DISTRITAL UNIVERSITY FRANCISCO JOS DE CLADAS UNDERGRADUATE CURRICULUM PROJECT IN CHEMISTRY PROXIMATE ANALYSIS OF COAL Jorge Eliecer Cuervo

Morales 20052150021 Michael Rincn Laiton 20052150050

ABSTRACT

Immediate analysis of a sample of coal is to determine the moisture content (3.03%), non-combustible materials (22.54) fixed carbon (48.75) and volatile matter (25.68). In this report, we show the results of the determination of several parameters in a specific sample of coal brought from a warehouse in Bogot.
KEY WORDS

Coal, ashes, activated carbon, volatile materials, moisture, density

INTRODUCTION

Coal is a compact mineral whose color ranges from dark brown to black, is made mostly of carbon, hydrogen, oxygen and nitrogen. It burns easily and is one of the fuels for domestic and industrial use The coal is classified into four classes: Activated carbon: amorphous carbon and granular powder, characterized by its high specific surface area for its large porosity. It is mainly used as absorbent. Bituminous coal: Variety of coal whose constitution and properties are intermediate between the anthracite and lignite. Coal Oil: It is produced by the distillation of petroleum, usually not used.

Coal plant: It is obtained by burning wood. Stacked in piles covered with mud to avoid contact with air and get a partial combustion. Mineral coal: Coal Natural or solid fuel, stony consistency or earthy, amorphous carbon consisting of hydrocarbons accompanied complex organic compounds and inorganic materials. According to the carbon are classified into four classes.

Properties The coal is evaluated in accordance with certain properties. The most important are: Heat output: This is the most important since the potential heat is merchandise bought and sold. It depends on the amount of moisture and ash

and dela composition of organic matter. Humidity: non-fuel component that increases the dead weight of coal consumed by the fuel heat and weaken their physical structure. Ash: inorganic mineral matter is left as residue of combustion. In most coal mines operate washing plants for removal of waste matter. Sulfur: inorganic impurities from coal. It is harmful because the combustion form corrosive acids. Melting of ash: The ash coals poor produce castings that cause severe damage by obstructing the air passages of the grids. Size: Determined by the degree of suffering breakage in handling, but regulated by the grinding that takes place during the process. Shredder: Ownership of main interest for the manufacture of cement and coal plants using powder. The coals are distinguished by their hardness, but the board or pyrite (hard minerals), increases the difficulty of grinding. hashing: Property like crush, but detrimental to the coals for domestic use. Characteristics of coking: It is very significant in the classification of coal for coke ovens and the prediction of efficacy in the grates. Tendency to form slag: function derived from the

composition of the ash and handling conditions. For easy removal of ashes, they should be grainy. Grade and Method: It depends on coal properties and influences the rate of combustion. Consistency of quality: A poor quality coal but even may be preferable to other higher quality but variable.

There are different ways of determining some properties of materials such as coal, coal in this case and to characterize a sample in the laboratory and in the present report, we will introduce some of the results obtained after carrying out various procedures specific for the analysis of a sample of mineral coal in the laboratory as are:
Determination of ash:

Is determined by weighing the inorganic residue (3-15%) which remains a founding after the burning of coal in the presence of oxygen under specific conditions (950 C). It corresponds exactly to the actual content of inorganic matter as some inorganic compounds are transformed: 4FeS2+4O22Fe2O3+8SO2 CaCO3CaO+CO2 The mineral content of activated carbon. Is normally defined as the % of calcined sample weight on the sample calcined

Determination materials:

of

volatile

Decomposition products of organic substances (2-45%) that emerged as gases or vapors by heating coal in the absence of air. The residue is called coke.
Determination of moisture:

Are determined by subjecting the sample in a furnace at 110 C for one hour

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

Table 1. Results for the density of the sample of coal

Moisture Ash

DENSITY Empty pycnometer mass 16.40 (g) Mass pycnometer with CCl4 24.08 (g) Volume pycnometer (ml) 5.16 TABLE OF RESULTS Mass pycnometer with CCl4 22.66 and coal (g) Empty crucible Mass crucible with Crucible final Density mass (g) coal (g) 1.21 g/ml mass (g) 21.54 22.56 22.53 11.75 12.77 11.98

% 3.03 22.54 25.57

Fixed carbon Table 2. Results percent of moisture, and ash of the sample of coal

 MOISTURE:

ASH:

coal that contains among 45 and 86 % of carbon. Likewise, the sample, according to the literature, on having contained a low percentage of humidity and ashes, can be classified between the subgroup of agglomerates, which have, approximately among 1-10 % of humidity and among 2-25 % of ash. The caloric value of this type of coal is inside the range of the 7800 to 8500 Kcal/Kg that results being a high value. It might suppose that this is a metallurgical coal used in the industry in view of his percentage of volatile material, because the steam coal has major percentage of volatile material and ashes, it might say also that this coal was formed thanks to the compression of the lignite, and this one thanks to the compression of the peat, given the location of this mineral coal it might be said that this is a coal from a limnitic peat. CONCLUSIONS The information thrown in the quantitative analysis of the properties as humidity, ash, etc, are indispensable to realize a primary classification of a coal sample, these different properties were contrast by the theory having as result that this one is a coal type coal or hulla, of the group of the agglomerates used principally in the metallurgical industry.

VOLATILE MATTER: It was not possible to do this, because the owen didnt get the require temperature. FIXED CARBON:

Is was not possible determine this parameter because we didnt do the volatile matter. The partial value without this, is 25,57% RESULTS AND DISCUSSION After the obtaining of the percentages of humidity, ash, volatile material and fixed coal, its possible to establish that the coal sample corresponds to a coal of type coal or hulla, which is a mineral

REFERENCES
American standar methods(ASTM) Designaton d 3172-73 Designation d 3175-89a http://webs.uvigo.es/josanna/pdf/ Tecnologia_Energetica/Carbon/TE N-T03_Anexo-Carbon.pdf http://www.ceit.es/asignaturas/ec ologia/nottecnicas/carbonfuener/ analisis.hatml.