Ch.

E-534: COAL TECHNOLOGIES

M.Sc. Chemical Engineering

Delivered by:
Dr. Umair Aslam
[email protected]

Department of Chemical Engineering

University of Engineering & Technology, Lahore
Course Content
• Review of boilers and steam cycles: (a) Principles of boiler operation, (b) Classification and
specification, (c) Steam cycle, (d) Re-heater and re-heat cycle, (e) Combined cycle, (f) Heat
recovery
• Fuel and combustion calculations: (a) Characteristics of typical fuels, (b) Stoichiometric
calculations, (c) Enthalpy calculation of air and combustion products, (d) Heat balance, (e)
Generation of SOx and NOx
• Design of technologies for conversion of solid fuels
• Pulverizing coal fired technology: (a) Design of pulverized coal-fired furnace, (b) Pulverized
coal burner, (c) Tangential firing, (d) Natural circulation design, (e) Forced and supercritical
boilers
• Atmospheric and pressurized fluidized-bed technology: (a) Features of fluidized-bed
boilers, (b) Basics of fluidized beds, (c) Design of bubbling fluidized-bed boilers, (d) Design
of circulating fluidized-bed boilers
• Integrated gasification combined cycle (IGCC) technology: (a) Potential and current status,
(b) Design issues
Course Content
• Indirectly fired cycle: (a) Potential and current status, (b) Thermodynamic
analysis
• Emissions: (a) Emission of gaseous and solid pollutants, (b) Air pollution
standards, (c) Emission control technologies
• Steam plant economics and tariff calculation
• Revamping of old technologies with advanced technologies: (a)
Revamping of existing boiler, (b) Co-firing of opportunity fuel with fossil
fuel, (c) Waste to energy
• Case studies: (a) Computer simulation of different cycle models, (b) Steam
generator, (c) Detailed design of steam generating unit with examples, (d)
Steam turbine
Recommended Literature
• Books
 Bartnik, R.; Buryn, Z., Conversion of Coal-Fired Power Plants to Cogeneration and Combined-
Cycle: Thermal and Economic Effectiveness. Springer, 2011.
 Boyce, M. P., Handbook for Cogeneration and Combined Cycle Power Plants. 2nd Edition; ASME
Press, 2002.
 Kehlhofer, R.; Hannemann, F.; Stirnimann, F.; Rukes, B., Combined-Cycle Gas and Steam Power
Plants. 3rd Edition; PennWell Corporation, 2009.
 Miller, B. G., Clean Coal Engineering Technology. Butterworth-Heinemann, 2011.
 Miller, B. G., Coal Energy Systems. Elsevier, 2005.
 Osborne, D., The Coal Handbook: Towards Cleaner Production ― Volume 1: Coal Production.
Woodhead Publishing, 2013.

• Handouts/Research papers/Review papers

• Lectures
Evaluation
• Regularity and class participation
• Quizzes
• Mid term and final term examinations
• Assignments
Objectives/Outcomes
• Proficiency in application of graduate and basic level of knowledge.
• Development of professional competence for energy engineering –
coal technology.
• Critical understanding and application of various technologies for
complex commercial systems.
• Successful dissemination of advanced understanding.
Source: http://www.sciencealert.com/the-end-of-coal-is-near-china-just-scrapped-103-power-plants
Coal
• Widely distributed, abundantly available and single largest primary
energy supply.
• 45 % of the world energy demand.
• From the total coal in use, 65 % in power sector, and 27 % in industry,
with 71 % share in CO2 emission.
• 728 billion tonnes of coal reserves are sufficient for 132 years.
• Coal emits 68 % and 42 % more CO2 than oil and gas respectively.
Coal - Pakistan
• Pakistan’s coal potential is estimated at 186
billion tons, more than known indigenous oil
and gas reserves figures.
• Annual coal consumption was around ~6
million tons.
• Domestic coal production is about 3.34 million
tons per annum.
• Market price of domestic coal ranges from USD
40-120/ton, depending upon quality and
demand.
• Coal contributes around 5.4% in the primary
energy supplies mix.
• Coal based power generation is about 0.2%.
Pakistan Coal Power Plants

Prepared by Dr Usman Ali

Coal Power Plant Emissions
Uncontrolled Controlled
CO2 (million tons/yr) 3.5 0.5
SO2 (tons/yr) 14100 7000
NOx (tons/yr) 10300 3300
Particulate (tons/yr) 500 ~5
Hg (lb/yr) 170 17
Lead (lb/yr) 114 10%
Cd (lb/yr) 4 10%
CO (tons/yr) 700 10%
HC, VOCs (tons/yr) 220 10%
As (lb/yr) 225 10%
 What is Coal?
• Coal is a chemically and physically heterogeneous,
“combustible,” sedimentary rock consisting of both
organic and inorganic material.
• Organically, coal consists primarily of carbon,
hydrogen, and oxygen, with lesser amounts of sulfur
and nitrogen.
• Inorganically, coal consists of a diverse range of ash-
forming compounds distributed throughout the coal.
The inorganic constituents can vary in concentration
from several percentage points down to parts per
billion of the coal.
• Coal is found in deposits called seams that originated
through the accumulation of vegetation that has
undergone physical and chemical changes. Peat: <25% C, Lignite: 25-35% C, Subbituminous: 35-
• Autochthonous and Allochthonous origin 45% C, Bituminous: 45-86% C, Anthracite: 86-97%
This organic maturity of the coal is termed as
coalification.
The Coalification process
Normal Age of Coal Deposits
Geological System Mean Age (x 106 Rank of Coal
Era years) Formed
Anthracite
Paleozoic 300-245 Semi-anthracite
Bituminous
Bituminous
Bituminous
Mesozoic 200-120
Bituminous and
Sub Bituminous
Bituminous and
Lignite
Tertiary 60-20
Lignite
Lignite

Quaternary <1 Peat

Composition change from wood to
anthracite
Fuels % composition on dry ash free (daf) Calorific Moisture at
basis value (daf) 60 % R.H. and
kcal/kg 40 C %
Carbon Hydrogen Nitrogen Oxygen

Wood 50 6 0.5 43.5 4990 25

Peat 57 5.7 2 35.3 5490 25
Lignite 67 5 1.5 26.5 6495 18
Sub-bituminous 77 5 1.8 16.2 7210 11
coal
Bituminous coal 83 5 2 10 8595 4
Semi bituminous 90 4.5 1.5 4 8690 1
Anthracite 93 3 0.7 3 8500 1.5
Rough Classification
• The general description of coals by name, forms the first rough
classification for normal usage, by the terms
• Peat
• Lignite
• Sub-Bituminous Coal
• Bituminous Coal
• Semi-Anthracite
• Anthracite
Coal Classification
• Regnault and GrÜner Classification
• Brame Classification
• Parr Classification
• Seyler's Classification of Coal
• National Coal board Classification of Coal
• Coal Rank Code Numbers (C.R.C.)
• International Classification of the Economic Commission for Europe
(E.C.E.)
ASTM Coal Classification
International Classification and Codification
System
International Classification and Codification
System
Coal Analysis
Analysis of coal
 Proximate analysis
• Moisture content
• Volatile matter
• Ash content
• Fixed carbon

 Ultimate analysis
C, H, O, S, N, Cl, ….
Total Carbon
• It means the fixed carbon plus the carbon present in the volatile
matters e.g. in CO, CO2, CH4, hydrocarbons etc.
• Total carbon is always more than fixed carbon in any coal.
• High total carbon containing coal will have higher calorific value.
Hydrogen
• It increases the calorific value of the coal.
• It is associated with the volatile matter of the coal.
• Also, the percentage of NH3 in the coke oven gas is more ; if the coal
from which it has come out contains more H.
• This NH3 is recovered as (NH4)2SO4 by reacting NH3with H2SO4 which
is a valuable fertilizer.
…Continued
• Part of the hydrogen of coal remains as such in the coke oven gas
thereby increasing its calorific value.
• If hydrogen is to be removed from this coke oven gas for production
of NH3 .
• The content of hydrogen-in coals from the peat to the bituminous
stage varies between 4.5
and 6.5% and is not related to the rank.
• Beyond the bituminous stage, the content
sharply decreases to a value of 1-2% in anthracites.
Nitrogen
• The nitrogen in coal is present up to 1-3% and comes from the
protenoius matter present in vegetable matter.
• Presence of inert nitrogen decreases the calorific value of the coal.
• However when coal is carbonized (i.e. heated in absence of air), its
nitrogen and hydrogen that combine thereby producing NH3 which is
recovered as (NH4)2SO4, a valuable fertilizer.
• The proportion of extractable nitrogen decreases with maturity of
coal.
…Continued
 The nitrogen content does not bear any relation to the rank of coal.
 In most coals it is between 1 and 2%. Lower values down to 0.5 and
upper values up to 2.5
 The nitrogen in coal is useful in carbonization industries which
recover a part of its valuable by-products like ammonia, ammonium
sulphate and pyridine bases.
Sulphur
• Though its presence (mainly as sulphides) increases the calorific value
of the coal, but, it has several undesirable effects.
• The oxidation product of sulphur e.g SO2 ,SO3 etc. especially in
presence of moisture cause corrosion (damage due to chemical and
electrochemical action) of the equipment and cause atmospheric
pollution.
• Sulphur is highly undesirable in metallurgical coal used in iron and
steel making as it badly affects the properties of iron and steel.
• It causes hot shortness of steel, i.e. cracking of steel surface during hot
rolling.
…Continued
 Sulphur is commonly present in coal in three forms, viz.
pyritic
organic
and sulphate
 but occurrence of sulphides and elementary sulphur in coal have
also been reported.
 Inorganic sulphur should be included in the ultimate analysis.
 Total sulphur is determined by Eschka method or Bomb method.
…Continued
• In the former method the entire content of sulphur is converted into
soluble sulphate by heating the coal with an oxidizing mixture of
magnesium oxide and sodium carbonate and then the sulphate is
estimated.
• Bomb method the total sulphur is also converted into the sulphate
form during the determination of calorific value in Bomb calorimeter.
• The pyritic and sulphate sulphur in coal are determined by the usual
methods of analytical chemistry and then the organic sulphur is
calculated by subtracting the inorganic sulphur from the total sulphur.
…Continued
• The sulphur content of coal has no relation to its rank or composition.
• Although elementary, sulphide, pyritic and organic forms of sulphur
contribute to the calorific value of coal, it is an undesirable
constituent.
Oxygen
• The less the oxygen content, the better is the coal as it reduces its
calorific value.
• It decreases from lignite to anthracite as the maturity of the coal
increases.
• As the oxygen content of the coal increases, its moisture holding
capacity increases and the caking power decreases.
• The oxygen content of coal has a close relation to the rank. The former
decreases with the increase in the latter
Phosphorus
• It is undesirable in metallurgical coal as it badly affects the properties
of the metal and causes cold shortness of steel i.e. cracking of steel
surface during cold rolling.
• Phosphorus occurs in small quantities in coal. And have normally less
than 6.15% phosphorus which offers no problem for common use in
iron and steel production. The coking coals still lower in phosphorus.
(0.01-0.04%)
Chlorine
• It is present mainly as chlorides in the coal.
• It reduces the fusion point of the ash of the coal.
• It is substantially removed during washing of the coal.
Other Properties
• Calorific Value
• Weathering Index of Coal
• Grindability Index of Coal
• Specific Gravity
• Bulk Density
• Angle of repose
• Porosity, Surface Area, Heat of Wetting
• Refractive Index and Reflectance
• Solubility of Coal
Combustion Calculations
Combustion is defined as the rapid chemical combination of oxygen with the combustible
elements of a fuel.
Three combustible elements in most fossil fuels: carbon, hydrogen and sulfur.
Sulfur, usually of minor significance as a heat source, can be a major contributor to corrosion
and pollution problems.
The objective of good combustion is to release all energy of fuel while minimizing losses
from combustion imperfections and excess air.
System requirements/objectives include minimizing NOx, CO, VOC and boiler and furnace
corrosion.
Three Ts of combustion:
Temperatures high enough to ignite.
Turbulence to provide intimate oxygen-fuel contact.
Time to complete the process.
Fundamentals Laws
Conservation of matter
Conservation of energy
Ideal gas law
Law of combining weights
Dalton’s law
Amagat’s law
Common Chemical Reactions of Combustion
Combustion Calculations
Wet Basis → Dry Basis
A stack gas contains 60 mol % N2, 15 % CO2 and 10 % O2 and balance
H2O. Calculate the molar composition of gas on dry basis?
Dry basis → Wet Basis
An orsat analysis yields the following dry basis composition: N2 65%,
CO2 14% CO 11% and O2 10%. A humidity measurement shows that
mole fraction of H2O in the stack gas is 0.0700. Calculate the stack
composition on wet basis.
Combustion Calculations
•
Material Balances
• Balance based on atomic basis
• Lead to straightforward solution especially when more than one reaction is
involved.
• Extent of reaction
• Convenient for chemical equilibrium problems and when equation solving
software is to be used.
• Balance based on molecular basis
• Complex calculations and should be used for simple systems involving one
reaction.
Activity
Incomplete combustion of methane:
Methane is burned with air in a continuous steady-state combustion
reactor to yield a mixture of CO, CO2 and H2O. The reaction taking place
are:
CH4 + 3/2O2 → CO + 2H2O (1)
CH4 + 2O2 → CO2 + 2H2O (2)
The feed to the reactor contains 7.80 mol% CH4, 19.4% O2, and 72.8% N2.
The percentage conversion of methane is 90% and the gas leaving the
reactor contains 8 mol CO2/mol CO. Then calculate the molar composition
of the product stream using molecular species balances, atomic species
balances, and extents of reaction
Activity