www.ijesci.

org InternationalJournalofEnergyScience (IJES), Volume 6 Issue 1, 2016

doi: 10.14355/ijes.2016.0601.04

ExperiencewiththeGasificationofLow
GradeCoal;ACaseStudyofContinuously
ChangingTemperatureinsideGasifier
HanS.Uhma*,YoungH.Naa,YongC.Hongb,DongH.Shinb,ChangH.Chob andYoungK.Parkc
DepartmentofElectricalandBiologicalPhysics,KwangwoonUniversity,4471WolgyeDong,NowonGu,Seoul
139701,RepublicofKorea
a

ConvergencePlasmaResearchCenter,NationalFusionResearchInstitute,113Gwahangno,YuseongGu,Daejeon,
305333,RepublicofKorea
b

Wintech,5thfloor,DaewooBuilding,BangiDong,SongpaGu,Seoul138827RepublicofKorea

CorrespondingAuthors:HanSupUhm,Ph.D.
DepartmentofElectricalandBiologicalPhysics,PlasmaBioscienceResearchCenter,KwangwoonUniversity,
Office)8229408374,Fax)8229405664
hsuhm@kw.ac.kr

Abstract
Indonesian browncoal with high ash content is gasified by two microwave steamplasmas heating up a reaction chamber of
1145 liters in a swirltype gasifier for production of hydrogenrich synthetic gas. With additional heating of the gasifier by a
partial oxidation of coal, the inner temperature of the gasifier can be increased from 1100C to 1700C. In this regard, the
influenceofthegasifiertemperatureonthegasificationefficiencycanbeinvestigatedinthisexperiment.Thecarbonconversion
rateandcoldgasefficiencyarelessthan90percentand65percent,respectively,fortheinnertemperatureofthegasifierbelow
1400C.Ontheotherhand,thecarbonconversionrateatthechambertemperatureof1600Cisalmost100percent,ensuringa
completegasificationofcarbonsinalowgradecoal.Thecoldgasefficiencyofthehydrogenrichsyntheticgasatthehighinner
temperatureofthegasifierwallis84%,veryhighinarelativelysmallgasifierliketheexperimenthere.Thetotalcalorificpower
ofthesyntheticgascanbeeasilymorethan500kWinthisparticularexperiment.
Keywords
Gasification,LowGradeCoal,SteamPlasma,MicrowaveTorch

Introduction
Electricity is the most important and convenient energy source of mankind provided from the electrical power
plant,whichcanoperatedbyvariousenergiesincludingnaturalgas,nucleus,coals,biomass[13],etc.However,
mostoftheelectricalpowerplantsintheworldoperatedbythehighgradecoalswithanashcontentoflessthan
12percentareexpensive.Theconventionalcoalpowerplantsemitanunacceptablelevelofpollutantsandcarbon
dioxideintotheatmosphere.Inthisregard,overthelastfewdecades,theintegratedgasificationcombinedcycle
(IGCC) [46] has emerged as the best available technology with which to utilize coal efficiently and
environmentallyfriendly, as this method meets emission limits, which is not achievable by other means. A pure
steamtorch[7,8]generatedbymicrowavepowerhasgainedattentionlately,asthistypeoftorchcanserveasaheat
sourceforenvironmentalcleanupactivitiesandduetoitspotentialforuseintheproductionofrenewabletypesof
energy. Therefore, coal gasification by microwave steam plasma was also conducted at a tabletop scale [911],
showing the possibility of efficient gasification at this scale. Additionally, a veryhighpower microwave plasma
torchwhichmakesuseof915MHzmicrowaveshasbeenrecentlydeveloped,producinganairtorchflamewitha
diameter of 8 cm and a length of 120 cm [12]. The conventional coal gasification methods mentioned IGCC are
typicallycarriedoutatagastemperatureoflessthan1400Cduetothelimitedpartialoxidationofcoal.
Inordertoinvestigatetheinfluenceofthegasifierwalltemperatureonthegasificationoflowgradecoal,weused
microwavesteamplasmatoheatthecoalpowder,withadditionalauxiliaryheatingfromthepartialoxidationof
coalinareactionchamberwithavolumeof1145liters.Becausetwoheatingmethods(plasmaandoxidation)are

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used,theinnerwalltemperatureinthegasifiercaneasilyincreasefrom1200Cto1700Cwithoutareductionin
the gasification efficiency at a high temperature. The coal used for the gasification process in this study is
Indonesianbrowncoalwithacalorificvalueof4640kcal/kgandatotalashandmoisturecontentof33.17percent.
The carbon conversion rate and cold gas efficiency are less than 90 percent and 65 percent, respectively, for the
inner temperature of the gasifier below 1400C. On the other hand, the carbon conversion rate at the chamber
temperatureof1600Cisalmost100percent,ensuringacompletegasificationofcarbonsinalowgradecoal.The
coldgasefficiencyofthehydrogenrichsyntheticgasatthehighwalltemperatureis84%,veryhighinarelatively
smallgasifierliketheexperimenthere.Thetotalcalorificpowerofthesyntheticgascanbeeasilymorethan500kW
inthisparticularexperiment.
Apparatus, Methods and Materials
The initial planfor the gasification deviceis a fabrication ofa gasifier capable of producinga syntheticgas with
thermal power of 500kW. Therefore, the estimated gasification parameters [13] of coal powder for 500 kW of
thermal energyare asfollows:(1) thegasified fuelin the composition is40 percent hydrogen,30 percent carbon
monoxide,10percentnitrogen,and20percentcarbondioxideinthissamplecalculation;(2)theinnerchambersize
is1lube(m3)ormore;(3)therequiredgasifiedfuelamountisL=3500lpm;(4)therequiredreformingenergyis
90kW; (5) the oxygen requirement for partial oxidation is 342 lpm; (6) the water requirement for reforming is
1.1kg/minor60kg/h;and(7)thecoalpowderrequiredis90kg/hr.
Based on the estimation of the gasification parameters as outlined above, a 500 kW gasification system was
fabricated. Two microwave systems with a maximum power of 75 kW operated at 915 MHz were procured and
installedintoaswirltypegasifier.Thecharacteristicsofthemicrowaveplasmasystemwerewelldescribedinthe
previousliterature[13].Onemicrowaveplasmasystemisinstalledattheupperpartandtheotherisatthelower
partofthegasifier.Figure1shows(a)thegasifier(attheupperpartoftheimage)and(b)theinstallationofthe
microwavesystemsintothegasifier.Theinnerconfigurationoftheswirltypegasifieriscylindricalwithadiameter
of 90 cm and a height of 180 cm. The inner volume of the gasifier is 1145 liters.The inner surface of the gasifier
consists of a fireresistant ceramic material called HACT180, which can sustain temperatures up to 1800C. The
next layer is an insulating cement called INCT120. Five thermometers are vertically installed along the inner
surface of the gasifier to monitor the innersurface temperature. The plasma from the microwave system at the
upper part of the gasifier enters the inner chamber of the gasifier sideways and slightly downward, creating a
swirlingplasmaflamealongtheinnerwall.Meanwhile,theplasmafromthemicrowavesystematthelowerpart
enterstheinnerchamberofthegasifiersideways.

(a) (b)
FIGURE1(COLORONLINE).IMAGESOF(a)THEGASIFIERATTHEUPPERPARTOFTHEPICTUREAND(b)THEINSTALLATIONOF
MICROWAVESYSTEMSONTOTHEGASIFIER.

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Figure 2 shows an image of the overall gasification system, which is similar to the photo image in the previous
literature [14]. One of the important issues pertaining to coal gasification by steam plasma is a steady supply of
coalpowderintothegasifier.ThecoalpowdersupplysysteminFig.2providescoalpowderintothegasifierby
blownair.ThesynthesizedgasfromthegasifierisdischargedthroughthesyntheticgasexitshowninFig.2.The
temperatureofthesyntheticgasismonitoredatthebentpointofthesyntheticgasexit.Theashandmoltenrock
aredischargedintoanashtanklocatedunderthegasifierinFig.2.Thecoalpowderstoragetank,alsoshownin
Fig. 2, contains coal powder, which is carried into the coalpowder supply system by air blown from air
compressors.Steamboilerssupplyhotsteamintothemicrowavesystemasaswirlgasandadditionalsteaminto
thegasifier.Thesubstantialgasificationofcoaloccursatagastemperaturethatcanexceed1200C.Therefore,itis
necessarytopreheattheinnertemperatureofthegasifier.Plasmaflamesalonemaytakealongtimetopreheatthe
gasifier; therefore, a kerosene burner for preheating is installed at the lower part of the gasifier. The kerosene
burnerandplasmaflamespreheatthegasifierforaboutoneandahalfhoursto1050C,afterwhichthekerosene
burneristurnedoff.Thecoalpowderistheninjectedintothegasifierwhiletheinnertemperatureismonitored.

FIGURE2(COLORONLINE).APICTUREOFTHEOVERALLGASIFICATIONSYSTEM.

(a) (b)

FIGURE3(COLORONLINE).THETEMPERATUREOFTHEINNERWALLISPLOTTEDINTERMSOFTHEMEASUREMENTTIME.FIVE
THERMOMETERSAREVERTICALLYINSTALLEDALONGTHEINNERSURFACEOFTHEGASIFIERTOMONITORTHEINNER
SURFACETEMPERATURE.USUALLY,THETEMPERATUREASRECORDEDBYTHETHERMOMETERSATTHELOWERPARTISHIGHER
THANTHATATTHEUPPERPART.

The thermometers installed inside the gasifier monitor the innerwall temperature continuously after the
preheating process. The innerwall temperature of the gasifier increases due to continuous input of coal powder

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and oxygen, and the continuous operation of the microwave plasma. The thermometers are installed along the
innersurfacefromthelowerparttotheupperpartofthegasifier.Thetemperatureoftheinnerwallisplottedin
Fig.3aintermsofthemeasurementtime.Usually,thetemperatureasrecordedbythethermometerslabeledby1
and2atthelowerpartishigherthanthatattheupperpartlabeledby5.Thetemperatureofthegasfluidelement
may decrease as it moves from the bottom of the gasifier to the top. Particularly, the temperature of the exiting
syntheticgasfromthegasifierislessthan1000Cdespitetheveryhighwalltemperatureinthemeasurementtime
rangeof500to650min.Alargefluctuationofthetemperatureatthebeginningwascausedbytheunsteadyinput
ofthecoalpowder.Theinnertemperaturelabeledby2ofthewallexceeded1720Catthemeasurementtimeoft=
620min,indicatingpossibledamagetotheinnerwall.Therefore,theoxygeninputisreducedtocoolitdown.We
foundlaterthattherewasnodamagetothewall.AveragetemperatureoffivethermometersisalsoshowninFig.
3bforclarityofinsidetemperature.
Afterthepreheatingofthegasifier,theupperandlowerplasmaflameswerepoweredby40kWwith26kg/hrof
steamasaswirlgasandby30kWwith14kg/hrofsteam,respectively.Anadditional20kg/hrofsteamentersthe
upperpartofthegasifier.Indonesianbrowncoalataninjectionrateof90kg/hrisinjectedintothegasifierthrough
aninjectionportneartheupperplasmaflame.Finecoalpowderwithanaverageparticlesizeof70mdeliveredin
awaterproofbagisusedintheexperiment.AnanalysisoftheIndonesianbrowncoalpowderwaspresentedinthe
previousliterature[14],whichshowsthattheashandmoisturecontentis33.17%andcarboncontentis59.23%.
The water content of 10.71 percent during the 90 kg/hr of coal injection means an additional water injection of
9.6kg/hr.Therefore,thetotalwaterinjectedintothegasifieris69.6kg/hr,whichisestimatedtobe1444lpmatroom
temperature.400lpmofairfromtheaircompressorsisusedtoblowthecoalpowderintothegasifier.Thenitrogen
amountis320lpminthisblownairandtheoxygenamountis80lpm.Anadditional330lpmofoxygenisinjected
into the gasifier for the partial oxidation of coal. The total oxygen input from the water, air and the additional
oxygeninjectioniscalculatedtobe1132lpmatroomtemperature.Thecarboncontentof90kg/hrofcoalpowders
injected into the gasifier is 90 kg/hr 0.5923 = 53.3 kg/hr = 1.234 mole/s, which means that 1.234 mole of carbon
entersthegasifiereverysecond.
Thesyntheticgaswassampledatthesyntheticgasexitandwasanalyzedthroughgaschromatography,whichhas
error about of 1 percent for CO, CO2, O2 and CH4 measurements. However, this gas analyzer has error that can
reach 3 percent for hydrogen measurements, and H2O and N2 are not measureable with this type of
chromatography.Figure4showsplotsoftherelativeconcentrationsofthesynthesizedgasspeciesofH2,COand
CO2intermsofthemeasurementtime.Oxygen(O2)andmethane(CH4)insyntheticgasareneglectedbecausetheir
concentrationsaremuchlessthan0.5percent.Theconcentrationofcarbonmonoxideismuchhigherthanthatof
carbondioxideatahighgastemperature,asexpected.Basedontheinnerwalltemperature,Figure4indicatesthat
the concentration of the flammable gases (H2 and CO) is about 60 percent for all temperature range in this
measurementtime.

FIGURE4(COLORONLINE).THERELATIVECONCENTRATIONSOFGASSPECIESINTHESYNTHETICGASVERSUSTHE
MEASUREMENTTIME,SHOWINGTHERELATIVECONCENTRATIONSOFH2,CO,CO2,N2,ANDH2O.

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Results and Discussions
The320lpmofnitrogengasenteringthegasifierwillexitwithoutanylossorincrease.Therefore,thetotalflowrate
FT of the synthetic gas is related to the relative concentration n of the nitrogen gas as FT = 320/n lpm. The total
oxygeninputof1132lpmmayexitthegasifierintheformofCO,CO2andH2O,whoserelativeconcentrationsare
denotedbycm,cdandw,respectively.TheoxygenflowrateduetotheexitofCO,CO2andH2Ois(1/2)cmFT+cdFT
+(1/2)wFT,whichwillbebalancedwiththetotaloxygeninputof1132lpm.Thus,thebalancedequationforoxygen
gas is expressed as 160(cm+ 2cd+ w) = 1132n. We also recognize that the sum of the all relative concentrations is
unityash+cm+cd+w+n=1,wherehistherelativeconcentrationofhydrogengas.Wethereforeeventuallyobtain
the relative concentration of nitrogen in synthetic gas as n = 0.1238(1 + cd h) in terms of hydrogen and carbon
dioxideconcentrationsofcdandh,aspresentedinFig.4fortheentireoperationaltimeperiod.Oncethenitrogen
concentrationnisknown,thewaterconcentrationwcanimmediatelybefoundfromaboveequationswhichisalso
presentedinFig.4.
ThetotalflowrateofthesyntheticgasiscalculatedfromFT=320/n=2585/(1+cdh)inunitsoflpmandplottedin
Fig.5.TheH2andCOflowratesfortotalflowrateofFTlpmarehFTlpmandcmFTlpm,whichcanbetranslatedinto
the calorific power of synthetic gas by making use of the emission energy for hydrogen and carbon monoxide
givenby285.8kJ/moland283kJ/mol,respectively.ThepowerofthesyntheticgasisalsoplottedinFig.5inunitsof
kW.Thetimeprofilesofthepower(kW)andflowrate(lpm)ofthesyntheticgasareverysimilartoeachother.The
fluctuationofthetotalgasflowFTandsyntheticgaspowerinFig.5maybecausedbyunsteadysupplyofthecoal
powders into the gasifier, although the coal powder supply was most cautiously carried out. Nevertheless,
comparingFig.5withFig.3,wecanfindthatthepowerandflowrateofthesyntheticgasincreaseastheinner
walltemperatureofthegasifierincreases.
Thecalorificpowerofthecoaliscalculatedtobe487.2kWfor90kg/hrinjection.Themicrowavepoweris70kW.60
kg/hrofsteamenteringintothegasifierastheswirlgasthroughthemicrowaveplasmaandadditionalsteam.One
gramofsteamhasthelatentheatof539cal.Thus,thelatentheatof60kg/hrofsteamiscalculatedtobe38kW.
Therefore, the total inputenergy entering into the gasifier is 595kW. The cold gas efficiency ata high heating
valueiscalculated,dividingthesyntheticgaspowerinFig.5bythetotalinputpowerof595kW.Thecarbonmole
fractioninthesyntheticgasperunittimecouldbecalculatedfromFig.4by(cm+cd)FT/22.4/60.Dividingthemole
fractionofCOandCO2inthesyntheticgasbytotalcarboninputof1.234mole/s,wecanalsocalculatethecarbon
conversionrateR.Thefluctuationofcoalpowderinjectioncausesaseveredifficultyinevaluationoftheefficiency
andconversionrate.Inordertofindameaningfulvalue,weaveragedthesevaluesabout25minutesaroundthe
measurementtime.ShowninFig.6areplotsofthecoldgasefficiency andthecarbonconversionrateRversus
themeasurementtimet.WeobservedfromthecomparisonofFig.6withFig.3thatthecoldgasefficiencyofthe
gasifier increases from = 0.65 to = 0.82 after the innerwall temperature of the gasifier increases from about
1400Cto1600Cduringthetimefromt=450minutetot=500minute.Theinnertemperatureofthegasiferplays
acriticalroleinthegasificationefficiency.CarbonconversionratealsoincreasesdrasticallyfromR=90%toalmost
R = 100% during this time interval. A major contribution to high gasification efficiency is the carbon dioxide
reductionandcarbonmonoxideincreaseathighwalltemperatureofthegasifierinFig.4.

FIGURE5(COLORONLINE).PLOTSOFPOWER(KW)ANDFLOWRATE(LPM)OFSYNTHETICGASVERSUSTHEMEASUREMENT
TIMETDURINGTHEOPERATIONALPERIODOF10HOURS.

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FIGURE6(COLORONLINE).PLOTSOFAVERAGEDCOLDGASEFFICIENCYANDCARBONCONVERSIONRATEROFSYNTHETIC
GASVERSUSTHEMEASUREMENTTIMETDURINGTHEOPERATIONALPERIODOF10HOURS.THEIRMEANVALUESWERE
AVERAGEDOVER25MINUTESINTERVALAROUNDTHEDATAMEASUREMENTTIMET.

Conclusions
The influence of the gasifierwall temperature on the gasification of lowgrade coal using a swirltype gasifier
equipped with two sets of microwave steam plasma for heating to the 1145liter reaction chamber was studied.
Withtheadditionalheatingofthegasifierbythepartialoxidationofcoal,theinnerwalltemperatureinthegasifier
changesfrom1200Cto1700C.Indonesianbrowncoalwithacalorificvalueof4640kcal/kg,andatotalashand
moisturecontentof33.17percentwasusedforthegasificationprocess.Thecarbonconversionrateandcoldgas
efficiency were less than 90 percent and 65 percent, respectively, for the inner temperature of the gasifier below
1400C. On the other hand, the carbon conversion rate at the chamber temperature of 1600C was almost 100
percent,ensuringacompletegasificationofcarbonsinalowgradecoal.Thecoldgasefficiencyofthehydrogen
richsyntheticgasatthehighwalltemperaturewas84%,veryhighinarelativelysmallgasifierliketheexperiment
here. Measuring the gas temperature inside the reaction chamber is almost impossible because of its very high
temperature. However, it is believed that the gas temperature inside the reaction chamber may increase as the
innerwalltemperatureofthegasifierincreases.Inthisregard,wemayguessthatthecarbonconversionrateand
coldgasefficiencymayenhanceasthegastemperatureinsidethereactorincreases.
The total calorific power of the synthetic gas can be easily more than 500kW in this particular experiment.
Therefore, this gasification system may serve as a moderatelysized power plant due to its compactness and
lightweight nature. A power plant utilizing lowgrade coal could be useful in rural or sparsely populated areas
withoutaccesstoanationalpowergrid.
Burningorgasificationoffossilfuelsincludingthelowgradecoalmayproducecarbondioxide,contributingthe
carbon dioxide concentration in the atmosphere and worsening the global warming problem. There are some
suggestions including carbondioxide capture and storage or utilizations. However, the best solution to carbon
dioxideissueistheefficientuseofafossilfuelconvertingitintosyntheticgasandactivatingfuelcellsforelectrical
power generation. A combination ofsynthetic gasfrom coal gasificationandsolidoxide fuel cell may efficiently
generate electrical power, resulting in a less emission of carbon dioxide. Therefore, the gasification of lowgrade
coalinthisarticlemaybethefirststeptothesolutionoftheglobalwarmingissue,providingthesyntheticgasto
fuelcellsforanefficientgenerationofelectricalpower.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

ThisworkwassupportedbytheSRCprogram(20100029421).ThisworkwasalsosupportedbytheKoreaMicro
EnergyGridprojectoftheMinistryofKnowledgeEconomyinKoreaandbytheAgencyforDefenseDevelopment
through the Chemical and Biological Defense Research Center. This work was also supported by 2013 R&D
Convergence Program funded by Korea Research Council of Fundamental Science & Technology (R&D
Convergence136NFRI)

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