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The objective of this study was to evaluate various multi-stage circuit arrangements that may be used to improve the column flotation of micronized coal. Laboratory flotation tests were performed with two different samples of Pittsburgh No. 8 seam coal. The first coal, Coal A, was ground to two different particle sizes and subjected to both column and conventional flotation. These tests were performed to obtain an initial understanding of the operational behavior of the column process and to compare the results with those of conventional flotation. The second coal, Coal B, was used in the actual testing of three different column circuit arrangements. The experimental test results were compared to simulated results obtained using a rate-based flotation model constructed in the present work. Several hypothetical flotation circuits were also examined using the simulation model and experimental flotation rate data. The circuit test results showed that each of the different circuit configurations possessed specific advantages in terms of throughput capacity, combustible recovery, ash rejection and sulfur rejection. However, the overall performance curves for each circuit were all found to fall on or just below the maximum separation curve predicted using the release analysis technique. Also, the simulated results in almost all cases predicted better results than what was actually obtained. This discrepancy was attributed to the inability of the rate-based model to adequately describe restrictions associated with the carrying capacity of the column froth. / Master of Science

The object of this thesis is to design, build, and calibrate a coal-air flowmeter to operate in a pipe line through which a mixture of powdered coal and air are being blown; and to investigate the accuracy of the meter while operating at different air-fuel ratios. It is the authors intention to test the coal-air flowmeter in a pipe line in which conditions exist that closely simulate actual conditions that exist in power plants burning pulverized coal. The flow characteristics of the meter will, as near as possible, be the same as may be found in a typical industrial application. For this reason, a large size pipe line will be used and the air pressure in the pipe lin will be relatively low. It is believed that a coal-air flowmeter has not before this time been investigated in a large pipe and utilizing low pressures. Because of conditions over which the authors had no control, flyash had to be substituted for coal for the testing of the coal-air flowmeter. The authors are mainly interested in the measurement of the flow of coal and therefore have referred to the meter as a coal flowmeter throughout this thesis. The authors believe the use of flyash as the test medium will demonstrate the usefulness of the meter to measure the flow of any type of finely divided particle being carried by an air stream. / M.S.

A dissertation submitted to the Faculty of Engineering and the Built Environment, University of the Witwatersrand, in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science in Engineering. Johannesburg 2016 / The quantity and particle size distribution of pulverised coal supplied to combustion equipment downstream of coal pulverising plants are critical to achieving safe, reliable and efficient combustion. These two key performance indicators are largely dependent on the mechanical condition of the pulveriser. This study aimed to address the shortfalls associated with conventional time-based monitoring techniques by developing a comprehensive online pulveriser condition monitoring philosophy. A steady-state Mill Mass and Energy Balance (MMEB) model was developed from first principles for a commercial-scale coal pulveriser to predict the raw coal mass flow rate through the pulveriser. The MMEB model proved to be consistently accurate, predicting the coal mass flow rates to within 5 % of experimental data. The model proved to be dependent on several pulveriser process variables, some of which are not measured on a continuous basis. Therefore, the model can only function effectively on an industrial scale if it is supplemented with the necessary experiments to quantify unmeasured variables. Moreover, a Computational Fluid Dynamic (CFD) model based on the physical geometry of a coal pulveriser used in the power generation industry was developed to predict the static pressure drop across major internal components of the pulveriser as a function of the air flow through the pulveriser. Validation of the CFD model was assessed through the intensity of the correlation demonstrated between the experimentally determined and numerically calculated static pressure profiles. In this regard, an overall incongruity of less than 5 % was achieved. Candidate damage scenarios were simulated to assess the viability of employing the static pressure measurements as a means of detecting changes in mechanical pulveriser condition. Application of the validated pulveriser CFD model proved to be highly advantageous in identifying worn pulveriser components through statistical analysis of the static pressure drop measured across specific components, thereby demonstrating a significant benefit for industrial application. / MT2016

The conversion of coal and char nitrogen has been investigated during fuel rich combustion. The experiments were done with the objective of clarifying the roles of NO, HCN, and NH₃, and char nitrogen in the post-combustion gases in the first, fuel rich stage of a staged combustor. The experimental apparatus includes a downflow combustor of 15 cm internal diameter and 180 cm length constructed of fibrous alumina insulation surrounding a central tube composed of vacuum- formed alumina cylinders. The combustion gases and solids were sampled in situ with a water-cooled and -quenched probe. Neither the combustor nor the sample probe were found to be reactive towards NO. Temperatures of the gases and walls were measured with Type K thermocouples and the particle temperatures were determined with a seven wavelength infrared pyrometer. Gas compositions were measured chromatographically using a 5A molecular seive for permanent gases (H₂, O₂, N₂, CO, and CH₄) and Poropak T for polar gases (CO₂ and HCN). A chemiluminescent analyzer measured NO. NH₃ and HCN were measured in the quench water with ion electrodes. The C, H, N, ash compositions of the char were measured with an elemental analyzer. Experiments of the fuel rich conversion of char nitrogen show that at all stoichiometries (SR = 0.8, 0.4) the concentrations of HCN and NH₃ in the post-flame gases are small compared to the concentration of NO. Char nitrogen conversion was stoichiometric or greater. NO destruction was found to be controlled by a heterogeneous mechanism involving the char carbon surface. The mechanism is deactivated by oxygen, an effect demonstrated by others. The fuel rich conversion of coal nitrogen was investigated with a Utah bituminous coal. At moderate fuel rich conditions (SR = 0.8), the residual char nitrogen conversion is 90 percent or greater and NH₃ and HCN concentrations were less than 20 ppmv. NO peaked at 1200 ppmv (1850 K) and declined to 600 (1580 K) ppmv over 1.8 seconds. Coal nitrogen conversion is dominated by NO formation at this stoichiometry. At extreme fuel rich conditions (SR = 0.4), coal nitrogen conversion is 85 percent. The gas is dominated by HCN, NO, and NH₃. HCN decayed from 600 ppm to 300 ppmv, NO from 350 to 50, and NH₃ increased from 200 to 375 ppmv, indicating that interconversion reactions in the gas phase are dominating. The kinetics which govern the volatile nitrogen reactions can be described by global homogeneous kinetics as follows: UNFORMATTED TABLE/EQUATION FOLLOWS: r₁ = d/dt[HCN] = -5.5x10¹⁷ exp(-83.3 K/RT)[HCN][H₂O]/[H₂]¹/² mole/cm³s r₂ = d/dt[NO] = -2.2x10¹⁶ exp(-54.4 K/RT)[NO][NH₃]/[H₂]¹/² d/dt[NH₃] = d/dt[NO] - d/dt[HCN] UNFORMATTED TABLE/EQUATION ENDS These yield rates for free radical reactions very similar to those determined in gas flame experiments, lending credence to their validity. A one-dimensional combustor model has been formulated which accounts for the heterogeneous combustion and gasification of the coal and char. This model includes the devolatilization of the coal and homogeneous oxidation of carbon monoxide and devolatilized species. The water-gas shift reaction is assumed to be equilibrated. The model also includes the mass, momentum and energy balances of the particles but obviates the solution of the combustor heat balance by using the measured gas temperature in the solution. The model accurately predicts the gas and elemental conversions and particle temperatures observed in the experiments, and supports the homogeneous and heterogeneous kinetics of post-combustion fuel nitrogen conversion.