Coal Characterisation and Design for Fossil Fuel Fired Boiler in Thermal Power Plants

Coal is a highly heterogeneous in nature and requires several analytical techniques for its characterisation so as to accurately predict its behaviour during conversion processes such as combustion, gasification or liquefaction. The goal of utilizing the available large quantities of indigenous coal alone with reducing emissions is increasing the efficiency of power plants by utilizing steam conditions. The performance correlations based on bulk property analysis of coal adequately impact coal quality on conversion efficiencies and plant performance. Thermomechanical analysis, an advanced bulk analytical technique provides detailed thermal behaviour of ash relevant to power plant operations. The decrease in easily worked deposits, together with the decline in the availability of the better quality coals has resulted in a need for the development of blending techniques. Blending is now extensively practiced in the preparation of coals which involve blending of several different classes and / or grades of coals to produce blends which on carbonization will yield coke. Coal petrology is the study of organic materials which make up coal. The object of study is to identify in terms of reactive capabilities, each of the organic materials making up coal and an attempt to relate the reactive capabilities with the industrial applications of coal. Various tests are being designed to investigate the feasibility of Indian Coals in pulverized coal boilers.