Processing Solid
Fuels
Joaquim Costa Ferreira, Dynamis, Brazil, presents a new
gasifier that facilitates the use of solid fuels in low temperature
processes.
Introduction at a given starting temperature and thereby requires no
The primary reason for using pulverised solid fuels instead auxiliary fuel to ensure the stability of combustion.
of liquid and gaseous fuels is their comparatively low As this equipment works as a gasifier (only part of
price; therefore, for a process in which fuel cost is critical, the total air required for complete combustion is injected
the replacement of a liquid or gaseous fuel by a solid one into the chamber), just a fraction of the fuel’s chemical
becomes quite an attractive prospect. The D-GASIFIER energy is released inside the chamber. This results in a
allows the use of 100% solid fuels in low temperature very compact design. As the D-GASIFIER is assembled
processes that normally run on gaseous or liquid fuels. over a carriage, it is easy to replace conventional burners
It can be used in a variety of applications, including (gas or oil fuel burners) and to pull the equipment back for
rotary kilns, calciners and furnaces, dryers (rotary dryers, refractory services in the kiln and even in the chamber.
fluidised bed dryers, rapid dryers, flash dryers, etc.) and
hot gas generators. Fuel data
To begin operation, the D-GASIFIER must be The D-GASIFIER can be used to burn a large number of
preheated with an auxiliary fuel, which can be gaseous solid fuels (coal, petcoke, biomass, etc). If required by the
(e.g. natural gas, propane or liquefied petroleum gas) or user, the auxiliary burner (for liquid or gaseous fuel) can be
liquid (e.g. diesel oil or heavy fuel oil). After the preheating designed to reach the full capacity of the equipment.
period (between 45 and 60 minutes) the injection of solid Currently there are several chambers operating at
fuel can be initiated. The process becomes self-sustaining 100% petcoke. Others are operating with light fuel oil or
heavy fuel oil.
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Petcoke typical data – example Coal reference data
ll Origin: Corpus Christi, Texas. ll Origin: Powder River Basin, Wyoming.
ll Proximate analysis (wet sample) – see Table 1. ll Proximate analysis (wet sample) – see Table 3.
ll Ultimate analysis (dry sample) – see Table 2. ll Ultimate analysis (dry sample) – see Table 4.
ll Lower heat value: 8130 kcal/kg (14 665 Btu/lb) – dry ll Lower heat value: 6180 kcal/kg (11 150 Btu/lb) – dry
sample. sample.
ll Hardgrove grindability index: 55 a 58.
Light fuel-oil data
ll Ultimate analysis (dry sample) – see Table 5.
ll Lower heat value: 10 180 kcal/kg (18 360 Btu/lb).
Table 1. Petcoke typical data – proximate analysis
Component Content (% mass)
System description
Volatile matter 11.18
Figure 1 illustrates the general arrangement of a typical
Fixed carbon 82.14 combustion system. The main components of the
Ash 0.4 combustion system are outlined below.
Moisture 6.28 The D-GASIFIER chamber is the equipment responsible
for the solid fuel ignition before it is injected into the
rotary kiln, calciner or combustion chamber, depending on
Table 2. Petcoke typical data – ultimate analysis which process the new equipment will be adapted to. This
Component Content (% mass) chamber will work as a gasifier, generating a hot stream
Carbon 86.57 of gaseous fuel from the solid fuel injected. To reach this
objective, the D-GASIFIER has a number of important
Hydrogen 3.25
features:
Sulfur 5.5
ll High temperature: the average temperature inside
Nitrogen 1.67 the chamber is in the range of 2700 ˚F – 2800 ˚F. The
Others 3.01 high temperature improves fuel ignition, accelerates
exothermic reactions and displaces reaction
equilibrium towards oxidation (even if the oxidation
Table 3. Coal reference data – proximate analysis reactions are not completed).
Component Content (% mass)
ll High turbulence: the combustion air is injected
Volatile matter 35.6 tangentially through several nozzles drilled along the
Fixed carbon 35.7 chamber shell. This promotes high swirl inside the
Ash 5.2 chamber, the main feature of this equipment. This
high swirl, in conjunction with high injection velocity,
Moisture 23.5
promotes intense turbulence inside the chamber,
thereby accelerating the mixture between fuel and
Table 4. Coal reference data – ultimate analysis combustion air.
Component Content (% mass) ll High residence time: the high swirl keeps fuel particles
Carbon 69.42
spinning inside the chamber until they are burned. The
larger the mass of the particle, the longer its residence
Hydrogen 4.45
time inside the chamber.
Oxygen 17.93
Sulfur 0.35 Chamber carriage
The D-GASIFIER has a very compact design. When
Nitrogen 0.97
horizontally mounted and installed on a carriage it
Ash 6.88 facilitates maintenance of the chamber and of the
equipment it attaches to. The support carriage is built
with steel bars and has four wheels, which allow free
Table 5. Light fuel-oil data – ultimate analysis
displacement of both components.
Component Content (% mass)
Carbon 85.8 Primary air system
Hydrogen 13.5 The primary air system is composed of:
Oxygen 0 ll A primary air fan.
Nitrogen 0 ll A primary air fan drive – electrically powered by a
Sulfur 0.7 frequency inverter.
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ll Instrumentation – low meters and pressure gauges. Figure 1. General arrangement of a typical combustion
system.
ll Control valves.
ll Auxiliary valves, hoses and pipes.
In this system, the primary airflow rate must be
adjusted as a function of the fuel flow rate injected
into the chamber. The primary air ratio (related to the
stoichiometric air) is usually maintained below 40% to
avoid thermal damage to the refractory lining.
The variable speed of the primary air fan controls the
primary airflow to the chamber. Control valves are used to
divert part of the primary airflow to the preheating burner
to cool it down.
Dosing system
The fuel injected into the chamber can be dosed either
gravimetrically or volumetrically and its flow rate is
increased or decreased as a function of the total energy
required by the process (the kiln, calciner or dryer).
Fuel flow rate is the main information for the gasifier
managing system (GMS). This control system is in charge
of adjusting the primary airflow as a function of the fuel
injected. This means that when the kiln operator increases
the set point value for the fuel dosed to the chamber, the Figure 2. 3D visualisation of a D-GASIFIER – pre-
GMS automatically accelerates the primary air fan in order combustion chamber.
to keep the primary air ratio close to 40%. Additionally,
the GMS performs all the operational safety functions
required by the Combustion Safety Standards (for example
NFPA 85 and 86).
Auxiliary fuel control rack
The combustion system includes a fuel valve train to
control the auxiliary fuel used to preheat the chamber.
This rack is installed at the platform in order to be as close
as possible to the process and enable a more efficient
preheating operation.
The control train receives a set point for the fuel flow
rate, established by the operator. The flow control valve
(FCV) then opens or closes in order to reach such flow
rate as indicated by the fuel flow meter. The valve train is
simple to operate while maintaining a compact design.
Pulverised solid fuel silo
The solid fuel is supplied already pulverised and stored
in a steel silo. The silo can receive the solid fuel from Figure 3. D-GASIFIER – pre-combustion chamber.
trucks or through a pneumatic conveying system from an
existing coal grinding facility.
The silo is a pressure resistant vessel built of carbon
steel. Its supporting structure consists primarily of steel
components. The top of the silo features a cartridge filter
to retain the coal particles entrained by the conveying air
employed in the silo feeding; the silo top also features
explosion doors. The bottom of the silo has a conical
section with a 70˚ angle (in terms of the horizontal). The
inner wall of this section is lined with a polished stainless
steel cladding. The cone-shaped section has aeration
devices that allow the sequential and periodic injection of
small amounts of dry air in order to improve the pulverised
solid flow.
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The storage silo is equipped with two types of level The silo is equipped with self-reclosing explosion
sensors: an ultrasonic level transmitter to indicate the doors, which will open if the pressure inside the silo
amount of fuel available and two level switches to alert reaches the value of 0.4 bar. These keep the internal
operators when the fuel level is too high or too low. pressure from exceeding 3.5 bar, which corresponds to
The top of the silo is equipped with CO detectors. If the mechanical design pressure of the silo, according to
a change in the internal atmosphere of the silo poses an “ASME Code Section VIII, Division 1”. These features meet
explosion risk, the operator receives an alarm in advance. NFPA Standard 85 Chapter 9 “Pulverised Fuel Systems”
An inert gas system can be supplied on demand. and NFPA Standard 68 “Explosion Venting” standards.
Preheating burner
The preheating burner is comprised of carbon steel tubes
Figure 4. Rotary kiln installation – D-GASIFIER attached and machined stainless steel parts. It has a single primary
to kiln hood. air inlet. Internally, this airflow (flame shaping air) is
divided in two flows:
ll Externally – an axial velocity component flow.
ll Internally – an axial and tangential velocity
components flow.
The burner tip is manufactured in stainless steel
AISI 310 and is responsible for accelerating the primary
airflow to the required injection velocity. A lance (for
gaseous or liquid fuels) is inserted into the burner
central pipe. If the auxiliary fuel is liquid, the lance will
have two inlets – one for the liquid fuel and another for
compressed air. The compressed air is responsible for fuel
nebulisation. If the auxiliary fuel is gas, the lance will have
only one inlet.
Case studies
Figure 5. Vertical hot gas generator installation –
combustion system.
Rotary kiln installation
An artificial pozzolan facility designed by Dynamis and
located in central Brazil has been in operation since
January 2009. The main characteristics of the D-GASIFIER
installed in this kiln are:
ll Capacity: 63.5 million Btu/h (16 Gcal/h).
ll Fuel: petcoke, bituminous coal and charcoal.
ll Fuel sulfur content: 6.5% (max).
ll Primary air ratio: 30% (related to stoichiometric air).
ll Primary air temperature: ambient (77 ˚F or 25 ˚C).
ll Secondary air ratio: 145% (total excess air of 175%,
related to stoichiometric air).
ll Secondary air temperature: 750 ˚F (400 ˚C).
This same type of D-GASIFIER can be used in
applications such as kilns calcining lime, lightweight
aggregates, diatomaceous earth, activated coal, perlite
and expanded shale.
Vertical furnace installation
A D-GASIFIER installed in a vertical furnace, which has
been in operation since December 2010, was designed by
Dynamis to supply reducing gases (CO and H2) in order
to convert nickel ore into metallic nickel. For this vertical
furnace, Dynamis supplied six D-GASIFIERs. The main
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characteristics of each D-GASIFIER installed in this kiln
are:
ll Capacity: 6.4 million Btu/h (1.6 Gcal/h).
ll Fuel: petcoke and heavy fuel oil (HFO).
ll Total heat load: petcoke: 70% of heat load; HFO: 30%
of heat load.
ll Fuel sulfur content: petcoke: 6.5%; HFO: 1%.
ll Primary air ratio: 35% (related to stoichiometric air).
ll Primary air temperature: ambient (175 ˚F or 80 ˚C).
ll Secondary air ratio: no secondary air in this system.
Vertical hot gas generator installation
Two systems, designed to supply hot gases to a cement
mill, have been installed in the northeast region of Brazil
since December 2013. The main characteristics of the
D-GASIFIER installed are:
ll Capacity: 24 million Btu/h (6 Gcal/h).
ll Fuel: petcoke.
ll Fuel sulfur content: 6.5% petcoke.
ll Primary air ratio: 30% (related to stoichiometric air).
ll Primary air temperature: ambient (77 ˚F or 25 ˚C).
ll Secondary air ratio: 150% (total excess air of 180%,
related to stoichiometric air).
ll Secondary air temperature: ambient (77 ˚F or 25 ˚C).
Conclusion
The D-GASIFIER is an ideal solution for those wanting
to use hard-to-burn fuels, fuels of low heating value
or replace gas or liquid fuels with more cost-effective
solid fuels. The equipment can be used in a range of
applications, including rotary kilns, calciners and furnaces,
dryers and hot gas generators.
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