892 Energy & Fuels 2008, 22, 892–897

Ignition Characteristics of Pulverized Coal under High Oxygen

Concentrations
Yue-sheng Fan,*,† Zheng Zou,‡ Zidong Cao,† Yingchao Xu,† and Xiaoke Jiang†
School of Energy and Power Engineering, Xi’an Jiaotong UniVersity, Xi’an, 710049, People’s Republic of
China, and Jimei UniVersity, Xiamen, 361021, People’s Republic of China

ReceiVed May 30, 2007. ReVised Manuscript ReceiVed December 25, 2007

In order to reduce overall fuel consumption, or partially substitute a “valuable” fuel with a poor one, in
electric power plant boilers, oxygen enrichment of combustion air can be very effective. Combustion
characteristics of three Chinese pulverized coals, Shenmu bituminous, Tianhushan anthracite, and Duolun lignite,
and three different particle sizes, under high oxygen concentrations more than 21%, have been investigated
using thermogravimetric/differential scanning calorimetry analysis (TG/DSC) and a drop-tube furnace. Results
showed that the ignitability, the combustion property, and the burnout were largely improved when added
oxygen was used, especially for small particles, the influence of oxygen on the bituminous coal was greater
than the lignite and the anthracite, and the suitable O2 concentration for the ignition of pulverized coal flow
should be controlled below 40%.

1. Introduction influence of experimental techniques has been analyzed.2,22 At

In spite of extensive studies,1–9 the ignition of pulverized coal
(PC) is still the subject of much discussion. Many experiments
at 1 atm10–21 have involved coal particles being heated in
preheated gas or a flame,10–17 by direct attachment to a heating
element,18,19 or, most recently, by laser irradiation.20,21 The
* Corresponding author. Tel.: +86-29-82202729. Fax: +86-29-82202729.
E-mail address: fanyuesheng@xauat.edu.cn.
† Xi’an Jiaotong University.
‡ Jimei University.
(1) Essenhigh, R. H.; Misra, M. K.; Shaw, D. W. Combust. Flame 1989,
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70, 1011.
(3) Gururajan, V. S.; Wall, T. F.; Gupta, R. P.; Trovlove, J. S. Combust.
Flame 1990, 81, 119.
(4) Howard, J. B.; Essenhigh, R. H. Ind. Eng. Chem., Process. Des.
DeV. 1967, 6, 74.
(5) Annamalai, K.; Durbertaki, P. Combust. Flame 1977, 29, 193.
(6) Ryan, W.; Annamalai, K. J. Heat Transfer 1991, 113, 677.
(7) Zhang, D. K.; Wall, T. F. Combust. Flame 1993, 92, 475.
(8) Du, X. Y.; Annamalai, K. Combust. Flame 1994, 97, 339.
(9) Krishna, C. R.; Berlad, A. L. Combust. Flame 1980, 37, 207.
(10) Chen, M. R.; Fan, L. S.; Essenhigh, R. H. Prediction and
Measurement of Ignition Temperature of Coal Particles. In Twentieth
Symposium (International) on Combustion; The Combustion Institute:
Pittsburgh, PA, 1984; p 1513.
(11) Gomez, G. O.; Vastola, F. J. Fuel 1985, 64, 558.
(12) Wall, T. F.; Gururajan, V. S. Combust. Flame 1986, 66, 151.
(13) Wall, T. F.; Phong-Anant, D.; Gururajan, V. S.; Wibberley, I. J.;
Tate, A.; Lucas, J. Combust. Flame 1988, 72, 111.
(14) Solomon, P. R.; Chien, P. L.; Carangelo, R. M.; Serio, M. A.;
Marham, J. R. Combust. Flame 1990, 79, 214.
(15) Du, X. Y.; Gopalakrishnan, C; Annamalai, K. Fuel 1995, 74, 487.
(16) Karcz, H.; Kordylewski, W.; Rybak, H. Fuel 1980, 59, 799.
(17) Tognotti, L.; Malotti, A; Petarca, L.; Zanelli, S. Combust. Sci.
Technol. 1985, 44, 15.
(18) Tomezek, J.; Mlonka, J. The Parameters of a Random Pore Network
with Spherical Vesicles for Coal Structure Modelling. In Twenty-Third
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Pittsburgh, PA, 1990; p 1163.
(19) Fuertes, A. B.; Hampartsonmian, A.; Williams, A. Fuel 1993, 72, 1287.
(20) Phouc, T. X.; Mathur, M. P.; Ekmann, I. M. Combust. Flame 1993,
93, 19.
(21) Qu, M. C.; Ishigaki, M.; Tokuda, M. Fuel 1996, 75, 1155.
present, there is a tendency to burn coal at high oxygen
concentrations more than 21% vol due to its merits in energy
saving and flame stability enhancement. However, only a few
researchers have studied the effect of oxygen on the ignition of
pulverized coal.23–25
The ignition and combustion of pulverized coal is more
difficult than that of oil and gas fuel, mainly due to a longer
ignition time needed and unstable combustion at lower load.27
Therefore, oil-fired methods are in common use in PC boilers.
However, the mixing burning of heavy fuel oil (HFO) and PC
makes the technical and economical target worse and brings
about severe environmental problems, for instance, the release
of SO2 and NOX may increased about 40–50%, whereas the
total efficiency of boilers decreased about 4–5%. Furthermore,
the use of HFO in boilers caused a loss of boiler availability
due to external fouling and corrosion of high temperature.28
Although many new fired techniques, i.e., pulverized coal
rich-lean separation technology, high-temperature air combus-
tion technology, and preburner technology, have been applied
to enable the pulverized coal furnace to burn steadily, the oil
waste is still vast26,30. For a 100 MWe electrical power boiler,
the ignition and steady-going combustion process would con-
sume 528.6 t y-1 (tons of oil fuel annually).30
Actually, the ignition and steady-going combustion need only
a steady high temperature source. The literature23–25,29 indicated
that the fuel had a lower ignition temperature and higher
combustion rate under oxygen-enriched atmosphere, hereby
(22) Zhang, D. K.; Wall, T. F. Fuel 1994, 73, 1114.
(23) Sun, C. L.; Zhang, M. Y. Combust. Flame 1998, 115, 267–274.
(24) Chen, J. C. Combust. Flame 1996, 107, 291–298.
(25) Zhao, Y.; Kim, H. Y.; Yoon, S. S. Fuel 2007, 86, 1102–1111.
(26) Tu, J. H.; Yao, Q.; Chen, K. F. Power Equip. 1997, 7, 8–11.
(27) Wu, S. D. Elec. Power Constr. 1998, 11, 1–5.
(28) Poullikkas, A. Energy ConVers. Manage. 2004, 45, 1725–1734.
(29) Bisio, B.; Bosio, A.; Rubatto, G. Energy ConVers. Manage. 2002,
43, 2589–2600.
(30) Shi, W. Numerical simulation and experimental studies on the multi-
stage oil less ignition system using the method of electromagnetic induction.
Dissertation, Zhejaing University, Hangzhou, PRC, 2003.

10.1021/ef7006497 CCC: $40.75  2008 American Chemical Society

Published on Web 02/14/2008
Ignition of Coal under High O2 Concentrations
Table 1. Ultimate and Proximate Analysis of Coal Samples
proximate analysis (wt %, ad)
coal M V A FC
THSH anthr 2.93 2.54 32.49 62.04
SM bit 2.60 32.76 6.56 58.08
DL lig 20.07 37.38 11.35 31.20
Table 2. Mean Weight Diameter and Specific Surface Area of
Coal Samples
coal sample THSH SM-1 SM-2 SM-3 DL
mean weight diameter (µm) 96.18 71.30 60.68 53.38 181.14
BET surface area (m2 g-1) 34.077 13.176 14.438 16.156 7.239
producing a higher temperature source in boilers to ignite
subsequent pulverized coal flow.
A number of laboratory techniques have been used to
determine the ignition and flame stability of pulverized coal.
Thermogravimetric/differential scanning calorimetry analysis
(TGA/DSC) and a drop-tube furnace (DTF) were widely used
to investigate the reactivity of pulverized coal. In this paper,
the ignition of pulverized coal at high O2 concentrations
(21-100% vol) was studied with a thermogravimetric analyzer
to continuously measure the temperature of the coal during the
ignition and combustion, and a DTF was used to simultaneously
measure the temperature and the content of the pulverized coal
flow.
2. Experimental Setup
2.1. Samples. Three different rank coal samples were taken from
Tianhushan (THSH) anthracite, Shenmu (SM) bituminous, and
Duolun (DL) lignite of China. Coals were first pulverized to the
needed particle size with a ball mill. The ultimate and proximate
analyses of the three coals are given in Table 1. The mean weight
diameters of samples were measured by the sieving method and
listed in Table 2. Three different size distribution samples were
prepared for SM coal.
The multimode scanning probe microscope was used here to
analyze the surface characteristics of pulverized coal. The amplifi-
catory multiple is 500. Photos of the test samples are shown in
Figures 1-3. From photos, we can see that the particle size of the
THSH anthracite is the smallest, its configuration polyhedron is
similar to a globe body, and, most DL lignite with the largest
diameters and smallest specific surface areas (SSA), present a kind
of spheroid shape. The configurations of SM bituminous present a
kind of atactic shape.
The SSA of the test samples are listed in Table 2. The samples
were first heated and placed under vacuum to remove the moisture
and other contaminants. Then when measured, the BET specific
surface area demonstrated the order of PC based on SSA from the
minimum to maximum to be DL, SM, and THSH, which was
different from the order by mean weight diameter of the test
samples. The reason is that distinct agglomerating phenomena
occurred between the particles of THSH pulverized coal, which
can be observed by microscope. Many small particles tended to
swarm and be hard to separate by the sieving method, thus easily
building up in the feeding pipe of drop-tube furnace apparatus. Table
2 also revealed that the SSA increased as the mean weight diameter
decreased for the same kind of pulverized coal, because more and
more small pores inside particles are exposed when the particle
diameter is reduced.
2.2. Thermogravimetric (TG) Analysis. Temperature-pro-
grammed combustion tests were performed in a thermogravimetric
apparatus (Netzsch-STA 409C). In order to compare the samples,
factors such as sample mass, heating rate, and gas flow rate were
well determined to ensure good repeatability between experimental
Energy & Fuels, Vol. 22, No. 2, 2008 893
ultimate analysis (wt %, ad)
C H O N S
61.87 0.62 1.47 0.32 0.3
73.63 4.54 11.38 0.95 0.34
52.92 2.78 11.69 0.19 1
runs.31,32 About 10 mg of each sample was heated at 10 °C min-1
from ambient temperature up to 1100 °C, with a flow rate of 100
mL min-1 for mixture of nitrogen and oxygen. Data on time,
residual weight, temperature close to the sample, rate of weight
loss or differential weight loss, and the nature and extent of
endothermic or exothermic reactions during thermochemical con-
version were recorded simultaneously to produce combustion
profile. From the combustion profile, the following characteristic
temperatures (Illustrated in Figure 4) were obtained:33,34 Ti, initial
temperature where the rate of weight loss accelerates due to the
onset of combustion (almost equivalent to the first DSC peak); Tp,
peak temperature at maximum weight loss rate; Tb, burnout
temperature where DTG reaches a 1% combustion rate at the tail
end of the profile; Tcb, complete burnout temperature, the point
where the derivative of the DSC curve inflects to zero gradients.
It should be kept in mind that the Ti is not the ignition
temperature. Experimental factors such as the sample mass, the
particle-heating rate, and the condition of surrounding gases
influence the initial temperature. Therefore, the initial temperature
is not a physical property of a fuel.35 Our aim was not to propose
method for initial temperature evaluation. This study was based
on comparison purpose, i.e., we kept the same burnoff procedure
to see the impact of high oxygen on the ignition and combustion
characteristics of pulverized coal.
2.3. Drop-Tube Furnace Analysis. A DTF can simulate the
combustion conditions in industrial pulverized coal combustion
more closely than a thermogravimetric analyzer.36 A heating rate
of 104-105 °C s-1 and maximum temperature of 1300 °C can be
achieved in a DTF. In addition, the particles are in a dynamic, dilute
phase. Fewer studies on ignition behavior and flame stability of
pulverized coal in DTF have been done than in TGA,34 especially
under high oxygen concentration.
The measurement techniques available in DTFs for studying
particle combustion may be divided into “internal” and “external”
classes.14 The former one usually uses probes to take samples for
analysis. Of the external methods, the optical technique is the most
powerful, which is usually nonperturbing and results can be obtained
immediately in situ. The two methods above were accepted here.
First, at the sidewall of the DTF, 10 optical windows were designed
to reveal the actual combustion flame situation. Second, the optical
window sections, fitted with an access port, allowed insertion of a
sampling tube that can be easily changed for future experiments.
Through the sampling tube, reaction products of different combus-
tion stages can be elicited into the sampling probe. The solids were
removed by filtration and the exhaust gases were analyzed for CO,
CO2, NOx, etc. with the help of an online analyzer (the GASMET
Fourier transform infrared gas analyzer, manufactured by Temet
Instruments in Finland). Meanwhile, a pump thermocouple is
located in the sampling probe to measure the gas temperature.
(31) Morgan, P. A.; Robertson, S. D.; John, F. U. Fuel 1986, 65, 1546–
1551.
(32) Chen, Y.; Shigekatsu, M.; Pan, W. P. Thermochim. Acta 1996, 275,
149–158.
(33) Pisupati, S. V.; Scaroni, A. W.; Stoessner, R. D. The Influence of
Weathering and Low-Temperature Oxidation on the Combustion Behaviour
of Bituminous Coals. In 13th Annual Energy-Sources Technology Confer-
ence and Exhibition. Petroleum Division of ASME: New Orleans, 1990;
p 87.
(34) Artos, V; Scaroni, A. W. TGA and drop-tube reactor studies of
the combustion of coal blends. Fuel 1993, 72 (7), 927–933.
(35) Perry, J. H. Chemical Engineers’ Handbook, 4th ed.; McGraw-
Hill: New York, 1963; Vol. 3–93.
(36) Su, J. H.; Pohl, D; Holcombe, J. A. Progr. Energy Combust. Sci.
2001, 27, 75–98.
894 Energy & Fuels, Vol. 22, No. 2, 2008
Figure 1. Microscope image of THSH anthr pulverized coal.
Figure 2. Microscope image of SM-1 bit pulverized coal.
Figure 3. Microscope image of DL lig pulverized coal.
The DTF experimental apparatus is represented in Figure 5. The
designed cylindrical reaction chamber is 40 mm in diameter and
1.20 m in length, on which four K-type thermocouples were
equipped for monitoring, controlling, and overtemperature protec-
tion. The DTF was heated by silica-carbon rods which are
perpendicular to the furnace center and with a space between them
of 20 cm in the vertical direction.
When pulverized coal is injected into the furnace, the calculated
heating rate of coal particles is of the order of 104–105 °C s-1,2
depending on the size of a particle. A 60-µm particle may reach
the furnace temperature within 0.05–0.1 s. So, a 10 °C min-1
temperature-programmed process was used in the DTF to achieve
the ignition temperature of pulverized coal flow under oxygen
concentrations of 21, 30, 40, 60, and 80 vol %, respectively.13,22
The solid flow is entrained into the hot zone of the furnace by a
gas flow of 40 L min-1 of a mixture of air and pure oxygen,
calculated at standard temperature and pressure. The residence time
of flow in the DTF is about 1.2 s at 800 °C, and temperature changes
of the furnace wall are only 0.2 °C in that period. Therefore, we
can consider that the temperature of the furnace wall remains
constant while the gas flow containing pulverized coal was passing
Fan et al.
Figure 4. Combustion characteristic temperatures.
Figure 5. Experimental apparatus of the drop-tube furnace.
through the furnace length. The temperatures of the furnace wall
and gas were measured and recorded at 1-s intervals on a computer
by the program. The temperature of the furnace wall can be
calculated as the average value of the measured data by four
thermocouples located in holes drilled on the furnace wall; at the
same time, the flue gas temperature was measured by a pump
thermocouple located in the sampling probe.
A screw fuel feeder was used in the experiment. By changing
the rotation speed of the electromotor, the desired feeding rate can
be obtained. However, as the coal particle diameter is decreased
and the ash content is increased, the fuel feeding uniformity became
poor. In actual operation for high ash coal, subsection feeding in
the hopper will be needed to ensure the proper fuel feeding
uniformity.
3. Results and Discussion
3.1. Thermogravimetric Analysis Results. The TG/DTG/
DSC profiles of THSH, SM-1, and DL pulverized coal under
different oxygen concentrations are shown in Figures 6-8. The
figures indicated that higher oxygen concentrations shifted the
char combustion peaks to a lower temperature zone, and the
profiles revealed that the existence of weight loss related to
vapor elapsed in the stage from ambient temperature to about
100 °C. In addition, a net weight gain was observed which is
due to oxygen chemisorptions before the onset of combustion
for SM coal. The flammability of coal was highly correlated
with a quantity of oxygen absorbed at about 100 °C.1 Figure 6
demonstrated that the chemisorptions occurred before 350 °C
for all oxygen concentrations, and this became more obvious
as the O2 concentrations increased. The quantity of chemisorp-
tions of oxygen could be worked out to be 0.73% for 21%
Ignition of Coal under High O2 Concentrations Energy & Fuels, Vol. 22, No. 2, 2008 895

Figure 6. TG/DTG/DSC profiles of different oxygen concentrations of THSH.

Figure 7. TG/DTG/DSC profiles of different oxygen concentrations of SM-1.

Figure 8. TG/DTG/DSC profiles of different oxygen concentrations of DL.

oxygen, 1.65% for 30% oxygen, 6.21% for 60% oxygen, and
6.88% for 100% oxygen, respectively. The higher the chemi-
sorbed O2, the greater the chemical reaction rate on the surface
of coal. Namely, higher oxygen concentrations can improve the
ignition characteristic of pulverized coal.
This phenomenon can also be observed in Figure 8 of DL
but is not obvious for THSH. From Figures 6-8, another
conclusion can be obtained: the hole structure of SM bituminous
coal is more helpful for oxygen adsorption than DL lignite and
THSH anthracite, since it holds the biggest chemisorptions heat
peak.
3.1.1. Ignition Mechanism. Extensive research on the mech-
anism of ignition of coal particles has classified the ignition Figure 9. Variation of characteristic temperature with O2 concentration.
into three types:2,3
(1) Homogeneous ignition or the ignition of the volatile matter
released from coal primary step was the initial ignition of volatile matter; following
(2) Heterogeneous ignition or the ignition of the coal particle this, the combustion of volatile matter, in a circumambient flame
surface like an oil drop, was presumed to prevent char reaction by screening
(3) Heterohomogeneous ignition, which results from simul- the solid from access by oxygen; secondary ignition, of char, then
taneous ignition of the volatile matter and the coal particle occurred as pyrolysis terminated.1
surface Obviously, one-step ignition, by direct attack of reactant gas
Distinctly, the three samples gave different combustion charac- on the whole coal, occurs in the THSH coal (Figure 6) for its
teristics. It may be observed that the DL coal (Figure 8) belonged very low concentration of volatile matter, which is true of
to homogeneous ignition1,23,32 that involved three stages. The heterogeneous ignition.1,23,32
896 Energy & Fuels, Vol. 22, No. 2, 2008
Figure 10. Plot of Tcb with oxygen concentration for three SM samples.
Figure 7 revealed that SM-1 was heterohomogeneous ignition
type.1,35 DSC curves shifted to lower temperature levels with
increasing oxygen concentrations, and as the oxygen concentra-
tion increased further, two exothermic peaks on the DSC curves
and two stages on the TG combustion curves became more
apparent. These are the same results as shown in the literature.37
However, all samples provided only one sharp DTG peak, where
the gas and solid phase combustions were not separated.
From Figures 6-8, another conclusion can be gained that
the oxygen concentration did not affect the ignition mech-
anism for all samples, and it only made the combustion curves
shifted to a lower temperature zone and enhanced the intensity
of released heat. The configurations of DTG/DSC curves for
a certain coal did not change under different O2 concentrations.
3.1.2. Characteristic Temperature. Figure 9 showed the
variation of characteristic temperatures vs oxygen concentration
for the samples of SM-1, DL, and THSH. It is evident that as
the oxygen concentration increases, only the three curves of
SM coal gradually moved closer; however, the curves for DL
and THSH coal stayed nearly parallel all along. The temperature
difference between Ti and Te varied a little as the oxygen
concentration increased, namely the combustion time from Ti
to Te varied a little as the oxygen concentration increased.
However, for SM bituminous coal, the combustion time from
Ti to Te varied, for instance 18.0 min for 21%, 17.3 min for
30%, 13.8 min for 60%, and 12.4 min for 100%, respectively.
In other words, the influence of oxygen on the bituminous coal
was bigger than that on the lignite and the anthracite, and
obviously, SM bituminous was the most suitable pulverized coal
for the oxygen enrichment ignition system.
3.1.3. Effect of Particle Size on Complete Burnout. The effect
of particle size was studied using SM bituminous coal. Jiang37
indicated that as the particle size decreased, both the ignition
and burnout temperature decreasd. Because the relative SSA
of the coal particle was enlarged, therefore, volatile matter was
easily released and char was easily ignited. Figure 10 is the
plot of the complete burnout temperature vs oxygen concentra-
tions. It is found that as the particle size decreased, the effect
of oxygen concentrations on complete burnout of pulverized
coal became more obvious. For SM-3, when the oxygen
concentrations was 30%, the Tcb was almost the same as that at
100% oxygen concentrations; for SM-2, the same effect was
the 60% oxygen concentrations. On the basis of Figure 10, small
particles showed better burnout properties and shorter burning
times than large ones, as the former had the larger SSA. This
meant that small particles had the higher combustion intensity
under high oxygen concentrations, which should be used in the
ignition system of oxygen enrichment.
(37) Jiang, X. M.; Li, J. B.; Qiu, J. R. Proc. CSEE 2000, 20 (6), 71-74.
Fan et al.
Figure 11. Illustration of critical ignition temperature in DTF.
Figure 12. Plot of ignition temperature in the DTF with oxygen
concentrations.
3.2. DTF Analysis Results. 3.2.1. Ignition Criterion in
DTF. The ignition temperature of pulverized coal flow can be
indicated by a jump of temperature, a rapid weight loss, and
the measuring composition of the exhaust gas. Typical plots of
the CO2 concentration and the temperature of the furnace wall
(Tb) and flue gas (Ty) are shown in Figure 11 versus measuring
time for SM coal, which illustrated that when ignition occurred,
Ty and the concentration of CO2 increased simultaneously and
sharply. However, Wall13 indicated that when ignition occurred,
the temperature of the flue gas may be increased sharply, or
not, depending on the coal rank. For lignite, the temperature of
gas did not increase sharply when ignition occurred. It is
reasonable to assume that before the continuous ignition of
pulverized coal flow, CO2 concentrations increased very slowly
and would never suddenly increase. Therefore, we can take the
temperature of the flue gas at which the CO2 concentration
shows a jump as the ignition temperature of pulverized coal
flow. The criterion for determining the ignition temperature was
based on the derivative curves of gases produced. The ignition
temperature was taken as the temperature where the derivative
curves, normalized with respect to the maximum derivative
value, reached a value of 10%.19
3.2.2. Effect of oxygen Concentrations on the Ignition
Temperature of PulVerized Coal Flow. By changing the coal-
feeding rate, the average mass concentrations of pulverized coal
flow in the reactor obtained, which were 0.4 kg coal kg-1 gas
for SM bituminous coal and 0.3 kg coal kg-1 gas for DL lignite
coal. Figure 12 is the plots of ignition temperature vs oxygen
concentrations, which clearly show that the four tested samples
have the similar trend that the ignition temperature decreased
as the O2 concentration increased. This is the same as in the
literature.1,23,24 Because the combustion of released combustible
volatile matter accelerated, char ignition easily occurred as the
O2 concentration enlarged. The difference between the DTF and
TG experiment is that the ignition temperature of DL lignite
was higher than SM bituminous in the DTF experiment, and
the opposite situation occurred in the TG experiment. This can
Ignition of Coal under High O2 Concentrations Energy & Fuels, Vol. 22, No. 2, 2008 897

Table 3. Downtrend of Ignition Temperature with Oxygen (2) As the O2 concentration increased, the characteristic
Concentrations temperatures decreased, but only the three curves of SM
O2 concentration range (vol %) bituminous gradually moved closer as O2 concentration in-
coal 21-30 30-40 40-60 60-80 creased. Namely, the influence of oxygen on the bituminous
drop in temperature coal was bigger than that on the lignite and the anthracite; the
DL lig ∆t (°C) 31 18 34 47 bituminous pulverized coal is the most suitable for the ignition
β (°C vol %-1) 3.44 1.8 1.7 2.35 system of oxygen enrichment.
SM-2 bit ∆t (°C) 131 102 51 140
β (°C vol %-1) 14.56 10.2 2.55 7.0 (3) DTF experiments indicated that the degressive rate of
ignition temperature was the largest in the range of 21-30%
O2 and the smallest in the range of 40-60%. Therefore, the
also be explained by the effect of mass concentrations of
suitable O2 concentration for the ignition of pulverized coal flow
pulverized coal or too much water content (Mar ) 34%) in DL
lignite. The evaporation of water would consume the large initial may be controlled below 40% O2.
combustion heat of the pulverized coal flow definitely, thus Since electrical utilities are highly required to reduce costs,
causing the ignition to delay and the ignition temperature to improve combustion behavior, control ash deposition, enhance
increase. Another conclusion can be made that the trend shown fuel flexibility, and extend the range of acceptable coals, ignition
by the three different size SM coals appears to be the same, and combustion technology in oxygen enrichment ambience for
and the ignition temperature decreased as the particle size pulverized coal would become possible in pulverized coal-fired
decreased. Furthermore, Figure 12 also revealed that as the power stations in the near future.
volume concentration of O2 exceeded 40%, the ignition tem-
perature of the tested SM pulverized coal flow decreased to 600 Abbreviations
°C, equivalent to the ignition temperature of the oil fuel.38 anthr ) anthracite
The β is defined as the rate of variation of ignition temperature bit ) bituminous
under every 1% oxygen concentration. Table 3 reveals that the DL ) Duolun
degressive rate of ignition temperature of bituminous coal is DSC ) differential scanning calorimetry
larger than that of lignite, that the degressive rate of ignition DTF ) drop-tube furnace
temperature is the largest in the range of 21–30% vol O2, and DTG ) derivative thermogravimetry; the rate of weight
it is the smallest in the range of 40–60% vol O2. When the O2 loss with time, as a function of temperature
concentration increased from 21 to 30%, the ignition temperature HFO ) heavy fuel oil
of SM-2 decreased by 131 °C, whereas the DL decreased by HFOF ) heavy fuel oil-fired
31 °C. Thus, O2 affects much more on bituminous than lignite, lig ) lignite
and the suitable O2 concentration for the ignition of pulverized PC ) pulverized coal
coal flow may be controlled below 40% vol O2. OPCF ) oxy-enriched pulverized coal-fired
SM ) Shenmu
4. Conclusion SSA ) specific surface area
TGA ) thermogravimetric analysis
To sum up the above discussions, we can obtain the following THSH ) Tianhushan
conclusions: Ti ) initial temperature
(1) The ignitability, combustion property, and burnout have Tp ) peak temperature at maximum weight loss rate
all been greatly improved when enrichment oxygen was added, Tb ) burnout temperature
especially for small particles. The ignition mechanism did not Tcb ) completely burnout temperature
change under the higher O2 concentrations, even under the pure Tb ) temperature of the furnace wall
O2 circumstance at the lower heating rate. Ty ) temperature of the flue gas
(38) Cao, Y. Q. Energy Eng. 2000, 5, 60–62. EF7006497