Energy Engineering

Engr. Nazish Aslam

Department of Chemical Engineering
Email: [email protected]

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Solid Fuels

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Classification of
Wood
Solid Fuels
Peat
Primary/ Naturally
Occurring
Lignite
Bituminous
Hard Coal

Solid Anthracite
Fuels Wood Charcoal

Peat Charcoal

Secondary / Artificially
Lignite coke
Manufactured

Coal briquettes Low Temp.

Coke (from coal) Medium Temp.

High Temp.
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 advantages Disadvantages

o Solid fuels, compared to o Solid fuels require destructive

liquid fuels or gaseous fuels, methods to extract /burn and
are often cheaper, easier to emit NOX , SOX and
extract , transport and more particulate matters
readily available. o With the exception of
o Coal, in particular, is sustainable wood /biomass
utilized in the generation of solid fuel is normally
38.1% of the world’s considered non-renewable as
electricity because it is less it requires thousands of years
expensive and more to form.
powerful than its liquid and
gas counterparts.
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 Characteristics of wood

 Wood is a solid fuel with less maturity and can be considered renewable.

 Moisture in the trees varies between 25 to 50%, and after drying at open
air is 10 to 15%.

 The ash content is low (0.5%).

 Wood consists of cellulose (including hemi-cellulose) (51-60%), lignin

(44-32%), resins (<2%) and water soluble (3-6 %) apart from the
moisture.

 Wood can be burned directly or converted to gas or charcoal.

 The calorific value ranges from 17 to 19 MJ/kg , with cellulose being 16

MJ/kg and resins 32.5 MJ/kg.
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 Coal

Origin of Coal
Coal has been formed by the partial decay of plant materials
accumulated million of years ago and further altered by the
action of heat and pressure.

 In situ Theory
Coal occupies the same site where the original plants grew.

 Drift Theory
Plants were uprooted and drifted by rivers to get deposited.

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Formation of coal

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Type and composition of coals

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Type and composition of coals

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Coal analysis
Proximate analysis of coal
 Determines only fixed carbon, volatile matter, moisture
and ash
 Useful to find out heating value (GCV)
 Simple analysis equipment
Ultimate analysis of coal
 Determines all coal component elements: carbon,
hydrogen, oxygen, sulphur, etc
 Useful for furnace design (e.g. flame temperature, flue
duct design)
 Laboratory analysis 10
 Proximate Analysis

Fixed
Computed from the difference to the remaining values
carbon
Residue obtained when fuel is burned in air

Gases released by heating to 950ºC

Determined at 110ºC

Volatile Ash
Moisture Content
Matter
Proximate analysis

Moisture Content :
 Moisture in coal must be transported, handled and stored

 Since it replaces combustible matter, it decreases the heat

content per kg of coal

 Aids radiation heat transfer

 1-2 gm 72 mesh coal at 105-110 C till constant weight

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Proximate analysis

Volatile Matter:
 Consist of CH4, hydrocarbons, H2 and CO, and
incombustible gases like CO2 and N2

 Proportionately increases flame length, and helps in easier

ignition of coal

 Sets minimum limit on the furnace height and volume

 72 mesh coal 900-950 C for 7 minutes

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Proximate analysis

Ash Content:
 Ash is an impurity that will not burn

 Reduces handling and burning capacity.

 Increases handling costs.

 Affects combustion efficiency and boiler efficiency

 Causes clinkering

 1-2 gm 72 mesh 800 C (burned)

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Proximate analysis

Fixed carbon:
 Solid fuel left in the furnace after volatile matter is
removed

 consists mostly of carbon

 may contains some H2, O2, S and N2

 gives a rough estimate of heating value of coal

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 Ultimate Analysis
Determination of Carbon and Hydrogen
 A known amount of coal is burnt in dry oxygen.
 C and H are converted into CO2 and H2O respectively.
 The products of combustion are passed over weighed
tubes of anhydrous CaCl2 and KOH.
 The increase in the weight of CaCl2 tube represents the
weight of water formed.
 The increase in the weight of KOH tube represents the
weight of CO2 formed.

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Ultimate Analysis

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 Ultimate Analysis
Determination of Sulphur

 A known quantity of coal is burnt in bomb calorimeter in

oxygen.
 The residue ash is treated with dilute hydrochloric acid .
 Acid extract is treated with barium chloride solution to
precipitate the sulphate as barium sulphate.
 The precipitate is filtered washed dried and weighed.
 The %age of sulphur is computed from the weight of
BaSO4.

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 Ultimate Analysis
Determination of Nitrogen

 The Kjeldahl–Gunning macro method is the one most

widely used for determining nitrogen (ASTM D-3179).
 By this method, any nitrogen present in the sample is
converted into ammonium salts by a hot mixture of
concentrated sulfuric acid and potassium sulfate.
 Sodium or potassium hydroxide is added to alkaline the
mixture.
 Ammonia is expelled which is absorbed into a sulfuric
acid solution.

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Class- Practice

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Self assessment

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 example

The analysis of the coal in boiler is C : 81% , H2: 4.5 % , O2 : 8

% and remainder is incombustible.
The dry flue gas analysis is CO2: 8.3 %, CO: 1.4 % O2 : 10 %
N2: 80.3 %

Determine
a. The weight of air supplied per kg of coal
b. The percentage of excess air

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solution
Weight of dry flue gas per kg of coal= 0.81/0.03916 =20.68 kg
Water formed = 0.045 x 9 = 0.405 kg per kg of coal
Incombustibles = 1 -0.81 -0.045 -0.08 = 0.065 kg / kg of coal
Air supplied per kg of coal = ?
Air + Coal = Dry Flue gas + Water + Incombustibles
Air = 20.15 kg per kg of coal

Air = ? Dry Flue Gas =20.68 kg

Coal = 1 kg
Combustion H2O = 0.405 kg
Incombustibles=0.065

Theoretical air = 11.6 C + 34.8(H2 – O2/8)=10.6175

%age excess air = (20.15 – 10.6175)/10.6175 =? 23
 Swelling Index/Number of Coal

 It denotes the caking capacity of Coal. Caking power is

the ability to form a fused coke when coal is heated out of
contact with air.

 The crucible swelling index is determined by heating 1

gm of coal in a special crucible to 820 C under
standardized conditions for 2.5 minutes or until no
observable volatile matter is evolved.

 The profile of the coke produced is compared with series

of standards.

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 Swelling Index/Number of Coal

 No. Less than 2.5: very weak caking properties or non-

caking. Coal is suitable for steam raising but unsuitable
for carbonisation.

 No. 3 - 3.5: weak to moderate caking power. Suitable for

all combustion purposes. Marginally suitable for
carbonisation.

 No. 4 - 6.5: coals of moderate caking power. These are

suitable for combustion but may be strongly caking for
some forms of mechanical stokers. They are suitable for
gas-work and second grade metallurgical coke.
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 Swelling Index/Number of Coal

 No. 7- 9: Strongly caking coals. These are too strongly

caking to be suitable for combustion. They are best for
metallurgical cokes.

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 Storage of coal
The storage of coal has many disadvantage:

 Blockage of money
 Blockage of space
 Deterioration in quality
 Fire hazards
It is necessary to store coal in sufficient quantities to counter the uncertainties
in availability and transportation.
 Freshly mined coal when stored in bulk undergoes low temperature
atmospheric oxidation due to the presence of methane and other volatile
matter
 This exothermic oxidation causes rise in temperature.
 If heat is not removed coal begins to burn.
 This is called spontaneous combustion.
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 Storage of coal
Coals deteriorate during storage by low-temperature oxidation.
Factors affecting deterioration by oxidation:
 volatile matter content ⇒ oxidation
 surface / volume ratio ⇒ oxidation
 ventilation of the coal pile ⇒ oxidation

If the temperature does not exceed 50 ºC for lignite and 80 ºC for

the bituminous spontaneous ignition does not occur. However,
coal deteriorates:
– decrease in calorific value CV
– decrease in C and H
– increase in O
– reduction in size grading 28
 Storage of coal

Low temperature oxidation can be retarded by:

 Cooling either by ventilation or water spray

 Reducing access to air
 Reducing the size of the storage piles
 Lower the rank more shallow and smaller the pile

Anthracite is stored with less risk than bituminous.

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 Losses of Coal during storage
 Oxidation Loss (Weathering of coal): The coal starts absorbing
oxygen from the atmosphere when it is mined out. Absorption of
oxygen by coal results in deterioration of coal quality ( C.V. is
lowered).

 Wind Loss: 0.5 – 1% of coal is lost due to blowing of wind.

 Carpet Loss: The mixing of ground clay with the bottom most layer
of coal. This may be avoided by paving the storage floor.

 Spontaneous combustion loss: Due to spontaneous combustion

considerable amount of coal is lost. For a given coal there is a critical
temperature below which spontaneous combustion can not take place.30
Conditions for Safe Storage

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Selection of Coal
 Coal for steam raising: Almost all types of coal
which are not suitable for carbonization or
gasification can be used for steam raising. The design
of plant and the method of operation during
combustion should be satisfactory.
 Coal for combustion practices: Coal should have
o High calorific value
o Low ash content
o Low sulphur content
o Low moisture content
o Uniform size 32
 Coal washing

Most of the coals when mined contain impurities

associated with it. Impurities are removed by washing.

 Fixed impurities:
o Originate from the coal forming plants
o Can not be removed by washing
 Free impurities:
o Adhering to the surface
o Can be removed by washing of coal

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 Objectives of Coal Washing

To reduce
 its ash content .
 clinkering tendency.
 transportation and storage costs.
 sulphur and phosphorous contents .

To increase
 heating value.
 fusion point of its ash by removing alkali chlorides.
 efficiency in use.
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