Energy Convers. Mgmt Vol. 35, No. 6, pp.

465-471, 1994
Copyright © 1994 Elsevier Science Ltd
Pergamon 0196-8904(93)E0016-E Printed in Great Britain. All rights reserved
0196-8904/94 S7.00+ 0.00

ESSENTIALS OF THE ICPET-SA EXPERIENCE TO USE

BITUMINOUS SHALES IN ORDER TO PRODUCE POWER

MIRCEA C~,RDU and C O N S T A N T I N C A Z A C U

Institute of Scientific Research and Design for Thermo-power Equipment, (ICPET-SA), ~os. Berceni 104,
Sector 4, Bucharest, Romania

(Received 28 December 1992; received for publication 30 November 1993)

Abstract--This paper deals with the essential technical data and conclusions showing an economic
character, as obtained from the experience acquired by ICPET-SA as a result of the research works
conducted, to use bituminous shales in order to produce electrical power.
These research works have been carried out both in the laboratory, on 100 t/h and 1035 t/h steam boilers
made to operate initially by firing lignite and later adapted to fire bituminous shales, and in a 330 MW
unit thermo-electric power station equipped with two 520 t/h steam boilers, especially manufactured to
operate by firing bituminous shales with an average heating value of 4.1 MJ/kg.

Bituminous shales Steam boiler Thermo-electric power station

The worldwide power crisis, which started in the late 1960s until the early 1970s, brought about
wide technical actions undertaken in order to use low-heating solid fossil fuels available in large
quantities in our country in order to produce power.
The above-mentioned fuels are: low-heating lignite, with an average heating value of 6.7 MJ/kg,
and bituminous shales available in the Anina coal field (a southern-western region in Romania).
The basic technical characteristics of the bituminous shales are contained in Table 1.
Table 2 shows the mineralogic analysis of these shales.
We should point out the size values as contained in Tables 1 and 2 (and in Table 3 following,
too) have been set by shale-test samples as obtained through geological investigations and
considered to be representative to this purpose.
The above-mentioned values have, thus, been the basic data as subject matter for designing
boilers intended to operate by firing bituminous shales.
The techno-economic analysis conducted has led to the conclusion that the use of shales having
so low-heating value exclusively to produce power has not been efficient (see Table 1).
The great content of effective matter available in the shales (see Table 2) has made the complex
use of these shales to appear attractive through the activities listed below which, on a first analysis,
seemed to be profitable from an economic point of view:
- - extraction, processing and recovery of shale oil;
- - extraction of alum shale and of iron out of the ash resulting from firing shales in boilers in
order to produce power;
- - production of cement and of other building materials out of the ash resulting from firing shales.
Research works in all fields, as already mentioned, have started for the complex use of shales.
The implementation of the shale power use program belongs to the field of activity carried out by
ICPET-SA--The Institute of Research and Design for Thermopower Equipment--Bucharest (Ex
ICSITEE).
The laboratory research works commenced in 1972, and they led to the determination of the rates
of combustion for the variously sized shale particles. Test research works, as conducted in the
laboratory, have revealed the great importance that the thermal preparation of the shale particles
has for firing purposes. So, with temperatures less than 1500 K, the time necessary for an optimum
thermal preparation of the particle to be fired later has been longer by more than twice relative
to the other fossil solid fuels. The relationship between the time required for particle thermal
465
466 CARDU and CAZACU: USING BITUMINOUS SHALES TO PRODUCE POWER

Table 1. Basic technical characteristics of bituminous shales Table 2. The mineralogic analysis of "Anina" bituminous
available in "Anina" region shales
Limit Average Component substance Content (%)
Technical characteristic value value
Kaolinite (AI4Si4OioOH 8 46-50
Heating value (MJ/kg) 3.35-4.6 4.1 Quartz (SiO 2) 9-15
Total moisture (%) 6-10 8 Siderite (FeCO3) 4.5-10
Ash content (%) 69-75 72 Calcite (CaCO3) 1
Volatile content (%) 10-15 12 Titanium oxide (TiO2) 1
Anhydrous tar content (%) 3.2-4.2 3.8 Sericite (KAI2Si3OIoOH2) 12
Brown hematite (limonite) (FeO3H20) 1
Pyrite (FeS2) 0.5
Magnesian limestone (CaMgCO3) 1
Organic matter 14-17

preparation and the particle size resulting from crushing was also established. On account of the
quite great content of volatiles in the shales, concurrently resulted a rate of reaction of the volatiles
twice as great compared to that encountered with fossil solid fuels.
The gas flowing process inside the boiler furnace has been studied in the laboratory as well, by
bidimensional and tridimensional simulation, in the case of all burners in operation, and with a
small number of burners in operation as well. The above-mentioned test research works have
rendered evident the furnace areas over-exposed to the ash erosive effect. The optimum profile of
the combustion gas passage zones has, thus, been determined in order to get an ash amount as
great as possible to be retained before the gas enters the air preheater.
The test research works carried out on furnace models have continued concurrently with the
investigations made upon the boilers, as one can see in the following lines. In this way, all
constructional alternatives applied during the experiments conducted on the boilers have been
studied on these models too, as far as the type of burners, their arrangement in the furnace etc.
are concerned.
Data important to accomplish the project for steam boilers to operate with bituminous shales
have resulted from this first stage of laboratory test research works, such as:
(a) The low intensity of the combustion process and the longer time required for thermal
preparation have called for the necessity of a high thermal condition throughout the zone
of combustion, that is, a temperature of 1300--1500 K at the minimum. It has been attained
by putting a girth belt, made of refractory material, inside the boiler furnace, just in the
burner area.
(b) The high temperature necessary for the thermal preparation of shale calls for a high value
to be adopted for the preheated air. This is possible since the hazard of explosion exhibited
by the shale dust is very small, due to the high content in ash.
(c) A grinding system capable of preparing the shale dust, consisting of particles as small as
possible, should be used, crushing mills or hammer and fan mills. This matter has further
been studied by also cooperating with boiler manufacturing companies in Germany: EVT
and Babcock, Hammer and fan mills proved to be the best. Crushing mills proved to be not
suitable for the shales available in the region of Anina, especially due to their high value
of moisture.

Table 3. The chemical analysis of ash resulting from bitumi- Table 4. Basic technical characteristics of the 520 t/h boiler
nous shale firing
Technical characteristic Value
Component Content
substance (%) Live steam flow (t/h) 520
Live steam pressure (bar) 192
SiO2 45-55 Live steam temperature (°C) 540
A1203 20-27 Steam pressure at reheating (bar) 48
F203 5.5-12 Steam temperature at reheating (°C) 540
CaO 0.64).8 Boiler efficiency (%) 82
MgO 0.6-1.0 Overall sizes of the boiler proper
TiO2 1.1-1.2 - - length (m) 106
Na:O3-K~O 3 1.5-1.9 - - width (m) 51
- height (m)
- 92.4
 C A R D U and C A Z A C U : U S I N G B I T U M I N O U S SHALES TO P R O D U C E P O W E R 467

200

150

100
90 p

~ 80
~ 70
N 60
~ 5o _ Q~a~tz c°~%c~t o / /
~ 40
~ 3o o

20

15

I0 I I L I I I i I I I
3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 I1 12
S i de ri t e (%)

Fig. 1. Variation of the specific wear of hammers on a model mill vs the siderite and quartz content in
the shale.

(d) A longer time of residence for the particles to be held in the boiler furnace has been required
on account of the low rate of reaction of the shale carbon residue. The furnace should be
so dimensioned that gas flow velocity as great as 7 m/s is provided.
The second stage of research works has followed: they were carried out on a 100 t/h boiler, in
the Doice~ti thermo-electric power station. This boiler, with a steam pressure of 57 bar and a
temperature of 723 K (450°C) has been intended to fire 7.5-8.4 MJ/kg heating power lignite, and
it has been arranged and equipped in a specific way to meet the requirements contained in the test
research works concerning shale combustion [1].
In this way, the existing burners were replaced by throttle burners considered to be more suitable
to fire shales.
The experiments conducted so far on the 100 t/h boiler pointed out that the heat losses through
the non-burnt shale particles contained in the slag and ash are greater by 60--100% compared to
lignite firing.
To improve the conditions for firing, subsequent to the results of the test research works, a girth
belt made of refractory material was introduced into the boiler, in the burner area. Throttle burners,
provided with the shale dust blowing directions in the middle of the furnace or tangentially to a
central swirler, and crossed-jet throttling burners have also been studied in order to obtain a higher
thermal liberation per unit of furnace volume in the combustion area. Crossed-jet throttling burners
have achieved even greater thermal liberations per unit of furnace volume, compared to the
required ones. It is under these conditions that a better stability of combustion has been obtained.
Heat losses through the non-burnt shale particles decreased by 25%, whereas the heat supply
requirement through hydrocarbon addition to support the shale firing was also reduced by 30-50%.
In this way resulted the necessity of a 13-15% heat supply through hydrocarbon addition (fuel oil
or natural gas) to support the firing at the boiler nominal load. As for smaller loads, the
above-mentioned heat supply increases to 22-25%.
Slagging phenomena have not been found so far in the boiler, even under the conditions
displaying excessive temperatures, over 1500 K, which occurred in certain areas inside the furnance.
Research works concerning the heat flow have also been conducted on the 100 t/h boiler. They
revealed that the heat flow through convection is better by 15-20% compared to lignite firing. This
is mainly due to the much greater ash content occurring in the exhaust gases when firing shales
compared to lignite firing.
Besides the research works regarding shale firing, some research works on shale preparation and
grinding have been undertaken as well. Data concerning the influence of the shale grain structure
and composition on the mill grinding capacity and on the erosion the shale developed with the mill
working parts have been obtained from the above-specified research works.
It followed that the shale optimum value (size), when fed in mills, is within the range 0-30 mm,
 468 C~RDU and CAZACU: USINGBITUMINOUS SHALESTO PRODUCE POWER

while the mill grinding capacity is greater by 40-70% in the case of shale compared to the case
of lignite. This is due to the high degree of reliability proved by the shale. Some relationship
available between the content of abrasive matter in the shale (especially quartz and siderite) and
the erosive effect of the shale on the mill components has also been established.
Research works to determine the chemical and electrical characteristics of the ash resulting from
shale combustion were performed in the ICPET-SA laboratories concurrently with the research
works conducted concerning the shale grinding and firing in the 100 t/h boiler.
Table 3 shows the chemical analysis of the ash. The characteristics listed therein were necessary
for the determination of the basic technical data to be applied in designing the electrostatic
precipitator installation. It is also in this view that the experiments made on a pilot electrostatic
precipitator, of 30,000 m3/h capacity, have been performed.
The test research works on the 100 t/h boiler were conducted throughout a 2000 h period of time,
an amount of 100,000 tons of bituminous shales being used for this purpose [2].
Considering the results of the research works conducted during the two stages above-mentioned,
one could conclude that the manufacture of steam boilers to fire bituminous shales having the
characteristics shown in Tables 1, 2 and 3, is feasible from the technical point of view.
We were supposed to rely upon getting an overall economic efficiency, from the economic point
of view, by the implementation of the whole complex program to turn shales profitable, the
extraction of alum shale and of iron, the fabrication of cement, etc. included. The research works
concerning all the above activities were on the point of being completed.
Considering Romania's great power requirements, the bituminous shale rich reserves available
in the coal fields in the region of Anina, and the experience already acquired in the industry to
make 330 MW power units operating with lignite, we decided to fabricate a thermo-electric power
station equipped with 3 (three) × 330 MW power units, located as close as possible by the shale
quarrying place (open mining).
Given the very low quality of shales, from the thermal point of view, an initial analysis revealed
that, in the case of a boiler, firing shales with dimensions of the same rate as a 1035 t/h boiler firing
(for a 330 MW power unit), a steam flow approximately two times smaller is obtained.
As the shale amount, supposed to have been ground per hour for a 330 MW power unit, is
considerably great, a number of mills that could not be located around one boiler only was reported
to be available. So, the necessity to equip a 330 MW power unit with two 520 t/h boilers operating
with bituminous shales has arisen from the above statement. The basic characteristics of the 520 t/h
boiler are shown in Table 4.
The project for the manufacture of the 520 t/h boiler was made in 1974--1976.
A third stage of research works has been organized concurrently with the completion of this
project with the view to watch the modality to fire shales in a boiler whose dimensions are close
to those of the 520 t/h boiler. The experiments were carried out on a 1035 t/h boiler, made to
operate with lignite, in operation in the Turceni thermo-electric power station.
The findings occasioned by the experiments carried out on the 1035 t/h boiler have brought about
the adoption of some detail constructional procedures which were applied in the 520 t/h boiler
manufacturing project, just during its elaboration.
The examples below may be given in this regard to support the above-mentioned:
- - protection cladding has been provided on the first row of convection heat exchange tubes (in
the exhaust gas flow), to protect them from the erosion effects,
- deflectors have been provided in the bending area of the convection heat exchange tubes to
-

direct the exhaust gases toward the straight-tube area;

- - the removal of soot blowers (available in the 1035 t/h lignite based boilers) from the boiler
structure, as ash resulting from the shale firing shows no tube adherence;
- the application of throttle burners arranged with their shale dust blowing in a direction
-

tangentially to a central swirl to form inside the furnace.

A special emphasis was laid in the third stage of the research on studying the wear and tear
phenomena occurring with the mill components, especially with the hammers. These research works
were essential both for the shale based boiler mills and for the lignite based boiler mills. The lignite
mills lifetime used to be still unsatisfactory.
 CARDU and CAZACU: USING BITUMINOUS SHALES TO PRODUCE POWER 469

Mill hammers were originally made of cast steel, of OT 60-3 grade (according to Romanian
standards), similar to GS 60 steel (complying to the German standard DIN 1681-85), having
155 HB hardness to its surface. These hammers had a 300-400 h lifetime in the case of lignite firing
and only a 70-80 h lifetime in the case of shale firing, both situations being wholly unsatisfactory.
Miscellaneous technological procedures have been applied to get high wearing resistant mills.
Thus, steel, OT 45-3 (GS45-3 according to DIN), cast hammers have been coated by application
of a harder surface layer (crust), welded by means of tubular electrodes made of "Stelite" type
materials (Sti-Tic), welded by means of FeCr 5W-type electrodes, or by using some flat electrodes
made of a thin steel sheet strip on which ferro-alloy powders containing chromium, titanium or
other hard metals had been deposited. Hammers made of two different hardness metals have also
been cast (bimetallic hammers): the kernel is case of a more tough, but less hard steel, while the
surface side, subject to wear, has been cast from a harder allied cast iron.
The economic criteria have been established in order to comparatively analyse the procedures
applied to fabricate hammers of a longer lifetime. These criteria considered the production costs
and the economic effects brought about by the utilization of hammers with various lifetimes.
The technological procedures contained in the above-specified criteria have revealed that the
construction of bimetallic hammers proved to be the best: when applied to crush lignite their
lifetime used to be of approx. 800 h; when applied with the mills to crush and grind bituminous
shales, the lifetime of bimetallic hammers used to be of 150-250 h only, and this appeared to be
unsatisfactory to the industrial operation of the 330 MW power unit, as one can notice in the lines
to follow.
We should specify that the research works for the 100 and 1035 t/h boilers were performed in
cooperation with ICEMENERG in Bucharest that belongs to RENEL--Romania.
The technical outfit created to conduct the above-mentioned research works and the experience
acquired through these research works have allowed for test research works to be carried out to
determine the power characteristics of bituminous shales, as mined out in China, Brazil, Thailand
and Morocco.
The works to build the thermo-electrical power station intended to energetically apply
bituminous shales have continued ever since 1977.
The first boiler of the first 330 MW power unit was commissioned in September 1984, and the
second boiler of the same power unit was commissioned in June 1985.
As far back as the period of commissioning the power units, there were some technical and
economic difficulties that threw doubts upon the economic efficiency of the respective objectives
in point of its industrial operation.
Some of the difficulties are mentioned below:
(a) The improper operation of the plant to discharge ash as collected from the electrostatic
precipitators. As a consequence of the shortage of water on the thermo-electric power station site,
a system equipped with rubber belts was adopted to discharge the slightly water wetted ash. The
automatic water proportioning system to wet the ash, depending on the amount of discharged ash,
has not been perfected yet.
A pneumatic ash handling (discharge and conveyer) system would likely be more adequate.
(b) The very fast wear of the boiler mill hammers calling for their replacement (by bimetallic
hammers) within 150-250 h intervals, as previously specified.
(c) Doubling of the price for bituminous shales since the feasibility study concerning the
thermo-electric power station was prepared till the commissioning of the first power unit.
(d) The approx. 3-fold increase of the initial costs for investments necessary for the achievement
of the thermo-electric power station assembly (equipped with 3 × 330 MW power units), compared
to the originally estimated values. These increases in the initial costs, out of which a considerable
part was supposed to be made in the future, have been especially due to the location of the
thermo-electric power station (that is, it was located in the neighborhood of the shale quarrying
mine) at a great distance from an important water source and from the railway transport facilities,
and on a rough, calcareous ground. It follows then that solely the arrangement of a place
appropriate for slag and ash storage would require expenses of about 10% out of the total amount
necessary for the rest of the investments.
As for the diminution of the shale erosive action upon the mill components and for the
470 CARDU and CAZACU: USINGBITUMINOUSSHALESTO PRODUCE POWER

fabrication of mill hammers with an adequate lifetime, research works have also been performed
after the 330 MW power unit in the "Anina" Thermo-electric Power Station was put into
operation.
Test research works have been conducted in the laboratory, on a mill model, to establish the
influence of the siderite and quartz content available in the shale on the wear that the shale brings
about to the hammers. These investigations have primarily been necessary for the reason that the
content in abrasive constituents has been found to actually be higher than shown by the essential
data applied in the boiler design (Table 2).
The results obtained from these investigations have been written down on the diagram in
Fig. 1, where the siderite content, by percentage, is plotted on the abscissa while the specific
wear, by g/t (for a certain time) of the experimental mill hammers, is plotted on the ordinate
(in logarithmic dimensions). The curves for two intervals of the quartz content in the shale
have been plotted as follows: 10-12% (within the interval shown in Table 2) and 15-16%, as
much as it often used to be, in fact. The above-mentioned diagram has revealed that exceeding
the average siderite content (approx. 8% according to Table 2), the average quartz content
being maintained throughout all that time, has led to a reasonably moderate increase in the
specific wear, but exceeding the average siderite content concurrently with the increase in the quartz
content as high as 15-16% has, as an effect, a significant increase in the specific wear of the
hammers.
On the other hand, the shale obtained by current mining used to have a 15-16% quartz content
compared to the 9-15% (as shown in Table 2), and a 10-12% siderite content compared to
4.5-10% (referred to in Table 2).
As siderite has been found to be agglomerated mainly in the big lumps of mine waste occurring
when shales are mined by explosion, a mechanical sorting has been introduced on the conveyer
belt to the crusher to diminish the siderite content within the shale directed to be fed into the boiler.
Thus, only shale having 0-100 mm grain structure was fed into the crusher.
It is for the manufacture of higher wear strength hammers that the procedure of centrifugal
casting of two materials having different values for hardness (50-60 HRC at their surface) has been
applied. Bimetallic, centrifugally cast hammers have been tested with lignite based boiler mills. The
lifetime of the before-said hammers used to be approx. 2500 h, accordingly it was three times
greater than that of the bimetallic, regularly cast hammers. Hence, it follows that the durability
of the bimetallic centrifugally case hammers would amount to some 500-700 h in case they were
applied to the mills intended to grind shales. This type of hammer has not, however, been applied
to the shale based 520 t/h boiler mills.
It is for the above mentioned reasons, especially those under items (c) and (d), that, in 1988,
decisions have been taken to stop the works for the construction of the Anina Thermo-electric
Power Station with the subsequent two 330 MW power units. RENEL decided in 1991, on the
grounds of several economic studies, upon dismantling the power unit 1 equipment and upon
utilization of the whole equipment or of some of their components as spare parts in other
thermo-electric power stations in Romania equipped with lignite based, 330 MW power units. The
fact that the investigations carried out within the complex program to turn bituminous shales
profitable for the extraction of oil, alum shale, iron etc. have failed in getting valid, convincing
results from the point of view of economic efficiency has contributed to take the above-specified
decision.
We think that, according to the statements mentioned before, we may come to the following
conclusions:
(1) The application of bituminous shales having technical characteristics and mineralogic
analysis similar to those of the shales in the region of Anina in Romania is feasible from the
technical point of view (Tables 1 and 2).
(2) A thermal support, obtained by a hydrocarbon addition fed into the boiler furnace, is
necessary for firing the above shales in classically built boilers. The addition should provide a heat
supply as great as 13-15% at the boiler nominal load (rating) and as great as 22-25% at the boiler
partial load.
The furnace high filament power has also been necessary, created by adopting adequate structure
and arrangement of burners and by mounting a belt made of refractory material inside the furnace,
 CARDU and CAZACU: USING BITUMINOUS SHALES TO PRODUCE POWER 471

in the burner area, in order to provide a good combustion of the shale (with minimum losses by
non-burnt particles left in the slag and ash).
The residence time of the shale particles in the firing area should be quite longer, and it is for
that reason that the gas velocity over the direction of the furnace axis should be low.
(3) Shales are well suited to be ground in crushing mills or in impeller impact mills. In the case
of high moisture content shale, the optimum procedure recommended for grinding is the mill
equipped with hammers and fan.
(4) The shale erosion effect on the mill components (mainly hammers) is very important. The
shale erosive action is due to the quartz content and primarily due to the siderite content. The
sorting of the quarry-mined shale has been recommended by eliminating big lumps and directing
the 0-100 mm grain sized shale into the crusher located in the front of (upstream) the mills to
diminish the siderite content. Mill hammers should be made of materials of a very high hardness
on the surface subject to wear to provide for a lifetime of at least 500 h. On the other hand, the
price of hammers should be as low as possible. A possible procedure to be applied is the two-metal
centrifugal casting of hammers, the surface metal having a hardness as high as possible.
(5) The first row of tubes located in the heat exchanging areas by convection, arranged in the
gas stream, need to be protected (coated) in order to diminish the erosive effect of ash on the
surfaces available on the boiler flue gas path. As ash is not adherent to metallic surfaces, a soot
blowing (cleaning) system has not been required.
(6) Handling discharge of slag and ash resulting from firming should be carried out either
hydraulically or pneumatically. The semi-wet procedure, as applied with the Anina Thermo-
electrical Power Station, has not yielded successful results.
(7) A bituminous shale-based thermo-electric power station may be economically efficient
provided the shale price is sufficiently low and the conditions of location and execution call for
low initial costs. The bituminous shale-based thermo-electric power station has, thus, been found
to be within the limits of profitableness compared to thermo-electric power stations based on other
fuels.

REFERENCES
1. M. C~irdu, Consideralii privind aplicarea in Romfinia a unor noi tehnologii energetice (Considerations on the
application of some new power technologies), The 2nd Romanian National Power Conference, Bucharest (1980).
2. C. Cazacu et al., Valorificationdes schistes bitumineux par combustiondans des chaudirres 6nergrtiques en Roumanie
(Utilization of bituminous shales through burning in power boilersin Romania), Rer. Roum. Sci. Techn.--Electrotechn.
et Energ. 32, 105 (1987).