determined in
value was in aa Burgess-Parr
per~xide
peroxide calorimeter.
calorimeter. The
The results
results are
are given in
in table VI.
table VI.

The
The coals
coals are
are all
all high volatile
volatile bituminour coals,
coals,

typical
typical of
of coal
coal mined in Utah.
in Utah. The
The least
least amount
amount of
of ash
ash is
in coal
in coal B, 4.6^ ash.
B, 4.6% ash. This is
This is comparable to
to carefully
washed coal
coal from other parts
parts of the country.
of the country. Coal
Goal D con­
con-

tains the most

tains the most ash,
ash, 8%.
S%. This
This is not an
is not an excessive amount
judging by eastern coals
coals in
in which 12-15% ash
ash is
is often not
considered excessive.
excessive. The
The heating values
values of
of the
the coals
coals are
Cluite
auite close together. Most Utah coals
close together. have heating values
coals have
in the
in the range
range of
of 13,000 to B.T.U. per pound.
to 14,000 B.T.U. pound.

Ash Analysis
- "'
The for chemical
The ash for chemical analysis
analysis was
was decomposed by
aa sodium
sodium carbonate
carbonate fusion.
fusion. The fused
The fused material
material was
was dis-
dis­
in hydrochloric acid and evaporated to
solved in to dryness,
dryness,

moistened with hydrochloric acid and

and evaporated to
to dryness
twice more to
t"!ice dehydrate the
to dehydrate silica.
the silica. The dried material was
The

taken up with hydrochloric acid and

taken and filtered.
filtered. The filtrate
The filtrate

was reserved for

was for the determination of
the determine.tioll of alumina,
alumina, lime,
lime, and
magnesia.
magnesia. The residue
The residue was as silica.
was ignited and weighed as silica.
 ls)
Iff

In aa few
few cases
cases the
the silica was
was volatilized with hydro­
hydro-

fluoric
fluoric acid to
to determine "true
"true silica,"
silica," in
in all
all cases
tried the
the residue left
left from the
the hydrofluoric evaporation

was
was less
less than one-half of
of one
one per cent.
cent.

Ammonium hydroxide was to the

was added to the filtrate
filtrate from
the silica to
the to precipitate the
the aluminium and iron hydroxides.
hydroxides.

The precipitate was

The was filtered off,
off, ignited and weighed as
ferric oxide.
aluminium and ferric oxide. The ferric
The ferric oxide was
was deter­
deter-

on aa separate sample
mined on sample by titrating with dichromate
an internal indicator.
using an indicator. The alumina was
The was taken as
as the
difference between the
the weight of
of ignited hydroxides
hydroxides and
ferric oxide.
ferric oxide.

Calcium
Galc ium was
vms precipitated the ammoniacal
prec ipi tated from the

filtrate with,oxalate,
filtrate with oxalate, filtered and determined by titration
... .~

with permanganate.
permanganate. Magnesium was
was determined by precip­
precip-

the magnesium with

itating the 1.~7ith ammonium phosohate,
phosDhate, filtering,
filtering,

igniting, and weighing the

igniting, the magnesium pyrophosphate.
pyrophosphate.

The ash analyses

The analyses are
are given in
in table
table VII.
VII. The
silica contents
contents of
of 37 to 56%
37 to 56$ are
are within the
the range
range of
of most
coal used in
coal in this country.
this country. of 10
Alumina of 10 to
to 23%
23$ is
is in
in the
lower range.
lo'·'er range. Ferric oxid
oxide of 77 to
e of to 14%
14$ is
is also
also in
in the
the lower
range.
range. Four of
of the five coals
the five coals have
have aa calcium oxide
oxide content
of between 15
of 15 and 20%.
20$. This is
This is in
in the
the upper part of the
part of
 It

VI
TABLE VI

Analysis
Proximate Analysis
Fixed
Coal Moisture Ash Volatile Carbon Sulphur B.T.U.
B.T.U.
B 1~05%
..1.05$ 4~6
4.6 42~5
42.5 52.9 1.2 13,570
C 1~O5
1.05 6~4
6.4 40~8
40.8 52.8 1~2
1.2 13,560
D 1.29 8.0 41~2
41.2 50.8 1.8 12,850
E 'd'~ 1~10
1.10 6.1 41~8
41.8 52.1 1.3 13,420
F ,".,
1.53
1.55 6.2 43.9 49.9 1.9 13,400

" ""r}' ~ .:

l"";

. ,1- TABLE VII

TABLE

0.:";'1
Ash Analyses
Coal 81~2
Si0 2 A1
A 12 003
2 3 Fe 0
Fe203
2 3
CaO MgO Total
Total
B 56~O
56.0 23.0
23.0 13.8
13.8 4.4
4~4 1.1 98.3
98.3
C 41.3
41.3 10.3
10.3 14~4
14.4 17.1 2~2
2.2 85.3
D 37~4
37.4 18.8
18.8 6~9
6.9 19~3
19.3 4.4 86~8
86.8
E 40~6
40.6 19.4
19.4 11~'7
11.7 19.1
19.1 5.3 96.1
96.1
F 44.6
44.6 18.4
18.4 10.9
10.9 15.6 1.1 90.6
90.6
,-"
"'
.
~ .,.~~ .
" )

"~
~.
TABLE VIII
TABLE VIII
') ,

Pounds/100 Ibs.
Pounds/100 lbs. Coal
Coal
,.
Total
Total Silicate
Coal Ash
Ash 810
Si02 2 A1 0
A12032 3 Fe 0
Fe203 2 3 CaO
CaO MgO
MgO Degree
Degree
B 4.6 2~58
2.58 1.06
1.06 .63
~63 .20
.20 .05
.05 1.78
1.'78
C 6~4
6.4 2.65
2.65 .66
.66 .92
.92 1~09
1.09 .13
.13 1~48
1.48
D 8.0
8.0 2.99
2.99 1~50
1.50 .55
.55 1.54
1.54 .35
.35 1.09
1.09
E 66.1
•. 1 2.48
2.48 1.18
1.18 •.71
'71 1.16
1.16 ~32
.32 1.08
1.08
F 6.2
6.2 2.'76
2.76 1.13
1.13 .68
.68 .9'7
.97 .07
.07 1.41
1.41
 §0

usual calcium oxide

oxide content as
as found in
in other parts
parts of
of the
country.
country.

The
The silicate degree of the ash from each coal
of the coal was
.'
calculated on
on the
the basis
basis of the analysis,
of the analysis, considering the
iron as
as ferric
ferric oxide.
oxide. Smelters have found that high
silicate slags
slags are
are more viscous than the
more viscous the basic slags;
slags; also
the
the eastern coals
coals giving
g5.ving the
the least amount of
of clinker have
silicla-alumina ashes.
high silicia-alumina ashes. This
This would lead one
one to
to expect
the highest silicate ash to
the the least amount and the
to give the
most desirable clinker.
clinker. Goal B,
Coal B, then, give the
then, should give the most
amount of
porous and least amount of clinker.
clinker. Coals D
Coals D and E should
be the
be the most troublesome.
troublesome. This would be
This be modified by the
the fact
that the
that the ash analysis totals only 86.8
analysis totals 86.8 per cent for
for coal D
D
96.1 per cent for
and 96.1 for coal E.
E. The greater part of
The of the
is likely alkalies
remainder is alkalies which would lower the
the silicate
of coal D
degree of D materially and add,
add, in
in addition,
addition, some
some very
agents. The prediction then
active slagging agents. then becomes
becomes coal B
will give
will give the
the least
least amount
amount and
and best kind of
best kind of clinker
clinker and
and
coal D
coal D the
the poorest
poorest clinker.
clinker •
. ~:~::
, • .110 The
The amount of
of each constituent of
of the
the ash per
hundred pounds of
of coal
coal was
was calculated in
in calculating the
silicafcte degree.
silicate degree. It was
It was noticed tha.
that t the
the amount of
of silica
in the coal ismuch more constant than any other constituent
in the
of the ash.
of the ash. Table VIII
VIII gives the silicate degree of
gives the of each
 21

ash,
ash, and the
the pounds per hundred pounds
pounds of
of coal of
of each
constituent of
of the ash.
the ash.

Ash Fusion
Ifetsion Temperatures

The
The fusion temperatures of the ashes
of the were deter­
ashes were deter-
mined in
in aa D.P.C.
D.F.C. furnace.
furnace. This
This furnace
furnace is
is different from
the A.S.T.M. ··specifications
the A.S.T.M. specifications in
in that it
it has
has only one
one burner
in
in place of
of three burners.
burners. This
This affects
affects only the
the maximum
temperature the
the furnace
furnace is
is able
able to
to attain.
attain. The
The atmosphere
in the furnace
in the furnace and the
the methods
methods of
of determining the
the fusion
temperature of the
the ash are
are exactly the
the same
same for fur-
for both fur­
naces.
naces. It was necessary to
It was to stack aa row of
of insulating brick
around the
the furnace
furnace to
to decrease radiation losses.
losses. The
maximum temperature obtained was
was 22350
3 5 0 degrees Fahrenheit.
degrees Fahrenheit.
This
This temperature was
was above
above the melting point of
of the
the coal
ashes
ashes tested and the
the furnace
furnace was
was adequate for
for the purpose.
the purpose.

The
The results
results of the fusion tests
of the tests are
are given in
table
table IX.
IX. Coal ashes
ashes are
are classified as:
as: refractive ash,
ash,
softening above
above 2,600 oF.;
2,600°F . ; ash of
of medium fusibility, soften-
fusibility, soften­
2 , 2 0 0 °oF
ing between 2,200 F.. and 2,600 oF.; and easily fusible
2,600°F.; fusible ash
2 , 2 0 0 °oF
softening at aa temperature below 2,200 F.. The
The ashes
ashes of
of the
coals
coals tested all 2 , 2 0 0 °oF
all softened below 2,200 F.. and are
are in the
easily fusible
fusible class.
class. They can be expected to
to form consid­
consid-
erable clinker and give
give trouble in
in the
the fuel bed.
fuel bed.
 22

Table IX
of Goal
Fusion Temperatures of Coal Ashes °F.
of.

Initial Fusion Silicate

Coal Deformation Softening Melting Range Degree
B 1940 1950 2150 210 1.78
1~78
C 2000 . 2025 2075 75 1.48
D 1880 1890 1950 70 1.09
E ~~ 1960 2000
2000 2060 100·
100 1~08
1.08
F , 1845 1875 1930 85 1.41
.,

-.;
Table X
.~.

Residue from Coal D

D
n~

10 % 10
Distribution Distribution Distribution
Size Of Residue Of Ash
Of Of Carbon
1~050
1.050 1n~
in. 37~4
37.4 52.3
52~3 1.9
1*9
.525 in.
.525 In. 4.7 3,0
3.0 8.5
8~5
44 mesh
mesh 11.7
11.7 14.8
14.8 - 4.6
4.6
tI
10
10 " 13.2
13.2 7.8 25~8
25.8
If
28
28 " 13 ~9
13.9 7~8
7.8 28~3
28.3
11
65
65 ,f
8~9
8.9 5.6
5.6 16.6
16.6
200
200 "" 5~1
5.1 4~1
4.1 7.5
-200
•200 " M
5.2
5.2 4.6
4.6 6.8
6.8

A- r' ,
i Table XI
Table XI
.of ..
I Analysis
Analysis of Ash in
of Ash in Residue
Residue from Coal
Coal D
.j '.

%
% %
% %
% %
% Softening
Softening
Sj_ze
Size 81°2
SiOg A1
g °2 033
A1 Pe
Fe203
2 °3 CaO
G a 0
Temperature
Temperature
1.050 in. in. 49~23
49.23 27.10
27.10 6.03 13.15 1940
525 in
•.525 • 49~11
in. 49.11 21.94
21.94 6.4 13.90
13.90 1940
44 mesh
mesh 50~54
50.54 21,74
21.74 7.4
7~4 14.30
14.30 1875
1875
tt 44.34
10
10 11
44.34 27.44
27,44 6.9
6.9 14.35
14.35 1950
1950
28
28 "tI" 43.54
43.54 30.32
30.32 14.80
14.80 2050
2050
65
65 43.13
43.13 24.14
24.14 5.6 17.60
17.60 2000
2000
200
200 n" 45.36
45.36 29.54
29.54 17.20
17.20 2000
2000
-200
•200 M
48.78"
48.78 26.14
26.14 3.4
3.4 13.10
13.10 2075
2075
 23
83

If the softening temperature is

If the is an
an indication of
qf
the
the amount
amount of
of clinker,
clinker, coal
coal F
P softening at
at 1,875
1,875°0 should

give
give the
the most clinker and coal C softening at
at 2,025
2,025°0 should

give
give the
the least clinker.
clinker. Based upon the
the temperature differ­
differ-
ence
ence between initial deformation and melting temperatures,
temperatures,
coals
coals Band
B and E should give
give the
the more porous clinkers,
clinkers, coals
D,
D, C,
C, and F
P the
the more massive clinkers.
clinkers. These
These compare favor­
favor-
ably with the
the prediction from silicate degree
degree with the
exception of
of coal
coal E.
E. Coal
Coal E has
has the
the lowest silicate degree
and next to
to the
the highest range from initial deformation tem­
tem-
perature to
to melting temperature.
temperature.

Stoker Tests

The
The clinker ssamples
amoles y'ere
were obtained from each coal
by burning the
the coal
coal in
in aa domestic underfeed stoker firing
an
an assay furnace.
furnace. The
The stoker unit is 0 . and M.
is aa G. M. Stoker-
matic Model B34.
B34. The
The assay furnace
furnace has
has two
two D.F.C.
D.P.C. type
N.N.
N.N. muffles mounted one
one above the
the other.
other. The bottom of
the
the lower muffle is
is 22
22 inches
inches above the top
above the top of
of the
the stoker
pot
pot and the
the fire
fire box of
of the
the furnace has aa horizontal section
furnace has
of 14
of 14 inches
inches by 18
18 inches.
inches. The furnace
furnace has
has been very suc­
suc-
cessfully used for
for fire
fire assaying.
assaying.

A
A weighed amount
amount of
of the
the coal was
was placed in
in the
stoker hopper and the
the fire
fire started 1.'.'i
with th aa small
small amount of
 2&

wood and paper.

paper. The
The stoker was
was turned on using the
the maximwn
maximum
rate
rate of
of feed and as
as soon as
as the
the coal
coal was
was ignited the
the air
was
was turned on
on full.
full. The maximum rate
rate of burning was
of "burning main-
was main­
tained through all
all the
the runs
runs except for
for coal B.
B. One hundred
and eighty pounds
pounds of
of coal B was
was used and approximately one
hundred pounds
pounds of
of the
the other coals.
coals. Temperatures for fire
for fire
assaying were
were maintained in the
the furnace.
furnace. For the
the stoker -
run on Coal D,
D, aa base metal thermocouple was
was placed in
in the
lower muffle and the
the temperatures in
in the
the fuel
fuel bed were
measured with an
an optical pyrometer.
pyrometer. Figure 11 gives
gives the
heating curves
curves of
of maximum and minimum temperatures measured
in
in the
the fuel bed, the
fuel bed, the temperature of the inner wall
of the wall of
of the
fire
fire box,
box, and the
the temperature in the
the lower muffle.
muffle. Tem-
Tem­
peratures higher than the
the softening temperature of
of any of
the
the coal ashes
ashes ',;-ere
•vere obtained in the
the muffle,
muffle, and fuel
fuel bed
temperatures were well
well above the highest ash melting tem­
above the tem-
perature.
perature. If the coal ashes
If the ashes were
were subjected to
to temperatures
higher than their melting temperature,
temperature, the formation of a
of a
porous
porous clinker by sintering may be disregarded for
for these
tests.
tests.

Coal
Coal D formed the
the poorest clinker.
clinker. It
It will
will be
noticed that the
the maximum temperatures in
in the
the fuel
fuel bed were
reached before all the coal
all the was burned.
coal was burned. 'fuen
When the
the residue
was removed from the
was fire box,
the fire box, the clinkers were
the clj.nkers were not evenly
the furnace
distributed around the pot. The clinker formation
furnace pot.
 25
35

20()ll

/OO(J~

I 2 J 1
TIme hoors

h9f.1re /
Stoker Tes t Coq/ j)
 26
26

had started to
to interfere with the
the action of the furnace,
of the furne.ce,

by the
the uneven distribution of
of the
the clinker and the
the formation
of
of aa blow hole in
in the
the fuel bed.
fuel bed.
~:
The residue was
The was removed from the
the furnace
furnace and
screened on
on aa set
set of
of Tyler screens.
screens. All
All the
the material on
the t
the was considered clinker.
to 1.050 inch screen was clinker. Actually
it would have made little difference whether the
it the 1.050 inch
or aa larger screen had been used.
screen or used. of the
Most of the *to
1.050 inch material was
was * 3 inches
to 3 inches and contained no visible
evidence of
of unburned coal.
coal. Each screen size
size was
was reduced

to -65
to -65 mesh and aa sample
sample ignited in
in the
the electric furnace
furnace
to determine the
to amount of
the amount of unb^.rned coal in
unb':~rned coal in the
the sample.
sample.

shows the
Table X shows of the
the distribution of the residue from coal
coal D
and Table XI
XI gives
gives the
the analysis
analysis and softening temperature
of the
of the ash
ash in
in each screen size.
size. The same
The same determinations
on coal
on coal B gave
gave similiar
sim~~liar results.
results. It is
It is significant that
the fine
the fine sizes
sizes have
have aa higher softening point than
than the
sizes.
clinker and coarser sizes. This indicates
This indicates aa segregation
of the
of in the
the ash in the coal.
coal. If
If the analysis and softening tem­
the analysis tem-

perature had been more

more uniform, it would have
uniform, it have indicat·ed
indicated the
f~
of the
formation of' the fines
fines while the furnace
1~Thile the furnace was
was warmed up.
up.

The clinkers
The clinkers were c1assif'ied
classified by number according
to the
to the kind of
of clinker.
clinker. Number 11 was
was porous
porous and brittle

and the
the most desirable clinker.
clinker. It came
It came from coal
coal E.
E. The
 27
27

clinker from coal DD was

coal . was massive,
massive, tough
tough, and
and. very hard to
remove
remove from the
the fuel
fuel bed.
bed. It
It 'was as number 5
was designated as 5..

Table
Table XII
XII lists the coals
lists the coals in
in the
the order of
of kind of clinker.
of clinker.
The
The amount
amount of
of clinker in
in the
the ashes
ashes is
is included and also
the
the factors
factors used in the clinker formation.
in predicting the formation. The
desirability
destability and amount
amount of
of clinker occur in the reverse
in the
order with the
the exception of
of coal C.
C.

On the
the basis
basis of
of silicate degree
degree and completeness
of
of analysis,
analysis, coal was predicted to
coal B was to give
give the
the most desir-
most desir­
able and least
able least amount
amount of
of clinker.
clinker. Coal D was
Coal was predicted to
give the
give clinker.
the least desirable clinker. Coal E with almost
Coal

exactly aa monosilicate ash was the only coal

was the coal that
that deviated

from these predictions. Ravitz,

thaoo predictions. Ravitz, Cowles,
Cowles, and
and Peck
Peck improved
improved
the clinker by making the
the the ash
ash monosilicate.
monosilicate. On this
On

evidence the is either exactly aa mono­

the most desirable ash is mono-

or aa high silicate.
silicate or silicate.

the basis
On the of amount
basis of amount of
of clinker predicted from
softening temperature coals
coals FF and D occurred in
in the
the reverse
order.
order. As amount
As amount of
of clinker and softenlng
softening temperature have
investigators, this
been correlated by other investigators, this prediction
holds fairly well.
holds well.

The kind of
The of clinker predicted from the
the fusion

temperature range
range held qualitatively but
but not quantitat-
not quantitat­
ively.
ively. Coals B
Coals and E had the
Band fusion range and gave
the wider fusion
 28
28
..• ~.

Table XII

Amount and Kind of

of Clinker
,.
Kind of
of %
% Silicate Total Softening Fusion
Coal Clinker Clinker Degree Analysed Temperature Range

0
E 11 41.5
41.5 1.08 96
96 2000
2000°F F 100
100
B 2
2 43.8
43.8 1.78 98
98 1950 210
210
C 44 33.3 1.48 86
86 2025
2025 75
75
F 44 47.8
47.8 1.41 90
90 1875 85
85
D 55 52.3 1.09 85
85 1890 70
70
 29
29

the
the better clinkers.
clinkers. The
The other coals
coals had aa narrower fusion
range
range and
and gave
gave poorer clinkers.
clinkers. In
In view of
of the
the difficulty
of a close determination of
of a the melting point in
of the in the stand-
the stand­
furnace, aa better method of
ard furnace, of measuring the
the fusion
fusion tem­
tem-

peratures may prove the

the fusion
fusion temperature range
range valuable
in determining the
in the kind of
of clinker.
clinker.

Since Ravitz, Cowles, and Peck had improved the

Ravitz, Cowles,

clinker by making
mruring the ash monosilicate,
the ash monosilicate, it
it was
was decided to

try the
try the addition of
of silicia for
for the
the same
same purpose.
purpose. The
amount of
amount of silicia necessary to
to make coal
coal D aa bi-silicate
was
was calculated as
as 2.45 pounds
pounds per 100 pounds of
100 pounds of coal.
coal. In
view of the 10'1"
of the total analysis,
low percentage total analysis, 33 pounds
pounds of
of

silicia per 100

100 pounds of
of coal was added to
coal was to coal
coal D and
stoker test
test made.
made. The
The results
results weY'e
were very satisfactory.
satisfactory. The
clinker was coal B,
W!!S classed with coal clinker, number 2.
B, clinker, 2. The
time-temperature curves
curves did not
not fall
fall before all
all the
the coal
was burned but
was but maintained aa maximum.
maximum.

Microsc~pic Examinations
Microscopic

Two
Two thin sections
sections of
of coals
coals D and E and one
of the
section of the clinkers
clinkers from the
the two coals were
two coals were prepared
to Professor A.
and submitted to L. Crawford for
A. L. for examination.
examination.

The samples
'l'he samples "'ere
^ere grab samples
samples and the
the number prepared were
insufficient to
to give aa thorough knowledge of
of the
the mineral-
 ~.

30
30

ogical composition.
composition. Quartz,
Quartz, sericite,
sericite, and clay-like
material were
were identified in
in coal
coal E.
E. The
The material in
in the
clinker from coal
coal E was
was either glass
glass or
or recrystalized to
the
the artificial minerals formed in
in slags.
slags. 'l'he pores were
The pores
distributed throughout the
the entire mass
mass of
of clinker.
clinker. Kaolin
and secondary calcite were
were identified in
in coal
coal D.
D. The clin-
The clin­
ker
ker from coal was not
coal D was not altered
altered as
as much as
as the
the clinker from
coal E.
coal E. Feldspar,
Feldspar, ouartz
cuartz grains,
grains, and large pieces, probably
large pieces,
lime,
lime, were
were identified in the clinker from coal
in the D.
coal D.

The ash
The ash in
in the
the coal
coal forming
forming the
the best clinker was

fine and
fine and evenly distributed throughout the coal.
the coal. The ash
The

was almost
was almost entirely altered in
in the
the clinker,
clinker, indicating the
\
analysis
analysis is
is more
more important th8..n
than the mlneralogical composi­
the mineralogical composi-

tion in
. tion in this
this case.
case.

in the
The ash in the coal
coal forming the
the poorest clinker
was not
was distributed, was
not evenly distributed, in larger pieces,
was in pieces, and was

not highly altered.

not altered. The presence of
The of calcium as
as calcite
apparantly did not
not affect the of the
the character of the clinker.
clinker.

The larger pieces

The pieces remained in
in the
the hottest part of the
part of the fuel
fuel

bed longer and collected material around

around, them to
to increase
the clinkering.
the clinkering.
-'1,,-,
31
31

f
CHAP'T'ER
CHAPTER III
r

CONCLUSION

Summary
Sunnnary

coals have been analysed and used in

Five coals in stoker
tests to determine the
tests to the factors
factors causing clinker formation.
formation.

Probably definite conclusions should be based on

probably on aa larger
number of tests; but the
of tests; the indications gained from these
tests have been consistent for
tests for the
the five
five coals.
coals. The factors
The factors
the amount and kind of
governing the of clinker are:
are:

1.
1. The
The softening temperatures of
of coal
coal ash are
an indication of
an of the
the relative amount of
of clinker from
various coals..
various coals.,

2.
2. or exactly monosilicate ashes
High silicate or

form the
the best type of clinker.
type of clinker.
'.
3.
3. fusion temperature range
The fusion range is
is aa quali­
ouali-

tative determination of
tative of the
the kind of clinker.
kind of clinker. The ashes
The ashes

with aa wide fusion

fusion range
range produce the type clinker.
the better type clinker.
 ,.<t. :.,'
32
32 " ':" \: <. ' (' ~ , < / I (

" I r
• -0,·, .,,'

('
.' ....,
:~'
~.'
• I'

.'

4.
4. Large
Large pieces of
of ash in
in the
the coal promote
clinkering.
clinkering.

,.
~, .
5.
5. A microscopic examination is
is helpful
helpful in
,.
determining the
the size
size and distribution of
of ash in
in the
the coal.
coal.

6.
6. The addition of
The of the
the proper agents
agents will
will change
the
the clinker formation.
formation.

7.
7. An exactly monosilicate ash is
is more
more desirable
than aa high silicate ash to
than grate corrosion.
to minimize grate corrosion.

\ 8.
8. agents must be finely divided or
Addition agents

they will
will promote undesirable clinkering.
clinkering.

9.
9. lime are
Silicia and lime are the
the best addition agents
for
for the coals tested.
coals tested.

10.
10. The amount of
The of addition agent
agent necessary may
not
not be excessive in
in most cases.
cases.

suggestions
Suggestions for
for Further Work
1Vork

The number of
The of tests
tests made
made may not
not be enough to
give
give conclusive evidence.
evidence. If tests are
If more tests are made,
made, the
method of
of determining fusion
fusion temperatures of
of coal
coal ash
should be improved,
improved, and aa complete analysis
analysis of
of the
the ash
should be made.
made. An extention of
of this
this type of work to
type of to a
a

large comrnerc
large commercial
18.1 installation would be of great value.
be of value.
 oo

BIBLIOGRAPHY

A.S.T.M.,
A.S.T.M., "Ame-'ican
"American Society for
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Materials, Stan­
dards,
dards, Part II,"
II," Philadelphia,
Philadelphia, (1933).
(1933).
Barrett, E. P.,
Barrett, E. P., "A Furnace for the Measurement of
for the of Coal-Ash
Softening Temperatures,"
Temperatures," Technical Paper ly,
ly,
Mineral Industeries
I dusteries Experiment Station,
n Pennsyl-
Station, Pennsyl­
vania State College (1935).
(1935).
Estep,
Estep, T. G.~ seltz,
T. G., H., Bunker,
Seltz, H., Bunker, H.
H. L.,
L., and Strickler,
Strickler, H.
H.
S., "The
S., "The Effect of
of Mixing Coals
Coals on
on the
the Ash Fusion
Temperature of the Mixture,"
of the Mixture," Carnegie Institute
of
of Technology,
Technology, Cooperative Bulletin 62
62 (1934).
(1934).
Jones
Jones and Butler,
Butler, "Analysis
\!Analysis and Softening Temperature of
Coal Ash," Ind. and
Coal Ash," Ind. and Eng.
Eng. Chern.,
Chem., January 15, 1936,
15, 1936,
/ page 25.
page 25.
Keefer,
Keefer, R.,
R,, "Methods in
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McGraw-Hill, New York (1928).
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Nicholls, P.
P.,, Selvig,
Selvig, ,."/.
W. A.,A., and Ricketts,
Ricketts, E.
E. B.,
B., "Clinker
Formation as
as Related to the
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of Coal
Ash," U.S.p.M.
U.S.P.M. Bulletin 364364 (1932).
(1932),
R8vitz,
Ra.vitz, S.
S. F.,
F., Cowles,
Cowles, H. 0., and Peck,
H. 0., Tn
Peck, J.
lrr[. V., "Ash
V., "Ash
Analysis and
Analysis and Clinker Formation of
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Slacks,"
Slacks," Utah Engineering Experiment Station,
Station,
(1935)
(1935).•
Sherman, R. A.,
Sherman, R. A., and Kaiser,
Kaiser, F. R., "Clinker Formation in
F. R.,
Small Underfeed Stokers,"
Stokers," Information Bulletin
No. 1, Bituminous Coal Research Ino.,
No.1, Inc., Battile
Memorial Institute,
Institute, (1936).
(1936).
u.
U. S.
S. Steel Corporation,
Corporation, "Methods
"Methods of
of the
the Chemists of
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United States
States Steel Corporation for
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the Sampling
and
and Analysis ofof Coal,
Coal, Coke,
Coke, and By-Products,"
BY-Products,"
Third Edition,
Edition, Carnegie Steel Company, Pittsburg,
ComDany, Pittsburg,
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