A Study on the Thermal and Chemical Characteristics of Wasted Coal for the Development of Low Cost Fuel

The seawater involving diverse chemical elements was mixed with wasted coals to improve the quality. The thermal and chemical characteristics of these seawater-mixed coals were investigated and compared with those of original coals. The contents of MgO, $Na_2O$, and $K_2O$ were increased by mixing seawater in wasted coals. The content of $Na_2O$ in these coal samples was greatly increased due to the sodium, which was the main component of seawater. Thus, it was expected that fusion temperatures of these coal samples were decreased. Coal samples mixed with seawater showed that the rapid weight loss was started at the lower temperature than those of original coal samples. In these coal samples, the temperatures of maximum heat emission were lowered by average $61^{\circ}C.$. Thus, it is suggested that some chemical constituents of the seawater act an important role on lowering the ignition temperature of wasted coal. By mixing seawater into wasted coals, the calorific values were increased. Especially, calorific values were greatly increased in the coal samples of lower quality as Baksan A and B with the improvement of 15~20%.