Coal gasification was carried out to verify the coal fouling characteristic in a drop tube furnace (DTF). Four pulverized coal samples, in the range of bituminous and sub-bituminous, were used. To analyze the fouling characteristic by different temperature of deposit probe, a two-stage deposit probe was used in the experiment. Ash deposition rate was at upper deposit probe higher than at lower one. The X-ray fluorescence (XRF) results indicated that coal fouling included acid minerals such as SiO2 and Al2O3 at upper deposit probe more than that at lower deposit probe. The results of X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) indicated that the fouling particles at high deposit temperature were agglomerated more than those at low deposit temperature. And the convective heat transfer efficiency was reduced by ash deposition on probe. Especially, the convective heat transfer coefficient substantially declined with small particle size of fouling and Fe2O3, CaO, and MgO.
Gupta RP, Wall TF, Baxter LL, The thermal conductivity of coal ash deposits relationships for particulate and slag structures, in: Gupta RP, Wall TF, Baxter LL (Eds.), pp. 65-84, The Impact of Mineral Impurities in Solid Fuel Combustion, Kluwer Academic Press, New York, 1999