Investigation of the influence of pressure on the combustion of Alpagut lignite

Abstract

This research presents the combustion behavior of lignite under different reaction pressures. Lignite from Alpagut, Çorum of Turkey was combusted in its run off mine (ROM) condition under three different pressure levels of 172, 345, 517 kPa (25, 50, 75 psi). Experiments were done in a fully controlled temperature regime in an isolated combustion tube that operated in coordination with a continuous gas analyzer. Combustion behavior of lignite under different pressures was characterized by effluent gas analysis method. The changes in the amounts of consumed oxygen, evolved carbon oxides as well as variations in the temperature were assessed. The combustion efficiency and effectiveness of lignite was evaluated in terms of thermal features, from the viewpoint of reaction kinetics and by the computation of instantaneous fuel consumption at critical points. It was seen that combustion of lignite tended to turn from a steady profile to a considerably rapid one with increase in pressure, proving to be highly sensitive to the applied pressure level. Also, different levels of pressure resulted in distinctive combustion behavior not only from the view of thermal characteristics, but also in terms of reaction kinetics.