Co-firing characteristics and kinetic analysis of distillers' grains/coal for power plant

The combustion of a biomass with coal may be one of the most effective methods to improve energy utilisation efficiency. This study aims to investigate the combustion characteristics of distillers' grains with bituminous coal using a thermo-gravimetric analyser. The results demonstrate that increasing the proportion of distillers' grains in coal results in a reduced ignition temperature (T-i) and burnout temperature (T-b), and activation energy (E) in the combustion stage. Therefore, the comprehensive combustion index (CCI) improves. In an O-2/CO2 atmosphere, T-i increased by similar to 15 degrees C, while T-b did not change much. However, E and CCI declined relative to an O-2/N-2 atmosphere. Under the O-2/CO2 atmosphere, with an increase in O-2 concentration from 10 to 40%, T-i changed over a small range, but T-b declined from 745.8 to 641.4 degrees C, while E and CCI improved. As the heating rate rose from 10 to 30 degrees C/min, the values of T-i decreased (from 281.4 to 244.9 degrees C), but the values of T-b increased significantly (from 662.8 to 745.8 degrees C); the value of E reduced, and CCI also improved. This research could provide useful information as a practical reference for heat and power production.