Title: Impact of temperature increases on the formation of carbon monoxide during lignite storage

Authors: Petr Buryan

Addresses: Department of Gaseous and Solid Fuels and Air Protection, University of Chemistry and Technology, Prague, Technická 5, 166-28 Praha 6, Czech Republic

Abstract: This article presents our research on the formation of carbon monoxide (CO) through low temperature oxidation of lignite coal during its long-term storage in the coal bunkers of fluidised bed boilers. Our work shows that CO concentration in the vicinity of coal storage facilities poses real danger to the operating staff, especially in cases when the temperature of coal or the facility may suddenly rise. The experiments with lignite samples revealed CO can be released at temperatures higher than ambient (ca 50-180°C) in concentrations of up to 2,500 ppm. The cause is the oxidation of stored coal matter by air. We showed that any step increase in the temperature of the coal always leads to immediate short-term peak increase in CO formation. In all cases, these peak CO concentrations reached levels higher than both the maximum permissible exposure limit and the maximum permissible concentration in the working environment air. [Received: September 27, 2019; Accepted: August 7, 2020]

Keywords: storage; lignite; carbon monoxide; coal bunker.

DOI: 10.1504/IJOGCT.2021.118644

International Journal of Oil, Gas and Coal Technology, 2021 Vol.28 No.3, pp.249 - 258

Received: 27 Sep 2019
Accepted: 07 Aug 2020

Published online: 30 Oct 2021 *

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