Investigation of co-combustion characteristics and kinetics of low-ranked coal and hydrochar derived from cow manure

CO2 emission should be reduced by the effective utilization of low-ranked coal in a coal-based power plant based on co-combustion of coal and biomass. This study investigated the co-combustion behavior of lignite and cow manure using three different kinds of samples: raw lignite coal blended with cow manure (CM-L), raw lignite coal blended with hydrochar derived from cow manure (HCM-L), and co-hydrothermal carbonization (Co-HTC) of lignite coal and cow manure (Co-HCML) using thermogravimetric analysis and a hydrothermal carbonization (HTC) temperature of 200 degrees C for 60 min. The kinetic parameters were calculated and analyzed using the Flynn-Wall-Ozawa and Kissinger-Akahira-Sunose methods. The combustion characteristics were studied of the various kinds of hydrochar mixed with lignite coal. The results showed that the low-ranked coal improved the fuel properties by increasing carbon content and decreasing sulfur through the HTC processes. The activation energy of Co-HCML was the lowest, which is preferable, and therefore it was recommended as the promising process.