Experimental attempts to investigate the influence of petrographic properties on drying characteristics of lignite in superheated steam atmosphere

A superheated steam fluidized bed dryer (SSFBD) in a self-heat recuperative configuration has a great potential of improving thermal efficiency of a lignite-fired power plant by recovering both of latent heat of vaporization of water kept in the fuel and part of sensible heat during the fuel processing. However, the optimal design of the dryer requires the fundamental knowledge of drying characteristics in respect to the individual properties of the utilized fuel. Experimental investigation to determine the correlation between a specific coal properties originated from geological background and its drying characteristics is thus the major concern in this paper. The investigated lignite is a representative of Turoszow deposit in Poland. Experimental attempts unveiling drying kinetics were carried out for 5 mm and 10 mm diameter spherical samples in the superheated steam atmosphere in the temperature range of 110 C-170 C. Simultaneous and continuous measurements of changes in weight, surface and interior temperatures and appearance on each tested sample were carried out for describing drying behavior. Analytical investigation was applied to explain the drying characteristics, which are strongly affected by the individual properties of coal and the inherent ash composition.