A Study of On-line Analysis of Hydrogen Chloride Evolution During Coal Combustion
Abstract
This study involved the use of a thermogravimetric analyzer (TG) interfaced with a fourier transform infrared spectrometer (FTIR) and a mass spectrometer (MS) to determine the evolution of hydrogen chloride from coal during combustion as a function of the chlorine content and mesh size of the coal. It was determined that combined TG-FTIR and TG-MS systems offer the user an efficient means to investigate the mechanism of hydrogen chloride evolution from coal combustion. From the HC1 evolution profiles, it was determined that a good correlation exists between the chlorine content in the coal and the total amount of HC1 evolved. From the HC1 evolution profiles, three HC1 peak maxima were determined. The first two peaks corresponded to HC1 evolution from chloride ions associated with the hydrated coal matrix. The third HC1 evolution peak corresponded to the presence of inorganic chlorides in the coal. It was also determined that the first HC1 evolution peak was related to the particle size of the coal, in that this peak shifted to a lower temperature for smaller mesh sizes.