Chapter 4 ACCE 5103 Md.

Zahidul Islam
ASH1304MS102M, ACCE, 4th Batch

COAL
 What is coal?
Coal is a combustible solid usually stratified. It mainly consists of C, H, N & O. The
carbon content increases with the geological age of the coal. It decomposes at 1000 –
12000C in the absence of air & solid residue is found is called coke.

 Write a sort notes on classification of coal?

Coal is classified in the following manner-
A. Depending on the proportion of plant ingredients-
I. Common banded coal. III. Cannel coal
II. Splint coal. IV. Bog-head coal.

1. Common banded coal:

It is the common variety of bituminous & sub-bituminous coal. It consists of
different layers of different luster. Difference in luster of different bands is
greater in sub-bituminous coal.
2. Splint coal:
A kind of bituminous or sub-bituminous coal having dull luster, greyish black
color & compact structure.
3. Cannel coal:
It is a kind of bituminous or sub-bituminous coal of uniform compact structure. It
is dark grey to black in color.
4. Bog head coal:
It is a kind of bituminous or sub-bituminous coal. It contains high percentage of
volatile matter. On distillation it gives high yield of tar and oil.

B. By the ranking : (Depending upon their stage)

1. Sub-bituminous coal or black lignite:
They are black in color and have dull waxy luster. It is a higher stage of formation
than lignite. So it is denser & harder than lignite. Moisture content is less than
lignite. Calorific value is 7000-15000 BTU/lb.

2. Bituminous coal: It is the common commercial coal. It is black and has dull
brilliant luster burns with smokey yellow flame like bitumen. Denser and harder
and has no effect to air. Calorific value is 11000-15000 Btu/lb. It contains 80% C.

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Chapter 4 ACCE 5103 Md. Zahidul Islam
ASH1304MS102M, ACCE, 4th Batch

3. Super- bituminous coal:

It is bituminous coal of highest grade and has calorific value is 12000-15400
BTU/lb. it is smokeless in burning. It has got the best heating power among
coals.
4. Sub-anthracite or semi anthracite coal:
Its fuel ratio varies from 5 to 10. It ignites quicker than anthracite and burns with
yellow flame which changes later into blue.
5. Anthracite:
It is the final stage of coal formation. It is black & hardest. It contains low
percentage of volatile matter & highest percentage of fixed carbon. Calorific
value is 14000-15000 BTU/lb. It contains 90% of carbon.

 Write down the properties of coal?

The properties of coal are given below-
1. Color: Lignite is brown or brownish black which higher rank coals are black.
2. Hardness: Hardness increase from lignite to anthracite which is the best.
3. Firability: Splint and cannel coals are less firable than common coals.
4. Specific gravity: Specific gravity of coal depends on its ash content. For coking
coal specific gravity g = 1.27+ a where, a is the ash content per unit weighed.
5. Calorific value: High volatile coals having long flame have less heating value
than low volatile short flame coals.

 What is the composition of coal?

Coal is a mixture of various hydrocarbons. From the ultimate analysis of coal, it has
been proved that coal is made of –
1. Carbon (75%)
2. Ash (10%)
3. Oxygen (8%)
4. Hydrogen (5%)
5. Trace of sulfur (0.5%)
6. Nitrogen (1.5%)
When wood is converted into coal, there is an oxygen and nitrogen. Sulfur in coal may
be organic sulfur, pyrite sulfur and sulphate sulphur. The organic sulphur may be
present as a constituent of coal while inorganic sulphur may be present as inorganic
sulphides and sulphates.

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Chapter 4 ACCE 5103 Md. Zahidul Islam
ASH1304MS102M, ACCE, 4th Batch

Water in the coal is expressed as the moisture content. Nitrogen is present in coal as
proteins, alkaloids and chlorophyll. Nitrogen is present in heterocyclic linkages in large
molecules.
In short note, coal is a mixture of compounds containing mostly the condensed
carboxylic ring compounds. As a result of gradual coalification, the major part of the
coal consists of carbon in the form of graphite.

 Write short notes on “formation of coal”?

The source of all solid fuels is cellulose, lignin, & also small quantities of proteins, resins
fats & waxes. The formation of coal from these raw materials can be explained in the
following stages.
a. At first formation of peat bog with evolution of CH4, CO2, & H2O.
b. Water causes maceration & formation colloidal gel & insoluble matter.
c. Then the above raw materials either remain there or water washes them away and
deposits them at another place.
d. Under the strata of earth by pressure dewatering take place. In this stage lignite is
formed from peat.
e. Under pressure of earth and slowly rising of temperature further dewatering takes
place. So there is a loss of CO2 transferred into bituminous coal over thousands of
year. Amalgamation of acidic and basic humic bodies takes place. There is
development of cooking constituents from phenolic bed. This stage can be called
dynamic chemical stage.
f. By further pressure and slow rise of heat, there is formation of anthracite.

Deposit of coal at different coal mine in Bangladesh:

Coal first discovered in the country by Geological Survey of Pakistan (GSP) in 1959 was
at great depth. Geological Survey of Bangladesh (GSB) continued its efforts for
exploration that resulted in the discovery of 4 coalfields. BHP Minerals, a US-Australian
company, discovered a field in 1997 totalling 5 coalfields. All the discovered fields lie in
the north-western part of the country.

It is notable that the coal of Bangladesh is considered to be high quality due to its high
level of hit generation capacity. The total reserve is around 3300 MMT of this 5 coal
mines and the hit generation capacity is equivalent to 37 TCF of gas approximately.

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Chapter 4 ACCE 5103 Md. Zahidul Islam
ASH1304MS102M, ACCE, 4th Batch

The coal reserves of existing 5 coal mines are shown in the table below:

Sl. Exploration Depth Magnitude Actual

Year of location (Meter) of mine Reserve
area (Sq. (Million
km.) Metric Ton)

1 Barapukuria, 119-506 6.68 390

Dinajpur (1985)
2 Khalashpir, 257-483 12.0 685
Rangpur (1995)
3 Fulbari, Dinajpur 150-240 30.0 572
(1997)
4 Jamalganj, 900-100 16.0 1053
Joypurhat (1965)
5 Dighipara, 327 Not 600
Dinajpur(1995) Available

Among the 5 coal mines, Boropukuria coal mine in Dinajpur has started commercial
production by using underground mining method from September, 2005 with the annual
target of 10 lac MT of coal extraction. A 250 MW power plant has been running by using the
extracted coal of Boropukuria through which power is being supplied to the National Grid.
7 lac MT coal, extracted from Boropukuria coal mine, is being used daily in this power plant.

Production Planning:
At present two major mines are operated to extract about 1 million tons of coal and 1.65
million tons of granite per annum on a 300 day, working days per year basis respectively from
the Barapukuria Coal Mining Company Limited and Maddhapara Granite Mining Company
Ltd. Under the new contract, the year-wise production target is given below:

Period Production Target(MT)

September 2014 – August 2015 11,00,000
September 2015 – August 2016 11,00,000
September 2016 – 10 August 2017 8,00,000

Coal production from Barapukuria is now around 2,000 MT a day, down by 1,000 MT from the
average coal output of 3,000 MT.
Annual Production of granite is 1.65 Million Metric Tons (5500 metric tons daily).

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Chapter 4 ACCE 5103 Md. Zahidul Islam
ASH1304MS102M, ACCE, 4th Batch

 Collection way of coal/ Coal mining:

Coal mining is the extraction or removal of coal from the earth by mining. There are basically
two kinds of coal mining methods in the world –
1. Open cast (open pit) or surface mining and
2. Underground or deep mining.
The choice of mining method depends primarily on depth of burial and thickness of the coal
seam. Seams relatively close to the surface, at depths less than approximately 180 feet
(55 m), are usually surface mined. Coals that occur at depths of 180 to 300 feet (91 m) are
usually deep mined but, in some cases, surface mining techniques can be used.

Comparison of Open pit mining and Underground mining:

Parameters Open pit mining Underground mining
Development Minimum development work needed Need major development work.
work prior to coal production.
Overburden Need to excavate large volume of Coal extracted through some
overburden to extract coal. holes.
Surface area Large areas of land are lost. Only the area around pit-top is
loss visibly disturbed.
Environmental Noise and coal dust pollution in and Minimum level.
effect around mining area.
Mine safety Greater safety. No danger of explosion CH4 gas explosion, spontaneous
and fire. However, danger includes combustion, roof collapse,
land-slides on excavation or spoil pile. water flooding pose danger.
Affect of Mining is affected by rigorous climatic Climate don’t affect the mining.
climate condition like heavy rain or snow.
Depth of Maximum depth of mining limited by Can work coal to greater depth,
mining cost of overburden removal. overburden to coal ratio not
critical.
Machinery Fewer and more simple machinery More complex machineries are
needed for coal production. Less required. High investment.
money investment.
Recovery of Almost all in-situ coal may be Less than 60% of the in-situ coal
coal recovered. commonly recovered.

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Chapter 4 ACCE 5103 Md. Zahidul Islam
ASH1304MS102M, ACCE, 4th Batch

Coal mining in Barapukuria coal mine:

Petrobangla’s coal mining subsidiary is Barapukuria Coal Mining Co. Ltd (BCMCL) operates an
underground coal mine at Barapukuria in the Dinajpur District. Coal extraction was by long-
wall mining. The coal was delivered to a thermal power plant.
The Barapukuria coal deposit was discovered in 1985 while the Geological Survey of
Bangladesh (GSB) drilled a wild-cat borehole to investigate a negative gravity anomaly in the
area. Since then, a total of 35 deep boreholes were drilled, delimiting the area of coal
resources and determining the structure, and the coal seam characteristics in terms of
thickness and quality.

 Why Underground mining is superior than surface mining in BCMCL?:

Both Underground mining & surface mining is hazardous for environment in BCMCL because:
Disadvantage of Surface mining:
Area coal mining can result in a number of adverse effects on the environment. Surface
mining of coal completely eliminates existing vegetation, destroys the genetic soil profile,
displaces or destroys wildlife and habitat, degrades air quality, alters current land uses, and to
some extent permanently changes the general topography of the area mined, This often
results in a scarred landscape with no scenic value, though rehabilitation can mitigate some
of these concerns.

Disadvantage of Underground mining:

Mine tailing dumps produce acid mine drainage which can seep into waterways and aquifers,
with consequences on ecological and human health. If underground mine tunnels collapse,
this can cause subsidence of land surfaces. During actual mining operations, methane a
known greenhouse gas, may be released into the air. And by the movement, storage, and
redistribution of soil, the community of microorganisms and nutrient cycling processes can be
disrupted.

But, in compare to surface mining & underground mining, I think that, less amount of
pollution is occurred in underground mining than surface mining, because of the close system
process of underground mining. On the other hand, Surface mining requires a large amount
of land for mining, which is not available in Bangladesh as a small country. Because, there is
shortage of land for production of crops & foods, which can affect our total production crops.

So, we can say that, Underground mining is superior than Surface mining in BCMCL.

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Chapter 4 ACCE 5103 Md. Zahidul Islam
ASH1304MS102M, ACCE, 4th Batch

 Give theories of formation of coal or what do you know about origin of coal?
There are two theories which can explain the origin or formation of coal.
A. Growth in situ theory:
According to this theory coal bed and the under clay represent the actual site of vegetable
matter. In other word vegetable matter grew and long years ago at the place where. We
now find coal.

Points in favour of growth in situ theory:

1. In the existing peat bog decaying vegetable matter had been accumulating at the place of
origin.
2. The coal seems are found on the bed of fire clay. The constituents such as alkalies, lime
and iron oxide which acts as flux.
3. Composition of a particular coal seam is generally constant over a wide area. The ash
content of coal varies with place as the original decaying of vegetable matter.
4. Aquatic fossils are not found in coal.

B. Drift origin theory:

According to this theory the decaying vegetable matter was carried over from their
original place to lagoons and lakes.

Points in favour of Drift origin theory:

1. Generally there is no seam earth below coal and coal has been found lying on
sandstone and shale.
2. In coals the percentage of inclined trunks of fossils is much more than vertical position.
3. To form 1 ft of coal seam 10 ft of peat seam is required. For 30 ft of coal seam 300 ft
peat seam is necessary but there is no peat seam which is 30 ft thick.
4. The deltas of the Mississippi and the Ganges are the evidence of the Drift theory.
5. Coal seams appear like sedimentary rocks. Seams of coal are made of different layers
separated by layers of shale, clay or sand stone.

 Clean fuel from coal:

The process of production of clean fuel from coal involved the following steps:
a) Gasification b) Pyrolysis e) Dissolution

a. Gasification:
Coal is gasified in fixed bed or fluidized bed. If steam and oxygen is used in gasification then
low heat content gas is produced. The difference between low & medium BTU gas is about
50% nitrogen present in low BTU gas. Low BTU gas is used by an industrial fuel and

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Chapter 4 ACCE 5103 Md. Zahidul Islam
ASH1304MS102M, ACCE, 4th Batch

intermediate of NH3 HCHO, medium BTU gas is either methanated (CO + N2 CH4 + N2O) at
higher pressure and lower temperature or catalytically water gas is hydrogenated by fisher-
tropsch process.
Catalyst
CO + H2 CH4 +H2O

This produce CH4 gas, which is known as substitute natural gas (SNG).
Low BTU Clean up Clean fuel Gas low
CO, CO2, H2, (100-250) BTU
N2, CH4, H2S
Gasification Clean fuel gas medium
(250-550) BTU
Clean fuel gas high
Medium BTU Clean up Methanation
(550-1000) BTU
Gas H2S Fischer Tropsch Clean liquid fluid
Coal
Pyrolysis Hydrotreating Clean liquid fuel
H2S
Char H2 Syn crude
Hydrotreating Clean liquid fuel

Dissolution Filtration &

solvent removal H2

Solidification Clean solid fuel

Ash pyritic Sulfur

Fig.: Flow chart of producing clean fuel from coal.

b. Pyrolysis:
Pyrolysis can be done either at low temperature (400–5000C) or at high temperature (550–
1000˚C) without contact of air. It produces gaseous, solid and liquid products. Solid is mostly
char/coke, liquid is mostly coal tar and NH3 liquor. The tar is hydrogenated to remove H2S and
used as liquid fuel.

c. Dissolution:
Solvent extraction of coal is done at temperature below and above 3000C. At low
temperature, montan wax is obtained. At high temperature, high molecular weight poly-
functional aromatic coal acids are obtained.

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Chapter 4 ACCE 5103 Md. Zahidul Islam
ASH1304MS102M, ACCE, 4th Batch

 Describe the Coal Gasification process.

Coal is gasified in fixed bed/ fluidized bed/ entrained flow gasifiers. A coal gasification (Texaco
coal gasification process) process is described below –
1. The initial step in a coal gasification process involves grinding and/or pre-treatment of
the coal. The coal is wet ground and mixed with water to make a slurry containing
from 60 to 70 wt. % solids.
2. The slurry is mixed with air or O2 in the gasifier at elevated temperature (1200–1500˚C)
and pressure (20–80 atm). Steam is introduced with coal slurry to attain the
temperature.
3. The product gas is mainly CO and H2 and small amount CO2, H2O, Ar, N2, CH4, H2S.
4. The gasifier product is scrubbed with water to cool the gas and remove any char and
ash particles.
5. Then the gas stream is sent to a water-gas shift reaction to increase the H2 content.
6. Following the gas scrubbing, shift conversion and cooling operations associated with
the gasifier. The product gas streams are treated to remove H2S.
7. The H2S removal from the product gas streams is further processed into elemental ‘S’
and sold as by-product.
8. The product gas mixture containing CO and excess H2 is subjected to catalytic
methanation. This process is known as Fischer-Tropsch process. The gas mixture is
passed over finely divided Ni or Fe catalyst at about 200–300˚C, a mixture of saturated
and unsaturated hydrocarbon is produced.
.
CO + 2H2 (CH2) + H2O
.
n(CH2) CnH2n
The excess hydrogen then reacts with olefins to produce paraffin.
.
(CH2) + H2 CH4
CnH2n + H2 CnH2n + 2

Overall reaction,
n CO + 2n H2 CnH2n + n H2O
n CO + (2n+1) H2 CnH2n+2 + n H2O

9. Produced methane gas is compressed and dehydrated and supply to the pipeline as
synthetic (substituted) natural gas.

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Chapter 4 ACCE 5103 Md. Zahidul Islam
ASH1304MS102M, ACCE, 4th Batch

Fig.: Flow sheet of Coal gasification (SNG production).

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Chapter 4 ACCE 5103 Md. Zahidul Islam
ASH1304MS102M, ACCE, 4th Batch

 Define ultimate and proximate analysis of coal and write the importance of both.
Ultimate analysis is the determination of C, H2, N2, O2 and S (by difference) in coal and
proximate analysis is the determination of moisture content, volatile matter, ash content and
fixed carbon. The importance of all the determinations of proximate and ultimate analysis of
coal is as follows –
1. Moisture content: Calorific value per lb is reduced by moisture. Excess surface
moisture causes difficulties in handling.
2. Volatile matter: High volatile matter containing coal have low heating values. Coals
with 20% volatile matter have the best value.
3. Fixed carbon:
Carbon content increases from low rank coal to high rank such as lignite to anthracite.
High fixed carbon ascertains high calorific value.
4. Ash content:
As the percentage of ash content increase reduces the heating value and the
production of the boilers also decrease.
5. Sulphur:
Percentage of sulphur gives the idea of corrosiveness of products of combustion.
6. Hydrogen content:
The less content of hydrogen indicates the better quality of coal.
7. Oxygen content:
The less content of oxygen also indicates the better quality of coal.
8. Nitrogen:
Nitrogen in coal comes from protein matter. Nitrogen in coal can be extracted with
H2SO4. The proportion of extractable nitrogen decreases with maturity of coal.

 What are the uses of coal?

1. Coal is used for directly burning and getting heat.
2. For production of electricity.
3. For manufacturing of coke and by products such as producer gas.
4. For locomotives in Railway.
5. For manufacturing synthetic liquid fuel.

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Chapter 4 ACCE 5103 Md. Zahidul Islam
ASH1304MS102M, ACCE, 4th Batch

 Uses of coal in Bangladesh:

Only about 8% of the total commercial energy used in Bangladesh obtained from coal. Two
main users of coal are –
1. Brick industry: There are almost 7000 brick fields in the country. Brick manufacturing
sector is presently the most important user of coal and will remain a major user of coal
in future as the country continues to develop its industrial, commercial and domestic
infrastructures. About 3.5 million tons of coal are used in the brickfields.
2. Electricity production: At present, 58% of the electricity is generated in gas-fired power
plants. According to the government estimate, the present gas reserve of the country
will be exhausted before 2031.
So, government is planning to build plant for electricity generation other than using
natural gas. Coal is the alternative of natural gas. Recently, the government promised
to set up a total of eight coal-fired power plants under their and private initiative. Of
them, the local private firm Orion group was supposed to build three 1,088MW coal-
based power plants, another two 1450MW power plants under the government
initiative while three more 7960MW plants as joint-venture.
Already, a 250 MW power plant has been running by using the extracted coal of
Boropukuria through which power is being supplied to the National Grid.

 Future uses of Coal:

1. Cement industry – In cement industry, coal can be used instead of natural gas.
2. Coal can be used in tobacco dying industry in the place of fuel-wood.
3. As natural gas supply to all domestic household is not possible, coal produced in the
local mine can be used most conveniently. According to the government of
Bangladesh, coal consumption is at a current level of 1.013 MMT, up from 0.9546
MMT one year ago. This is a change of 6.10% from one year ago.
4. Different types of gaseous, liquid and solid fuel can be possible to produce from coal.
These can be used as energy source instead of conventional energy sources.
5. For producing activated carbon.
6. Used as a pigment for paints.
7. Powdered coal is used in dynamite.
8. Coke is used in iron, copper and in lead blast furnace.

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Chapter 4 ACCE 5103 Md. Zahidul Islam
ASH1304MS102M, ACCE, 4th Batch

 Write a short note on “pulverized coal”.

Pulverized coal burns quickly and completely as it thoroughly mixes with air. So for better and
efficient combustion, coal is crushed, ground and pulverized. In pulverized coal, the surface
area of coal increased. So, better combustion takes place. Pulverization of coal depends on
the following factors –
1. Density of coal.
2. The percentage of volatile matter.
3. Volume of combustion chamber available.
Generally, the coal should be pulverized to such an extent that it should have the following
sieve analysis:-
i. 99% passes through 44 mesh sieve
ii. 85-88% passes through 100 mesh sieve
iii. 55-65% passes through 200 mesh sieve

The pulverized coal burns depend upon the following factors:-

i. Fineness of particles and
ii. The volatile matter content.

Advantages of pulverized coal:

1. Pulverized coal can be intimately & uniformly mixed with air. So, it can be burnt
completely.
2. The atmosphere inside the furnace where pulverized coal is burnt can be easily
maintained. This advantage is of great importance in metallurgical furnace.
3. There is no formation of fuel bed. So there is no clinker trouble as in the case of coal.

 What is the carbonization or destructive distillation process? Give the

classification of carbonization process?
When coal is thermally pyrolysed or distilled by heating in the absence of air, it is converted
into a variety of solid, liquid and gaseous products. This process is called the carbonization or
destructive distillation of coal.

Main product - coke

Destructive
Coal Liquid by product – water tar, crude light oil.
distillation
Gaseous by product – H2, CH4, C2H6, CO, CO2, H2S, NH3, N2, coke oven gas, coal gas.

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Chapter 4 ACCE 5103 Md. Zahidul Islam
ASH1304MS102M, ACCE, 4th Batch

Classification of carbonization process:

There are two types of carbonization process:
1. High temperature carbonization process (HTC)
2. Low temperature carbonization process (LTC).
High temperature carbonization process (HTC): When the destructive distillation of
coal is carried out at above 9000C is called the high temperature process. In this carbonization
process gaseous product is larger than liquid products. Solid or hard coke is produced from
high temperature carbonization.
Low temperature carbonization process (LTC): When the destructive distillation of coal
is carried out at comparatively lower temperature 500-7000C is called the low temperature
carbonization process. In this process liquid products are larger than gaseous product and
semi coke is produced.

 What is the difference between low temperature carbonization (LTC) and high
temperature carbonization (HTC).
The differences between low and high temperature carbonization are given below –
Properties Low temperature carbonization High temperature carbonization
1. Temp. It is carried out at 500–7000C. It is carried out at 900–14000C.
2. Gaseous Small quantity 4000-9000 cft/ton. It Large quantity 10000-13000cft/ton.
product contains CH4, C2H6, paraffin and olefins. It contains CH4, H2, CO, CO2.

3. Liquid Large quantity. It contains more tar acid Small quantity. It contains little tar
product and tar base. acid & tar base.

4. Tar 30 gallons/ton. Mainly contains 8-12 gallons/ton. Mainly contains

paraffin, naphthene, high molecular aromatic hydrocarbons, pyridine,
weight phenol. phenol, naphthalene.

5. Pitch It contains soft pitch It contains Hard pitch

6. (NH4)2SO4 10 tons/day 20-30 lb/ton.
7. Light oil 2 gallon/ton 2-4 gallon/ton
8. Main Semi coke – 1500lb/ton. Hard coke – 1400lb/ton.
product VM =7–15% VM =1–3%

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Chapter 4 ACCE 5103 Md. Zahidul Islam
ASH1304MS102M, ACCE, 4th Batch

 Why low temp. is used in coal carbonization/ write the advantages of LTC?
Low temperature carbonization is used are as follows-
1. It gives the smokeless fuel.
2. It produces a greater amount of tar which can be easily converted into liquid fuel. As a
result, a source of fuel motor fuel can be obtained.
3. The product of this process has a high hydrocarbon content and low hydrogen. So, its
calorific value is more.

 Hydrogenation of Coal:
Hydrogenation is the treatment of a fuel with hydrogen at high temperatures and pressures
in the presence of catalysts. In hydrogenation, the initial fuel is transformed into new liquid,
gaseous and solid products rich in hydrogen.
Process conditions:
Temperature: 300 – 500 0C
Pressure: 200 – 250 atm
Catalyst: Mo
Process description:
When coal is pyrolysed in an atmosphere of H2 at temperature of 300–5000C and pressure of
200–250 atm in the presence of Mo as catalyst, H2 reacts with C of coal to form hydrocarbons
NH3 and H2O. The hydrocarbons thus formed react with more hydrogen to produce saturated
hydrocarbons. The latter decompose at high pressure and temperature to produce liquid
hydrocarbons, gas and coke.

In an actual practice –
1. Coal containing less than 2.5% ash is cleaned and powdered to 2 mm size and then
mixed with equal amount of heavy oil to make a paste.
2. H2 gas is obtained by the reaction of steam and water gas.
CO + H2O CO2 + H2
3. CO2 is absorbed when the mixture of H2 and CO2 is passed through an absorber
containing tri-ethanolamine (which absorbs CO2).
4. The paste of carbon and heavy oil is taken in a converter and H2 is passed through the
bottom of the converter at a temperature of 300–5000C and a pressure of 200–250
atm, both maintained constant for about 60–90 minutes.
5. The pressure then released and gases obtained are transferred to a fractionating
column. The heavy residue is withdrawn from the bottom of the converter.

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Chapter 4 ACCE 5103 Md. Zahidul Islam
ASH1304MS102M, ACCE, 4th Batch

Fig.: Hydrogenation of Coal.

6. The gases are fractioned into crude spirit (which goes out of top), middle oil and heavy
oil as residue.
7. The middle oil transferred into another converter, where it is again heated under
pressure with hydrogen in presence of catalyst. As a result, middle oil gets converted
into crude spirit. It is mixed with first converter spirit and reformed to be used as
motor spirit.
In addition to Mo, some other catalysts such as compounds of Pb, Sn, Ge, Zn etc. and Zn
oleate can be used. It is also possible to get number of variable products by changing the
temperature, pressure, H2 concentration, time of reaction and the catalyst used.

 What is calorific value? How is the calorific value of coal determined?

Calorific value:
It may be defined as the amount of heat liberated in calories by the complete combustion of
combustible material with oxygen and the condensation of the products to the desired
temperature.
The calorific value of a fuel depends upon the nature of the fuel and the relative proportions
of the elements present. It increases with the increasing amounts of hydrogen. Moisture if
present, considerably reduces the calorific value of a fuel.

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Chapter 4 ACCE 5103 Md. Zahidul Islam
ASH1304MS102M, ACCE, 4th Batch

Dulong’s formula:
Calorific value = 1/100 [8080 C + 34500 (H – O/8) + 2240 S] kcal/kg
Where, C, H, O & S are the percentage of carbon, hydrogen, oxygen and sulphur respectively.

J.A. Davis formula:

 = (3.635 H + 235.9)[ +H– (O + S)]

 is the calorific value in kcal/kg. C, H, O, and S represent the percentage of carbon, hydrogen,
oxygen and sulphur.

 Role of sulphur in coal:

In coal, sulphur is present as – (i) iron pyrites, FeS2, (ii) CaSO4 or gypsum, (iii) organic S.
1. As a result of carbonization, sulphur present as organic S is expelled as H2S, CS2 and
thiophene, but it still remains associated with coke in minute quantities.
2. Sulphur present as CaSO4 can not be removed even by the process of carbonization.
3. Sulphur present as FeS2 can be removed to some extent by washing of coal.
4. When coal is burnt, S is converted to oxides of sulphur, which pollutes the atmosphere
by creating smoke and causes acid rain.
5. In metallurgy, these oxides of S have adverse corrosive action on metals to be
extracted.
6. When coal containing S is used in ceramic industries, these oxides of sulphur also
affect the quality of ceramics.
7. When use in brick field or steam turbine, it may create bad smoke.

Sulphur, therefore reduces the value of coal. So, it is important to remove sulphur from coal
to the maximum extent. Depending on the sulphur content, coal is graded as low sulphur coal
(0–1% S), medium sulphur coal (1–3% S) and high sulphur coal (more than 3% S).

 Role of ash in coal:

The non-combustible inorganic remains that is left after the burning of coal constitute its ash.
The ash content of coal may go upto 10% and even more. Even very pure coals have ash
content of 2–3%.

Coals having too high ash content are called bone coal, bituminous shale or black slate. The
chemical composition of ash differs with different grades of coal. Ash usually contains silica,
alumina, iron oxide & small amounts of lime, alkalies, magnesia and sulphur compounds.

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Chapter 4 ACCE 5103 Md. Zahidul Islam
ASH1304MS102M, ACCE, 4th Batch

The higher the softening point of ash, the better is the quality of coal. The softening point of
coal ash generally lies between 1900-31000F. Ash having low softening point undergoes
fusion to form ash clinker, when coal is burnt. This clinker formation has adverse effects on
coal burning. So, ash is unwanted and degrades the quality of coal.

Therefore, A good quality coal should have less ash content and the ash should have high
fusion point.

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