Introduction
Sulfur is one of the hazardous elements in coal. The concentrations of
sulfur are relatively high in coal. The major forms of sulfur in coal are
pyritic, organic and sulfate. Pyritic and organic sulfur generally account for
the bulk of sulfur in coal. Elemental sulfur also occurs in coal, but only in
trace to minor amounts. When coals are burned, leached and washed,
sulfur will be released in the form of sulfide and H2S, which then react
with O2, water and other substances to change into vitriol, and in some
places it may form acid rain. And they will impact water environment,
acidify the soil and do great harm to plants and human health.
Forest affected by Acid rain.
Effects Of Pollution In Pakistan
The air pollution is very serious problem in Pakistan, and further increase
in these emissions would be fatal for people. There must be control
measures in order reduce these high level of emissions.
Table showing the estimation of SO2, NOx in air from 1990 to 2030.
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Procedure
Two commercially available Flue Gas Desulfurization (FGD) technology
options for removing the SO2 produced by coal-fired power plants
Limestone Forced Oxidation (LSFO) — a wet FGD technology — and
Lime Spray Dryer (LSD) — a semi-dry FGD Technology which employs a
spray dryer absorber (SDA). In wet FGD systems, the polluted gas
Stream is brought into contact with a liquid alkaline sorbent (typically
limestone) by forcing it through a pool of the liquid slurry or by spraying it
with the liquid. In dry FGD systems the polluted gas stream is brought into
contact with the alkaline sorbent in a semi-dry state through use of a
spray dryer. The removal efficiency for SDA drops steadily for coals
whose SO2 content exceeds 3lb SO2/MMBtu, so this technology is
provided only to plants which have the option to burn coals with sulfur
content no greater than 3 lbs SO2/MMBtu. In EPA Base Casev.4.10 when
a unit retrofits with an LSD SO2 scrubber, it loses the option of burning
BG, BH, and LG coals due to their high sulfur content.
Coal Briquetting Process
Briquetting requires a binder to be mixed with the coal fines, a press to
form the mixture into a cake or briquette which is then passed through a
drying oven to cure or set it by drying out the water so that the briquette is
strong enough to be used in the same burning apparatus as normal lump
coal.
Coal is a material totally lacking plasticity and hence needs addition of a
sticking or agglomerating material to enable a briquette to be formed. The
binder should preferably be combustible, though a non-combustible
binder effective at low concentrations can be suitable. Starch is preferred
as a binder though it is usually expensive. Highly plastic clays are suitable
providing not more than about 15% is used. Tar and pitch from coal
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distillation or from charcoal retorts have been used for special purpose
briquettes but they must be carbonised again before use to form a
properly bonded briquette. They are of good quality but costly to produce.
The press for briquetting must be well designed, strongly built and
capable of agglomerating the mixture of coal and binder sufficiently for it
to be handled through the curing or drying process. The output of
briquettes must justify the capital and running costs of the machine.
Briquetting machines for coal are usually costly precision machines
capable of a high output. Brick making presses have been used but there
do not appear to be any commercially effective, really low cost machines
for this purpose. Coal is quite abrasive so that equipment for screening
fines, grinding, mixing them with binder, Briquetting and so on must be
abrasive-resistant and well designed.
The binders which have been tried are many but, as stated, the most
common effective binder is starch. About 4-8% of starch made into paste
with hot water is adequate. First, the fines are dried and screened.
Undersized fines are rejected and oversized hammermilled. This powder
is blended with the starch paste and fed to the briquetting press. The
briquettes are dried in a continuous oven at about 80°C. The starch sets
through loss of water, binding the charcoal into a briquette which can be
handled and burned like ordinary lump coal in domestic stoves and
grates. Generally briquettes are not suitable for use as industrial coal in
blast furnaces and foundry cupolas, since the bond disintegrates on slight
heating. For this briquettes bonded with tar or pitch and subsequently
carbonised in charcoal furnaces to produce a metallurgical coal briquette
of adequate crushing strength are needed. The cost is too high for the
process to find industrial application in most countries.
It is possible to add material to aid combustion of briquettes such as
waxes, sodium nitrate, and so on, during manufacture to give a more
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acceptable product. Also clay as a binder, silica, and so on, can be mixed
with the fines to reduce the cost of the briquette. This, of course, lowers
the calorific value and is merely a form of adulteration for which the user
pays, though claims may be made that burning is improved. But well
made briquettes are an acceptable, convenient product. The virtual
absence of fines and dust and their uniformity are attractive for barbecue
purposes. Generally they sell at around the same cost per kg as lump
charcoal in high price markets and have more or less the same calorific
value as commercial charcoal of 10-15% moisture c
Benefits Of Coal Briquetting
1 Since briquettes are created from compressing combustible materials,
they are denser, harder, and more compact. They have high specific
density (1200kg/m3) and bulk density (800kg/m3) compared to 60 to 180
kg/m3 of loose bio mass. Thus, they offer a more concentrated form of
energy than firewood or charcoal.
2 The compression process allows the briquettes to burn for a lot longer
than if it was with the compactness of the briquettes is the increase in
heating value.
3 Along with the compactness of the briquettes is the increase in heating
value. Briquettes can relatively produce more intense heat than other fuel.
They have a higher practical thermal value and much lower ash content
(2-10% compare to 20-40% in coal). In fact, they are 40% more efficient,
as well as hotter and longer lasting than firewood. This greater efficiency
can be attributed to their low moisture and density.
4 This is a unique property of briquettes. Using them creates no smoke,
soot, or carbon deposits. Depending on the base material, they produce
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no or little fly ash. Further, briquettes do not emit gases or any toxic
chemicals like sulfur.
5 Biomass is the main component in producing briquettes. So where do
we get this biomass? Look around you, and there are loads of biomass
materials here, there, and everywhere.
6 There are presently commercial briquettes sold in the market. However,
ordinary households can produce briquettes. You must only have a stock
of combustible matter, a binder, and a molder to shape the briquettes.
7 The size and shape of briquettes make them easily be stored. We can
readily pile them in several heaps because of their fun shapes like
cubical, spherical, cylindrical, or rectangular blocks. They are likewise
clean to handle and be packed into bags.
8 Compacting raw coal into briquettes reduces the volume by many
times, making it much easier to store and transport than coal. Considering
their shape, size, and density, briquettes are excellent for long distance
transport. Likewise, loading and unloading cost are much less and are
done easier.
