Combustion characteristics of coal briquettes. 1. Thermal features

In this study, the influence of some of the most important briquetting parameters on the combustion and thermal properties of coal briquettes were studied in detail. For this purpose, briquettes with various organic (molasses, sulfide liquor, carboxyl methyl cellulose, Peridur XC3, and Peridur C10) and inorganic agents (cement and bentonite) were prepared, to be combusted in a reaction cell that was complemented with a continuous gas analyzer unit. Furthermore, using the binding agent that provided the most favorable thermal features, the effect of the binder quantity, as well as the amount of water addition, was successfully determined with fractions of 5%, 10%, and 15%. The influence of the relevant variables on the thermal behavior of the coal briquettes were expressed and investigated, using the effluent gas analysis method, by considering (i) the changes in the amounts of evolved CO and CO2 and consumed O-2 gases, as a function of temperature and time; (ii) the O-2 peak temperatures and times; and (iii) the residue that remained at the end of each run. The binder type, as well as the amount of binder agent and water addition, had a significant effect on the thermal behavior and combustion efficiency of the coal briquettes.