Saad asif

12-ce-103

Combustion of Coal

Importance of Coal combustion

Coal is an important energy source for mankind.
Nowadays, direct coal combustion is extensively utilized for
industrial and domestic purposes because of the large-scale
reserves and low cost of coal.
It is used to produce electricity.
About 41.5 % of the worlds electricity is produce by the coal.
Most of the worlds coal is burned in boilers of power plants,
industrial boilers, and heat kilns (to produce cement, bricks,
etc.).
Space heating and domestic consumption also consume a large
amount of coal every year.

Basic Processes of Coal Combustion

The combustion of coal is primarily the combustion of
carbon as well as the volatile matter.
Principal combustion process of coal involves three
basic stages:
1. The release of the volatile matter resulting from the
heating of coal.
2. The burning of the released volatile matter.
3. The burning of the remaining char.

Main Processes in Coal

Combustion
homogeneous
combustion

volatiles

CO2, H2O,

coal particle
p-coal, d=30-70m

char

heterogeneous
combustion

CO2, H2O,

devolatilization

tdevolatile=1-5ms

tvolatiles=50-100ms

tchar=1-2sec

Combustion Systems for solid Fuels

For complete combustion coal is burned with excess air.
The excess air required for coal combustion depends on
the type of coal firing equipment.
I. Fixed-bed combustion
II. Suspension Firing/Pulverized Coal combustion
III. Fluidized-bed combustion

Fixed-bed Combustion
Init lumps of coal is supported onto a grate, and preheated
primary air (called underfire air) is blown from under the bed to
burn the fixed carbon.
Some secondary air (overfire air) is introduced over the coal bed to
burn the volatiles released from the bed.
Based on the method of feeding the coal, these systems can be
further classified as :
I.

Overfeed stokers

II. Underfeed Stokers

III. Cross feed stokers
. Stoker fired boilers use sized coal and hence require less excess air

Stoker fired boilers

ulverised coal combustion

Pulverised system is generally used now a days for
big power plant whose capacity exceeds 100 MW.
In it coal size reduced to fine powder so that to
behave like a liquid if air is blown upwards through the
powder

These powder is than projected into the

combustion chamber with the help of hot air
current.
Air required (i.e. secondary air) for the combustion
is supplied separately.
They require minimum excess air due to high
surface
area
of
coal
ensuring
complete

Fluidized-bed combustion
The basic principle of operation is that the coal is mixed with an
inert material (e.g. sand) and the bed is fluidized by an
upwards flow of air.
The bed materialusually a mixture of coal,sand, and limestone
sand particles is used as heating medium and heated to the
ignition temperature of coal.
In fluidized bed combustion the bed temperature is maintained
well below the melting point of the ash

Types of fluidized bed boilers

Concerning the structure of fluidized bed:
I. boilers with bubbling fluidized bed (BFB)
II. boilers with circulating fluidized bed (CFB)