Experimental and numerical study of pulverized bituminous coal ignition characteristics in O2/N2 and O2/CO2 atmospheres

An unsteady-state model of a pulverized coal cloud including the submodels of radiation and convection was used to study the ignition characteristics of a Datong bituminous coal under the conditions of O2/N2 and O2/CO2 atmospheres. An increase in the ignition temperature was calculated for the bituminous coal when air (21% O2 + 79% N2) was replaced with a mixture of 21% O2 + 79% CO2. With the increase of coal concentration, the ignition temperature reduced under O2/CO2 atmosphere. The ignition temperature of a Datong bituminous coal was investigated using thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and a small furnace; experiment results showed a similar trend with the calculated results. Pulverized coal in ignition mode also appears very differently when the atmosphere changes. (C) 2011 Curtin University of Technology and John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.