A COAL ON-LINE PROCESS CONTROL ANALYZER

AN ANALYTICAL INSTRUMENT CAPABLE OF SELECTING COAL BLENDS THAT MEET FUEL AND SULFUR DIOXIDE REQUIREMENTS WITH MINIMUM POST COMBUSTION EMISSIONS WILL BE ASSEMBLED AND DEMONSTRATED IN PHASE I. THE ANALYZER WILL USE NUCLEAR MAGNETIC RESONANCE TO MEASURE THE CARBON, HYDROGEN, AND THE MOISTURE CONTENTS OF COAL AND X-RAY FLUORESCENCE TO MEASURE ITS ASH AND SULFUR CONTENTS. THIS APPROACH TO COAL EVALUATION RECOGNIZES THAT A COMPLETE ELEMENTAL ANALYSIS IS NOT NECESSARY FOR THE CALCULATION OF HEAT VALUE AND ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT OF COALS AS THEY ARE USED BY MOST UTILITY BOILERS. A RELIABLE MOISTURE ANALYSIS IS ESSENTIAL IN THE EVALUATION OF A COAL'S UTILITY. A NUCLEAR MAGNETIC RESONANCE SPECTROMETER CAN QUANTITATIVELY MEASURE THE VARIOUS TYPES OF WATER FOUND IN COAL PLUS THE CONCENTRATION OF HYDROGEN BOUND TO CARBON ATOMS. THOSE MEASUREMENTS TOGETHER WITH THE DETERMINATION OF ASH AND SULFUR BY X-RAY FLUORESCENCE SPECTROMETRY ALLOW THE SELECTION OF COAL BLENDS THAT BEST MEET THE EMISSIONS AND FUEL REQUIREMENTS OF UTILITY BOILERS. THE COMBINED SPECTROMETER CAN BE CONFIGURED EITHER AS A SMALL, RELATIVELY INEXPENSIVE LABORATORY DEVICE TO MEASURE INDIVIDUAL SAMPLES SEQUENTIALLY, OR AS AN ON-LINE DYNAMIC PROCESS CONTROL ANALYZER TO CHARACTERIZE COAL STREAMS OF ANY SIZE.