Pulverized coal combustion-

Slagging and Clinkering

Coal what is it?
65-95% C
2-7% H
<25% O
<10% S
1-2% N
20-70% Char
5-15% Ash
2-20% H
2
O
20-45% VM
Inhomogeneous organic fuel
formed mainly from
decomposed plant matter.
Over 1200 coals have been
classified.
Time, Temperature
Coal Rank
Coalification forms different
coal types:
(Peat)
Lignite
Bituminous coal
Anthracite
(Graphite)

P
r
o
x
i
m
a
t
e

A
n
a
l
y
s
i
s

E
l
e
m
e
n
t
a
l

C
o
m
p
o
s
i
t
i
o
n

3 T
s
of Combustion
TIME
All combustion requires sufficient Time which depends
upon type of Reaction
TEMPERATURE
Temperature must be more than ignition temperature
TURBULENCE
Proper turbulence helps in bringing the fuel and air in
intimate contact and gives them enough time to
complete reaction.
Calorific Value

The calorific value is the measurement of heat or energy
produced, and is measured either as Gross Calorific Value or
Net Calorific Value.
The difference being the latent heat of condensation of the
water vapour produced during the combustion process.
Water
vapour
Carbon
Hydrogen
Sulphur
Moisture
GCV 10,500 Kcal/kg
Water Vapour
Water Vapour
NCV 9800 Kcal/kg
Main Processes in Coal Combustion
coal particle
p-coal, d=30-70m
devolatilization
volatiles
char
homogeneous
combustion
heterogeneous
combustion
CO
2
, H
2
O,
CO
2
, H
2
O,
t
char
=1-2sec t
volatiles
=50-100ms t
devolatile
=1-5ms
t
Combustion Reactions
1. Heterogeneous Combustion :
2. Homogeneous Combustion :
3. Heterogeneous Reactions :
MJ CO O C 510 . 110
2
1
2
+ +
2
1
MJ
2CO
c CO 882 . 172 +
2
MJ CO O CO 974 . 282
2
+ +
2
Carbon-Oxygen Reactions
Reaction Time/Burning Rate for Carbon Particle :
t
b
=

k.do
2
, secs.
k = 5000 for pulverized fuel
= f (EA, VM, MC, AC)
The Rate of Reactions Can be Represented as :
H
2
+1/2 O
2
H
2
O
S+O
2
SO
2

C+O
2
CO
2

Significance of Various Parameters
Fixed carbon
Fixed carbon gives a rough estimate of heating value of
coal
Volatile Matter
volatile matter is an index of the gaseous fuels present
Proportionately increases flame length, and helps in
easier ignition of coal.
Sets minimum limit on the furnace height and volume.
Influences secondary air requirement and distribution
aspects.

STI AIR
CARBON i.e 2.67 kg of oxygen
HYDROGEN i.e 8 kg of oxygen
SULPHUR - 1 kg of oxygen
100 1
%
%
%
2
2
x
CO Actual
CO l Theoritica
air Excess
|
|
.
|

\
|
=
Significance of Various Parameters (contd.)
Ash Content
Ash is an impurity that will not burn. Typical range is 5 to 40%
- Reduces handling and burning capacity.
- Increases handling costs.
- Affects combustion efficiency and boiler efficiency
Causes clinkering and slagging
Moisture Content
It replaces combustible matter, it decreases the heat content per kg of coal.
Typical range is 0.5 to 10%
Increases heat loss, due to evaporation and superheating of vapour
Helps, to a limit, in binding fines
Aids radiation heat transfer
Sulphur Content
Typical range is 0.5 to 0.8% normally
Affects clinkering and slagging tendencies
Corrodes chimney and other equipment such as air heaters and
economisers
Limits exit flue gas temperature

Air for combustion
Combustion related monitoring
parameters
Coal flow
Air flow /PRI-FLOW/SEC FLOW
O
2
CO
2
WINDBOX PR
FURNACE PR
FEGT
FINENESS
FLAME INTENSITY

Control of Air and Analysis of Flue Gas
TOTAL COAL FLOW INDICATES OF GCV
TOTAL AIR FLOW TO BE MAINTIANED > 10% EXCESS AIR
CO
2
monitoring is better than O
2
, as the air ingress will not
be accounted .
For optimum combustion of fuel oil, the CO
2
or O
2
in flue
gases should be maintained at 14 -15% in case of CO
2
and 2-
3% in case of O
2



Maintaining adequate wind box pressure is essential to
ensure proper distribution of secondary air.
If the SADC operation is satisfactory and Secondary Air
distribution is uniform , any change (increase or decrease )
in wind box pressure is not of any significance as long as
Total Secondary Air flow remains constant.
ANY DISTUTRBANCE IN THE FURNACE PRESSURE INDICATES
THE DISTURBANCE IN THE COMBUSTION.
FINENESS POOR FINENESS TAKES MORE TIME TO GET
BURNT SECONDARY COMBUSTION.
THE STRENGTHT OF THE FLAME IS MEASURED THROUGHT HE
INTENSITY OF THE FLAME



WINDBOX PRESSURE
Operation of Fuel air damper leads to admission of
secondary air adjacent to PF mixture on entry to the furnace.
In the case of high volatile matter in coal it will be advisable .
Incase of low volatile matter immediate availability of
secondary air slow down the combustion as it cools the
combustion products immediately before it heat up fuel
particles still under combustion process.
General guide line may be arrived based on the trend of VM
present in the coal delivered from time to time .
FUEL AIR DAMPER
Under fire /over fire damper operation helps
to control bottom ash and fly ash unburnt.
Secondary Air distribution gets disturbed from
the operation of these dampers which may
results in enhancement or deterioration of
combustion.
UNDER/OVER FIRE DAMPER
Clinker formation
Clinker is a mass of rough, hard, slag-like material formed
during combustion of coal due to low fusion temperature of
ash present in coal.
Presence of silica, calcium oxide, magnesium oxides etc. in ash
lead to a low fusion temperature.
Typically Indian coals contain ash fusion temperature as low
as 1100
o
C.
Once clinker is formed, it has a tendency to grow. Clinker will
stick to a hot surface rather than a cold one and to a rough
surface rather than a smooth one.
Clinker & slag formation
Minerals in fuels transform on heating to form ash. The propensity of a
fuel to establish problematic formations depends on its elemental
volatility and the viscosity of resultant ash.
Low viscosity ash is molten and will readily coalesce to form a large molten
mass or cause the agglomeration of bed particles on the stoker grate. This
is called clinker
As the molten mass is cooling, mineral phases can crystallize out of the
melt, which is the catalyst for the formation of hard clinkers.
When a molten ash particle, transported by updrafts collides into the
furnace wall, a slag deposit is formed. Alternatively, if the heat transfer
surface is covered with a molten sticky slag layer then it is highly probable
that 'dry' ash particle will also adhere to the surface.
Ash fusion temperature
Ash fusion temperatures give an indication of the softening and
melting behavior of fuel ash.
These temperatures are widely cited in fuel specifications for
boilers despite a relatively poor record of correlating with
slagging or fouling behavior. Reasons for the poor predictive
behavior include:
Fusion temperatures are based on fuel ash whereas deposits
commonly are enriched and depleted in several elements
relative to the fuel.
Fusion temperatures are measured over short time periods
while heating ash at a rate of 8 +/- 3 C (15 +/- 5 F) per minute
whereas ash deposits typically accumulate for hours and are
formed during cooling relative to the bulk gas temperature.
Fusion temperatures do not account for either boiler design
or boiler operation, both of which strongly influence slagging
and fouling behavior.
Fusion behavior changes when samples are allowed to stand
at a given temperature. Fusion temperatures generally
significantly decrease if the samples equilibrate at a given
temperature for an hour or so.
Fusion temperatures typically are measured at four defined
points under both reducing and oxidizing conditions.
These are defined as follows

Ash fusion temperature
Name Definition
Initial deformation temperature
(IT)
It is the temperature at which
the point of cone begins to round.
Softening temperature (ST) also
sometimes called the spherical
temperature
At this temperature the base of
the cone is equal to its height
Hemispherical temperature (HT)
At this temperature the base of
the cone is twice its height
Fluid temperature (FT)
At this temperature the cone has
spread to a fused mass no more
than 1.6 mm in height

Method to predict clinker
Different approaches can be used to predict the clinker/slagging
propensity of a fuel
The common approach is to measure ash deformation temperatures
under reducing and oxidising conditions or to use the numerous slagging
indices which are available and are based on the acid (SiO2, Al2O3) to
base composition (CaO, MgO, K
2
O, Fe
2
O
3
and Na
2
O) of the ash.
The table below schedules values for two of these indices when it is
unlikely that clinker/slagging problems may occur, when they may occur
and when it is almost certain for two of these indices when it is unlikely
that clinker/slagging problems may occur, when they may occur and when
it is almost certain that they will occur.
Index A is the product of the base/acid ratio and the total sulphur content
while Index B is the (maximum hemisphere temperature plus four times
the minimum initial deformation temperature)/5.

slagging unlikely
slagging
probable
slagging
probable
Slagging Index A
< 0,6 0,6 to 2,6 > 2,6
Slagging Index B
> 1340
1340 to 1150 < 1150
Method to predict clinker
The two critical temperatures derived from a phase diagram are the
solidus and liquidus temperatures. During the heating of a solid, the
solidus (Sh) is the temperature at which the solid will start melting and the
liquidus (Lh) is the temperature at which melting is complete. During
cooling, the liquidus (Lc) is the temperature at which the first phase will
crystallise from the molten melt and the solidus (Sc) is the temperature
when crystallisation is complete.

n a ternary phase diagram each point of the triangle represents 100% of
that component. The liquidus point can be easily defined by the
composition of the three ash components selected. The solidus point
depends on which of the many compounds present will melt first. The
diagram shows that an ash with 45% SiO
2
, 20% CaO and 35% Al
2
O
3

(composition A) will start melting at 1 170 C, whereas an ash with 45%
SiO
2
, 19% CaO and Al
2
O
3
36% (composition B) will start melting at 1 345
C. Thus a 1% difference in the Al
2
O
3
and CaO content results in 175 C
variation in predicted melting points. Interpreting a complex phase
diagram such as the SiO
2
-Al
2
O
2
-CaO diagram requires a good
understanding of the principals of phase diagrams and what they
represent and hence how to move from composition A or B to the
respective solidus temperatures.
Phase diagram selection is dependent on the dominant elemental
components of the ash. Ideally, the components should account for more
than 90% of the total elemental composition. For example, the table
below shows typical ash analyses for a coal, straw and bagasse. If coal and
bagasse were to be combined in variable proportions, then the CaO-Al
2
O
3
-
SiO
2
phase diagram would not be suitable because the Fe
2
O
3
and K
2
O
contents of the ash are too high.
A quaternary diagram for CaO-Al
2
O
3
-Fe
2
O
3
-SiO
2
or K
2
O-Al
2
O
3
-Fe
2
O
3
-SiO
2

might be better. Complex software is available for predicting liquidus and
solidus temperatures for these complex quaternary phase diagrams.
COAL
Flow Ratio Control : Fuel Lead
X
E
City refuse incinerator for the prevention of clinker formation
Conclusions
City refuse incinerator for the prevention of clinker formation