Crystallization of synthetic coal-petcoke slag mixtures simulating those encountered in entrained bed slagging gasifiers†

Commercial entrained bed slagging gasifiers use a carbon feedstock of coal, petcoke, or combinations of them to produce CO and H₂These carbon sources contain mineral impurities that liquefy during gasification and flow down the gasification sidewall, interacting with the refractory linear and solidifying in the cooler zones of the gasifier. Proper slag flow is critical to good gasifier operation. A hot-stage confocal scanning laser microscope (CSLM) was used to analyze the kinetic behavior of slag crystallization for a range of synthetic coal-petcoke mixtures. On the basis of the observed precipitation during cool down studies in the 1200-1700 °C temperature range, a time-temperature-transformation (TTT) diagram was created. The crystallization studies were conducted with a CO/CO₂ (=1.8) corresponding to a gasification PO₂ of approximately 10⁸ atm at 1500 °C. Ash chemistries were chosen such that they correspond to coal-petcoke feedstock mixtures with coal ash amounts of 0, 10, 30, 50, 70, and 100% (by weight), with the balance being petcoke ash. The TTT diagram exhibited two crystallization areas, one above and one below 1350 °C. At the nose of the higher temperature curves, karelianite (V₂O₃) crystallization occurred and was fastest for a 30% coal-petcoke ash mixture. The second nose was located below 1350 °C and had spineltype phases that formed at 1200 °C, in which preferred atomic occupation at the octahedral and tetrahedral sites varied depending upon the ash composition. At 1200 °C, an Al-rich spinel formed for 100% coal slag and a Fe-rich spinel formed in petcoke-enriched slags. The addition of petcoke ash to coal ash promoted crystallization in the slag, with additional crystalline phases, such as V-rich spinel, forming at the lower temperatures. These phases were not predicted using commercially available databases. ;