Influence of coal type on evolution characteristics of alkali metal compounds in coal combustion

The influence of coal type on the evolution characteristics of alkali metal compounds, especially sodium compounds, on the supposition of pressurized fluidized-bed coal combustion was elucidated experimentally in this study by using a rapidly heated electrical batch reactor. The evolution fraction of sodium was evaluated quantitatively by analyzing the sodium content in the burnt particles. Water and ammonium acetate extractions were carried out to classify the form of sodium compounds in the raw coals, and the ion components in the water-extracted solution were also analyzed by ion chromatography. Additionally, the relation between the existing locations of sodium and other elements at the cross section in the particle of raw coals was analyzed by an energy-dispersive X-ray (EDX) system and was quantified by means of the cross-correlation method between the locations of two elements.

The results show that the evolution characteristics of sodium are influenced by the coal composition/structure. The water-soluble sodium was the largest fraction in all of the coals tested. Most of the sodium evolved was classified as water-soluble sodium. From the results of the cation and anion components in the water-extracted solution, the sodium in the coals with sodium chloride as a major sodium compound was evolved more easily than that in other coals. The distributions of sodium, silicon, and aluminum contributed to the evolution characteristics of sodium. The coals with high cross-correlation coefficients between sodium and silicon/aluminum had a low evolution fraction of sodium.