• Korean Chemical Engineering Research
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• v.46 no.3
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• pp.443-450
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• 2008

Efficient use of low rank coals (LRC) have been investigated as a method to cope with recent high oil price. Among the coals used in industry, lignite and sub-bituminous coals are belong to the LRC, and have abundant deposit and are distributed worldwide, but high moisture contents and self ignition properties inhibits their utilization. In this paper, chemical coal cleaning to produce ash-free coal from LRC has been investigated. Two technologies, that is, UCC(Ultra Clean Coal) process removing ash from coal and Hyper Coal process extracting combustibles from coal were compared with. UCC process has merits of simple and reliable when it compared with Hyper Coal process, but the remaining ash contents werehigher than Hyper Coal. Hyper Coal has ash contents under the 200ppm when raw coal is treated with appropriate solvent and ion exchange materials to remove alkali materials in extracted solution. The ash-free coal which is similar grade with oil can be used as alternate oil in the industry, and also used as a high grade fuel for IGCC, IGFC and other advanced combustion technology.

• Journal of Energy Engineering
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• v.24 no.4
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• pp.89-96
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• 2015

Recently, much research has been put into finding the causes and solutions of slagging/fouling problems that occur at the end of the boiler. This slagging/fouling, caused by low-rank coal's ash, disturbs the thermal power and greatly reduces efficiency. In environmental aspects, such as NOx pollution, governments have been implementing restrictions on the quantity of emission gases that can be released into the atmosphere. To solve these problems, research on Ash Free Coal (AFC), which eliminates ash from low-rank coal, is in progress. AFC has advantages over similar high-rank coals because it increases the heating value of the low grade coal, reduces the contaminants that are emitted, and decreases slagging/fouling problems. In this study, using a DTF, the changes of NOx emissions, unburned carbon, and the characteristics of ash deposition were identified. KCH raw coal, AFC extracted from KCH, residue coal, Glencore, and Mixed Coal (Glencore 85wt% and residue coal 15wt%) were studied. Results showed that AFC had a significantly lower emission of NOx compared to that of the raw coal and residue coal. Also, the residue coal showed a higher reactivity compared to raw coal. And finally, In the case of the residue coal and mixed coal, they showed a lower ash deposition than that of low-rank coal.

• Clean Technology
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• v.20 no.3
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• pp.298-305
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• 2014

Ash included in coal can cause environmental pollution and it can decrease efficiency of mass and heat transfer by getting scorched and stick in the facilities operated at high temperature. To solve this problem, a feasibility study on pulverized coal fired power plant and integrated gasification combined cycle (IGCC) using the AFC (Ash-Free Coal) as well as the development to remove the ash from the coal was conducted. In this research, optimization of operating condition was proposed by using sensitivity analysis of ASPEN $Plus^{(R)}$ to apply the coal containing under the 200 ppm ash for integrated gasification combined cycle. Particularly, the coal gasification process was classified as three parts : pyrolysis process, volatile matter combustion process and char gasification process. The dimension and operating condition of 1.5 ton/day class non-slagging gasifier are reflected in the coal gasification process model.

• Clean Technology
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• v.20 no.3
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• pp.218-225
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• 2014

Catalytic gasification of raw coals at mild condition is not realized yet mainly due to deactivation of catalysts via their irreversible interaction with mineral matters in coal. In this work, the gasification behavior of ash-free coal (AFC) was compared with that of the parent raw coal. In order to modify the gasification conditions, the raw coal gasified with fixed variables (water supply, space velocity, temperature, catalysts) in a fixed bed reactor. When catalysts are added by physical mixing method with coal, $K_2CO_3$ was the most effective additives for steam gasification of coal. However, the activity of ash-free coal (AFC) was much less reactive than raw coal due to high temperature extraction in a 1-methylnaphthalene under 30bar at $370^{\circ}C$ for 1 h, almost removed oxygen functional groups, and increased carbonization. The addition of $K_2CO_3$ in AFC achieved higher conversion rate at low temperature ($700^{\circ}C$). At that time, the molar ratio of gases ($H_2/CO$ and $CO_2/CO$) was increased because of water-gas shift reaction (WGSR) by addition of catalysts. This shows that catalytic steam gasification of AFCs is achievable for economic improvement of gasification process at mild temperature.

• Journal of Energy Engineering
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• v.26 no.1
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• pp.1-8
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• 2017

This study was carried out to physicochemical properties and free CaO contents of coal ash in domestic circulating fludized bed combustion power plant using ethylene glycol method. Results of physicochemical properties, there are many differences in CaO contents for the region position in CFBC plant. The reason, It is considered to be reflected that regulation of exhaust concentration for oxides of sulfur and other operation characteristics of region position in CFBC plant. Free CaO contents are 1.96 ~ 10.78% of fly ash and 0.07~4.24 % of bottom ash, fly ash is higher than in the bottom ash. besides CaO contents of raw materials, particle distribution have a lot of influence Free CaO contents.

• Korean Chemical Engineering Research
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• v.46 no.3
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• pp.555-560
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• 2008

Extraction was performed to prepare ash-free coal from low rank coal under the temperature of $200-430^{\circ}C$ and initial pressure of 0.1MPa. Three kinds of coal samples with different rank were used and N-methyl-2-pyrrolidinone(NMP, polar), 1-methyl naphthalene(I-MN, non-polar), Light Cycle Oil(LCO, non-polar) were used as solvents. Results showed that higher extraction yield could be obtained with NMP than with 1-MN and LCO, but the ash concentration shows minimun in the case of 1-MN. Three operation modes were compared, that is, idle, agitation and ultrasonic extraction mode. From the results, it was found that the extraction yield and ash concentration were 70.09% and 1.03% under the agitation mode, 80.7% and 0.76% under the ultrasonic operation mode respectively in the case of NMP used at the temperature of $350^{\circ}C$. Similar results were obtained with 1-MN. Effect of ultrasonic on the extraction was estimated as 15-20% increase in the yields and 26% reduction in the ash concentration.

• KSCE Journal of Civil and Environmental Engineering Research
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• v.12 no.3
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• pp.207-213
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• 1992

In this study, the strength and durability of compacted coal ash with proper mixing ratio of fly ash to bottom ash, such as 5:5 or 6:4, are examined for use of highway embankment and subgrade materials. Right after compaction, the strength of bituminous mixed coal ash is greater than that of anthracite mixed coal ash. The distinguished increase of strength with curing time is observed only in Ho-nam mixed coal ash that contains a lot of free lime, and the strength increase with curing time are not seen or little in the others. The durability in sinking test is good also in Ho-nam mixed coal ash, but satisfactory by adding 2% cement in the others. And it is seen that the effects of the strength increase with adding cement are greater in coal ash with proper mixing ratio than in fly ash or bottom ash respectly.

• Journal of Hydrogen and New Energy
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• v.27 no.1
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• pp.63-70
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• 2016

In this study, ash free coals(AFCs) were produced with lignite and anthracite coals in a microwave. The AFCs were analyzed with proximate analysis, fourier transform infrared spectrometry (FTIR), X-ray diffraction analysis, and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). The extraction yields of the AFCs were 16.4 wt%, 7.6 wt% at lignite and anthracite coal, respectively. The chemical and physical properties of the AFCs were similar regardless of the original coal types. Oxidation behavior of the AFCs was investigated by supplying a mixture of 3g of AFC and 3g of electrolyte into the coin-type molten carbonate fuel cell (MCFC). For the evaluation of AFC fuel performance, electrochemical analysis of the steady-state polarization and step-chronopotentiometry were conducted based on the standard hydrogen fuel (69 mol% $H_2$, 17 mol% $CO_2$, 14 mol% $H_2O$). The AFCs showed similar electrochemical oxidation behaviors regardless of the original coal types. The overvoltage of the AFCs was larger than the hydrogen fuel, although OCV of the AFCs was higher.

• Clean Technology
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• v.18 no.4
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• pp.426-431
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• 2012

Carbon-rich coal can be utilized as a fuel for direct carbon fuel cell (DCFC). However, left-behind ash after the electrochemical oxidation may hinder the electrochemical reactions. In this study, we produced ash-free coal (AFC) by thermal extraction and then tested it as a fuel for DCFC. DCFC was built based on solid oxide electrolyte and the electrochemical performance of AFC mixed with $K_2CO_3$ was compared with AFC only. Significantly enhanced power density was found by catalytic steam gasification of AFC. However, an increase of the power density by catalytic pyrolysis was negligible. This result indicated that a catalyst activated the steam gasification reactions, producing much more $H_2$ and thus increasing the power density, compared to AFC only. Results of a quantitative analysis showed much improved kinetics in AFC with $K_2CO_3$ in agreement with DCFC results. A secondary phase of potassium on yttria-stabilized zirconia (YSZ) surface was observed after the cell operation. This probably caused poor long-term behavior of AFC with $K_2CO_3$. A thin YSZ (30 ${\mu}m$ thick) was found to be higher in the power density than 0.9 mm of YSZ.

• Korean Chemical Engineering Research
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• v.50 no.3
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• pp.449-454
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• 2012

Economic feasibility of the process for a coal extraction under mild condition, which will produce ash-free coal at a temperature lower than that of coal softening, was analyzed. To this end, the plant of 6000 t/d in capacity was assumed to be constructed near a coal mine in Indonesia, and the IRR, NPV, B/C ratio, and DPP of the plant were calculated based on $96 million investment cost and 15 years service life. The IRR, NPV, B/C ratio, and DPP of the plant were calculated to be 31%, $87 million, 1.08, and 3.9 years, respectively, and which satisfied the evaluation criteria of investment. The economic feasibility of the plant was mainly dependent on the price of the coal initially fed and the residue coal remaining after the extraction, according to sensitivity analysis.