Environmentally and economically efficient utilization of coal processing waste

Area of Science:

• Environmental Science
• Chemical Engineering
• Combustion Science

Background:

• Anthropogenic emissions from solid fuel combustion pose significant environmental challenges.
• Traditional pulverized coal combustion releases high concentrations of sulfur, nitrogen, and carbon oxides.
• There is a need for cleaner and more efficient fuel alternatives.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate environmental indicators of coal-water slurry (CWS) fuels, particularly those derived from filter cakes.
• To compare the combustion products and environmental impact of CWS fuels with conventional coal.
• To establish acceptable emission intervals for sulfur (SOx), nitrogen (NOx), and carbon (CO, CO2) oxides.

Main Methods:

• Utilized a specialized combustion chamber for fuel testing.
• Employed a gas analyzing system to measure combustion product concentrations.
• Calculated fuel combustion heat and assessed the environmental-energy attribute ratio.

Main Results:

• Combustion of filter-cake-based CWS demonstrated superior environmental and economic performance compared to coal.
• Measured concentrations of sulfur oxides, nitrogen oxides, and carbon oxides were analyzed.
• The study provided data on acceptable emission intervals for key pollutants.

Conclusions:

• Coal-water slurry fuels, especially those utilizing filter cakes, present a promising solution to reduce hazardous emissions.
• The wide utilization of filter cakes in CWS can mitigate environmental issues, reduce contaminated sites, and decrease the need for new coal mines.