A comparison study of ash formation during pilot-scale combustion of pulverized coal and coal-water slurry fuels

The objective of this study was to investigate the effect of fuel form, specifically pulverized coal and coal-water slurry fuel (CWSF), on the particle size distribution (PSD) and inorganic composition of the ash formed during combustion. Three areas of primary interest were fuel particle and droplet size distribution, mineral matter PSD, and the composition and occurrence of inorganics in the fuel. The reactions of pyrite, silicates, aluminosilicates, and alkali and alkaline earth elements during combustion are traced. Two coals, a West Virginia Elk Creek high volatile A bituminous coal and the North Dakota Beulah lignite, were fired as a standard utility grind pulverized fuel and a CWSF at 316.2 MJ/h at 20% excess air in the Penn State Combustion Laboratory down-fired combustor. Fuel PSD and droplet size distribution of the pulverized coal and CWSF are important in determining the PSD of the respective ash when the PSD of the mineral matter and the composition and occurrence of the inorganics in the two fuels are similar, as in the case of the Elk Creek fuels. The mechanism for ash formation in both Elk Creek fuels was coalescence and agglomeration of the inorganics in the coal. The Elk Creek CWSF ash was coarser than the pulverized coal ash due to the larger CWSF char size formed during atomization. The PSD of the mineral matter and the composition and occurrence of the inorganics in the fuels are the most important variables in determining ash PSD in cases where the PSD of the fuel particle and droplets are similar, as in the case of the Beulah fuels. The dominant mechanism for ash formation in the Beulah pulverized coal was fragmentation of mineral matter, specifically extraneous pyrite. The average diameter of the inorganic particles identified in the pulverized coal ash was 2.6 times smaller than those identified in the fuel. The mechanism for ash formation in the Beulah CWSF was coalescence and agglomeration of inherent mineral matter. The average diameter of the inorganic particles identified in the CWSF ash was 3.3 times larger than those identified in the fuel.