Energy Technology

solid fuels
Wood and charcoal

 Solid fuel refers to various forms of solid material that can be

burnt to release energy, providing heat and light through the
process of combustion.
 Common examples of solid fuels include wood, charcoal, peat,
coal, Hexamine fuel tablets, wood pellets, corn, wheat, rye, and
other grains.
 wood contains 25 – 50 % moisture which is air dried to reduce
moisture content to 10 – 15 %.
Cont...
The average content of hardwood is:
Cont...
The average composition of peat from proximate analysis and ultimate
analysis
Cont...
 Charcoal is the product of carbonization and producer gas is the
gaseous product of gasification of wood.
 Charcoal also result from the incomplete burning of fuel.
 The carbonization of wood is characterized by several temperature
regimes:
1. All loosely bound moisture is evaporated between 100 C – 170 C.
2. Gases containing carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide and condensable
vapors evolve between 170 C – 270 C.
3. An exothermic step starts at 270 C to 280 C which spontaneously generate
heat.
 Wood carbonization is practiced in open pits, kilns and metal retorts.
 Lignite or brown coal
 Many forms of lignite which are distinguished by their physical
characteristics:
1. Woody or fibrous brown coal with clear structure of plant tissue
2. Earthy brown lignite
3. Brown coal showing slight woody structure.
 Lignite have high moisture content ranging from 30 – 50%.
 Upon removal moisture, it become brittle and cannot be transported far
from the mine.
 It ignite spontaneously as it absorbs oxygen readily therefore it cannot
be stored in open.
 Proximate and ultimate analysis of lignite

• It contains 70-75% carbon content and 21-26% oxygen. 50% d.m.m.f. volatile matter and
often ratio of volatile to fixed carbon is approx. 1:1.
• The high oxygen content denotes low calorific value. On air-dry basis , the value is as low as
2500 kcal/kg due to high moisture and ash content.
• The ash content is very high (up to 50%) in Nichahom lignites in Kashmir and in over all
India.
 Cannel Coal and Boghead Coal
 Cannel coal is originated form higher plant and bohead coal is
originated from smaller plant organisms like algae.
 Both types of coal have dull lustre and have conchoidal fracture.

• These coal have higher volatile matter and higher hydrogen than corresponding
normal coals.
• The high hydrogen content is responsible for high calorific value and high yield of tar
like products.
 Origin of coal
 Their are two theories of origin of coal:
 Autochthonous theory
 Allochthonous theory (drift origin)
1. Autochthonous theory (grow in situ)
 Plant grew and decayed in the same area where the coal is obtained
2.Allochthonous theory (drift therory)
The organic matter was driven from the original place of occurrences by the
agency of water into neighboring lagoons.
It has following points in the favor:
 Large quantities of organic matter are carried down stream by rivers and sometime
deposited near estuary (the tidal mouth of a large river)
 There is similarity between coal and sedimentary rock. Many seams are stratified
and made up of layers of coal with parting of shale, clay or sandstone.
Cont...
 The recognition of tree stems without attached roots in a seam afford
the evidence in favor of the transport character of the trunks and may
vegetable matter.
 Many of the coal seams are the evidence of in situ theory of
origin.
 The characteristic features of Gondwana coal seams support the
common belief that these coals were formed from plant materials
of terrestrial vegetation which were transported into lakes and
rivers.
 Many coal seams and sedimentary rocks are found in sequence
that is repeated several times. This represents the cyclic process
of accumulation of plant debris. Such formations are called coal
measures.
 Cont...
 Their are two important stages in the formulation of coal from
vegetable matter:
1. Peat stage or biochemical stage : the plant material underwent decay
under moist condition by bacterial attack. The decay continued until
the absence of an adequate supply of oxygen and the development of
exterminative toxins ended.
2. Metamorphism or dynamo-chemical stage: The agencies causing the
dynamo-chemical changes are:
1. Pressure of overburden
2. Tectonic pressure caused by severe earth movement
3. Regional temperature increasing by 0.5 C – 3.5 C for every 100 m depth.
4. Contact with igneous intrusions.
Properties of coal
Moisture:
 Owning to the nature and origin of coal, moisture is always associated.

External (Accidental/ free moisture)

Moisture
Inherent (Equilibrium/ hygroscopic
moisture)

 When wet coal is exposed to the atmosphere the external moisture

evaporated.
 However, some of the moisture content is still present internally which is
removed at 100 C temperature.
 The external moisture content usually depends mainly on the mode of
occurrence and handing of coal.
 To obtain reproducible results, it is necessary to first equilibrate the coal
sample in a standard atmosphere of specific temperature and humidity
before actual determination is done.
Cont...
 Air-dried moisture:
 It s determined by observing the loss in weight of coal sample on heating to
about 150 C.
 For peat and lignite this method is not applicable as they decompose at 150
C therefore Dean-Stark Method is used.
 Removal of moisture is important as it take away appreciable quantities of
heat on conversion to the vapor.
 If coal is exposed to an atmosphere having higher humidity at fixed
temperature, then it absorb more and more moisture.
 The quantity of moisture held by coal at an approximately saturated
atmosphere is called near saturation moisture or capacity moisture or
bed moisture.
 Air dried moisture content of coal decreases with increase rank from value of 25 % for
lignite to a minimum value of 0.5 % for a low volatile bituminous coal.
Ash and mineral matter
 The inorganic mineral substances are converted into ash upon chemical reaction
during combustion.
 Ash and mineral content are not identical.
 Mineral matter can be classified as inherent or extraneous.
 The inorganic material of the original vegetable substances is responsible for
inherent mineral matter.
 The extraneous mineral matter is due to:
 The substances which got associated with the decaying vegetable material during its
conversion into coal.
(it is in fine state and closely associated with organic matter, hence difficult to remove
the mineral)
 Rocks and dirt getting mixed up during mining and handling of coal.
(more amenable to the cleaning process)
 The inherent mineral matter cannot be removed by any mechanical means.
 Indian coal have high inherent mineral matter as well as it is closely associated
type due its drift origin.
 Empirical formula for calculating
mineral content from the ash values
 Parr formula

...(1)

 KMC (King, Mares and Crossley) formula

...(2)
Where MM= Mineral matter, A=ash, S=total sulphur, S pyr=pyritic sulphur, CO2= carbon dioxide from
carbonates, SO3ash= sulphate in ash, SO3coal = sulphate in pure coal and Cl = chlorine. (all in %)

The KMC formula is regarded as the standard of reference but it involves too many
analytical steps.
Parr formula is simple, it recognizes only two losses of consequences during conversion of
mineral matter into ash i.e. loss of water of hydration and loss in the conversion of pyrites
into oxides.
The simplified parr formula is used for coals:
...(3)
(Assumption: difference in weight of mineral matter and ash is due to the water of hydration which is
taken to be 10% of ash value)
Volatile matter and fixed carbon
 Volatile matter and fixed carbon are not constituents of coal. They represent the volatile
and non-volatile matter of thermal decomposition under specific condition.
 Volatile matter does not include the moisture of coal, however, the water is formed during
the decomposition due to hydrogen and oxygen of coal.
 When volatile matter is reported on air-dried and d.a.f. bases, it also includes the part of
the mineral matter, e.g., water of hydration, which escapes into the gaseous and vaporous
state.
 On d.m.m.f. basis however it represents only the volatile products from the organic mass.
 Fixed carbon does not include the ash. It is the nonvolatile residue of the organic mass.
Furthermore the term "fixed carbon" is a misnomer; it contains the nonvolatile parts of
other elements also.
 The volatile matter and fixed carbon, both expressed as per cent on a d.m.m.f. basis, add
up to 100 parts of pure coal (organic mass).
 The higher the volatile matter, the lower the fixed carbon.
 There is a correlation between volatile matter and maturity of coal. With the increase in
the maturity or rank of coal, its volatile matter decreases.
 However, there seems to be a critical value of volatile matter, 32 to 33 per cent d.m.m.f.
above which this relationship is not valid
Calorific value
 The basic property of fuel which is determined by bomb calorimeter.
 The complete combustion is ensured by using powdered coal and pure oxygen
at a moderately high pressure of 25 atm.
 Their are many formula to calculate the calorific value, one of the formula is
Goutal formula based in proximate analysis.

Where CG = gross calorific value, kcal/kg air-dried, F= fixed carbon (% air-dried),

V= volatile matter ((% air-dried) and a = a constant depending upon the value of
volatile matter expressed as percent d.a.f. (V’) as shown:
 This formula looks upon coal consisting of volatile matter and fixed carbon,
each contributing to the calorific value of the coal.
 The fixed carbon of different coals is assumed to be of a fixed composition and
hence of fixed calorific value.
 The composition and calorific value of the volatile matter differ from coal to
coal and are assumed to depend upon the nature of coal as indicated by the
volatile matter on a d.a.f. basis. These assumptions limit the utility of the
Goutal formula.
 The following are the modified Mazumdar formula for the calculation of
calorific value of Indian coals from their proximate analysis :
 For low moisture coal M ≤ 2 %
CG = 91.7F + 75.6(V - 0 .1A) - 60M ...(5)
 for high moisture coals M ≥ 2%
CG = 85.6[100 - (1.1A + M)] - 60M ...(6)
where, M, A, V and F denote moisture, ash, volatile matter and fixed carbon all in
per cent air-dried, respectively
 There are also several formulae that are based upon the ultimate analysis of coal.
The original Dulong formula is :
...(7)
where, C, H and O = carbon, hydrogen and oxygen, respectively, as % of the coal.
 This formula assumes that the heat of formation of coal is zero and the only heat
giving elements are carbon and surplus hydrogen, the latter meaning the hydrogen
in excess of that required to combine with the oxygen of the coal to form water.
 On including the sulphur as a heat giving element the Dulong formula is amended
as:
....(8)
Where S= sulphur, % coal.
Specific gravity and bulk density
 The proportion and nature of both the organic mass and mineral matter influence the
specific gravity of coal.
 Mineral matter is heavier than pure coal.
 Therefore for the same type of coal, the higher ash coals have higher specific
gravity.
 The true specific gravity of average bituminous coals normally varies between 1.27
and 1.45.
 Formula for specific gravity for many coals in India:
...(9)
Where, g = specific gravity, k = a constant having an average value of 1.25 and A= %
ash.
This formula assumes an overall specific gravity seems to increase with maturity:
Peat 1.15 – 1.25, lignite 1.25 – 1.3, bituminous coal 1.27 – 1.45 and anthracite 1.4 – 1.7.
Angle of repose
 The angle that a heap of coal forms with the horizontal is of importance in its storage
and its flow in conveyers and feed hoppers.
 Higher the size of the particle, higher will be angle of repose.
 The approx. values are:

Size of coal, mm 18 - 30 12 - 8 6 - 12 0-6

Angle with horizontal 41 40 38 32

Porosity and surface area

 Coal is a porous substance with high internal surface area.
 When it is brought in suitable organic liquid, it enter into the pores and wets the coal.
 The wetting process releases energy leading to the exothermic process.
 The heat of wetting also determines the surface area.
Refractive index and reflectance:
 Both these optical properties are found to increase with increase in coal rank.
 Reflectance is a god parameter for the determination of coal rank.
 The following vale were reported for vitrain rich samples:

Carbon % d.m.m.f. 75 80 84 91 95
Refractive index - 1.6 - 1.9 -
Reflectance % incident light 0.51 0.67 0.92 2.23 4.17
Grindability
 There are two methods of determining the ease of grinding coal to fine sizes,
namely:
 ball mill method and
 Hardgrove method.
 The former measures the amount of work done in grinding a pre-sized material to a
given fineness.
 The Hardgrove method measures the increase of surface produced by the application
of a standard amount of work and expresses the result as Hardgrove grindability
index, G which ranges between 20 and 100 for most coals:
G = 13 + 6.93W ...(10)
 where, W = grams of coal passing through a 200-mesh sieve after 50 g of coal of
size 16 to 30 mesh are ground in a standard mill for 60 revolutions.
 The use of a 200-mesh sieve in determining Hardgrove index is significant because
in the pulverised coal firing the size below 200-mesh is often specified.
 A high value of G indicates a soft and easily grindable coal.
Examples