Solid Fuels

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1. Introduction
 Solid fuel embraces a wide variety of combus
tibles, ranging from wood, peat and lignite, thr
ough refuse and other low calorific value sub
stances, to coal and other solid fuels derived
from it.
 Coal represents by far the largest component
of the world’s fossil fuel reserves.

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 In thermal terms 90% of the known hydrocarb
on fuel deposits are formed by coal.
 The carbon: hydrogen ratio of coal is the high
est of the fossil fuels, hence the calorific valu
es of coals are principally determined by the
carbon in the fuel.

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 It is usual to consider coals in terms of their r
ank: in general, a high ranking coal will have
a high carbon content.
 The other major coal constituent element, hy
drogen, is present in hydrocarbons which are
released as volatile matter when the coal is h
eated.

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 Coal is a sedimentary rock of vegetable origi
n.
Vast deposits of plant material, formed appro
ximately 80 million years ago, were consolida
ted by pressure, heat and earth movement.
 The rank of a coal is related to its geological
age and, generally, its depth in the earth.

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 The ranking sequence is:

Wood
Peat
Lignite (brown coal)
Bituminous Coal
Anthracite
 In general, deposits close to the surface whic
h can be worked by strip mining produce a m
ore economical fuel than deep mined coal.
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 Coal was the fuel which fired the Industrial R
evolution, but it is no longer the cheapest opti
on among the fossil fuels.
 The cost of working the deposits and the inve
stment in technology needed to meet increasi
ngly stringent emissions standards have incr
eased the cost of burning coal.

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 Recent developments in gasification process
es have shown that it is possible to produce g
as from coal at a viable thermal efficiency an
d to remove the sulfur from the fuel at the sa
me time.

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2. Coal Classification
 As the rank of a coal increases, its carbon co
ntent increases from 75% to about 93% (by w
eight), the hydrogen content decreases from
6% to 3%, and the oxygen content decreases
from 20% to 3%.
 A useful method for analyzing a coal is the pr
oximate process.
 Proximate analyses of some common fuels ar
e given in Table 9.1 (next slide).
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Table 9.1 Composition of some typical solid fuels (% by mass)
Fuel Carbon Volatile Moisture Ash
matter
Peat 44 65 20 4
Lignite 57 50 15 4
Bituminous 82 25 2 5
Coal
Anthracite 90 4 1 3

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 The moisture in coal is made up of two comp
onents: surface moisture and inherent moistu
re.
 The former is affected by the way in which th
e coal is stored, and is thus variable.

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 Coals are also analyzed in terms of their ele
mental constituents, giving the ultimate analy
sis which was used earlier in stoichiometric c
alculations.
 Typical ultimate analyses of two types of solid
fuels are given in Table 9.2 (next slide).

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 Table 9.2 Ultimate analyses (% by mass) of some coals
Coal Carbon Hydrogen Oxygen Nitrogen Sulfur
Anthracite 94.4 2.9 0.9 1.1 0.7

Bituminou 89.3 5.0 3.4 1.5 0.8

s

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3. Coal Properties
 There are a number of properties which are i
mportant in identifying the suitability of a coal
for any given application:
 Size
Some common size groups, together with the
ir rather picturesque names, are given in Tabl
e 9.3 (next slide).

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 Table 9.3 Size distribution for coals
Name Upper limit (mm) Lower limit (mm)
Large Cobbles >150 75
Cobbles 100-150 50-100
Trebles 63-100 38-63
Doubles 38-63 25-38
Singles 25-38 13-18

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 Calorific value
The ranking of a coal is not necessarily relate
d to its calorific value.
 Coal fuels generally have a range of values fr
om 21 to 33 MJ/kg (gross).
 The design rating of a coal-fired burner is usu
ally based on an estimated calorific value of 2
6 MJ/kg (6,200 kcal/kg).

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 Ash Fusion Temperature
The melting point of the ash left after combustion of
the coal is of particular importance in terms of the co
mbustion and ash disposal equipment.
 If the ash fuses it produces a glassy, porous substan
ce known as clinker (slag).
 The combustion equipment will be designed to hand
le either clinker or unfused ash, and use of the wron
g type of coal can have dire consequences.

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 Sulfur Content
Many deep-mined coals have a fairly high sulfur con
tent, typically around 1.5% by weight.
 The same consideration apply to coal-fired installati
ons as to oil-fired combustion equipment namely tha
t condensation inside the plant must be avoided and
that the design of the flue must ensure that ground c
oncentration of sulfur oxides are controlled within ac
ceptable limits.

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4. Coal Combustion
 Coal combustion is a two-phase process and
the objective of the burner is, as always, to ac
hieve complete combustion of the fuel with m
aximum energy efficiency.
 Three common ways of burning solid fuels ar
e currently in use and are briefly reviewed bel
ow.

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 Pulverized Fuel
The coal is ground to a very fine size (about 0.08m
m or more than 70% pass through #200 mesh) whe
n it can be made to behave rather like a liquid if air i
s blown upwards through the powder.
 The preparation and handling equipment is very exp
ensive and pulverized fuel installations are generally
only economically viable in very large scale applicati
ons, such as thermal power stations.

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 The fuel is injected in the form of a conical sp
ray, inside a swirling conical primary air suppl
y in a fashion analogous to that for an oil burn
er.
 Fluidized Bed Combustors (FBC)
The basic principle of operation is that the co
al is mixed with an inert material (e.g. sand) a
nd the bed is “fluidized” by an upwards flow o
f air (Fig. 9.1, next slide).
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 Although the fluidization requires more fan power th
an the conventional grate combustions (Figs. 9.3 &
9.4), there are a number of advantages in FBC:
(1) The bed temperature can be kept cooler than in
the case of grate combustion-fluidized bed tempera
tures are generally within the range 750-950℃.
This means that ash fushion does not occur and
the low temperatures produce less NOX.

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 (2) High rates of heat transfer can be attained
between the bed and heat exchanger tube
s immersed in it.
(3) A wide range of fuel types can be burned
efficiently.
(4) additives (such as limestone) can be used
which react with oxides of sulfur retaining the
sulfur in the bed with consequent reduction in
SOX emission.
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 Grate Combustion
The simplest, and most common, way of burning co
al is by igniting a bed of the fuel on a porous grate w
hich allows air to rise through the bed, either by buo
yancy in smaller equipment or with fan assistance in
the larger, automatic stokers.
 The combustion of a coal on a grate commences wit
h heat transfer to the raw coal from the adjacent inc
andescent fuel.
 The first effect that this has is to drive off the volatile
matter from the coal.
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 The volatiles will then rise through the bed, p
artly reacting with the hot carbonaceous mate
rial above it, to burn as a yellow flame above
the bed.
 As the combustion process proceeds, the vol
atile matter decreases until there is only the c
arbonaceous residue left, which burns with th
e intense emission of radiation.

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 As the air enters the fuel bed from below, the
initial reaction is the combustion of the carbo
n to carbon dioxide.
 In the hot upper region of the gas this is redu
ced to carbon monoxide:
CO2 + C → 2CO
Which burns in the secondary air above the b
ed.

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 The effect of this is to decrease the concentra
tion of oxygen from 21% at entry, to zero at a
bout 100 mm above the grate.
 At this point, there is a peak in the carbon dio
xide concentration which falls away as the re
duction to carbon monoxide proceeds (Fig. 9.
2, next slide).

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 Underfeed Stoker
Next slide, Fig. 9.3, coal is fed into the retort
by the action of a screw.
 When combustion is completed at the top of t
he bed, a residue of ash and clinker remains
which falls to the sides of the retort.

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 The de-ashing of underfeed stokers is genera
lly a manual process, although some manufa
cturers offer automatic ash-handling facilities.
 Bituminous singles with an ash fushion temp
erature of around 1,200℃ are an appropriate
fuel for this type of device.

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 Chain Grate Stoker
A diagram of a chain grate boiler is shown in
Fig. 9.4 (next slide).
 The coal is supplied by the travelling grate an
d the thickness of the bed controlled by the g
uillotine door.
 The speed of the grate and an air damper set
ting control the firing rate.

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 The fuel for such boilers is usually smalls (ab
out 13-25 mm) with a high ash fushion tempe
rature.
 The ash falls from the end of the grate into a
pit, from where it can be removed by a conve
yor belt or screw.

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5. Coal Storage and Handling
 Solid fuels are stored in bunkers-normally a q
uantity equivalent to 100 hours at peak firing r
ate is the target storage capacity, with a mini
mum amount of 20 tonnes.
 Coal is usually conveyed into storage from th
e delivery vehicle by tipping or by pneumatic
conveyance along pipes.

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