Investigation on sulfur release from bituminous coal combustion in O2/CO2 atmosphere

The X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) was used to study sulfur functionality in the bituminous coal and a thermogravimetric analyzer (TGA) was used to evaluate its combustion behavior in O2 /N2 and O2/CO2 atmosphere by changing O2 fraction in the mixture. The Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) spectrometer was employed to detect the gas evolved from bituminous coal during the combustion process. Results show that in 21%O2/79%N2 or 30%O2/70%CO2 atmosphere, there are two SO2 absorbance peaks appearing; in 21%O2/79%CO2 atmosphere, a third peak appears; in higher O2 concentration (no less than 40%) atmosphere, there is only one peak left. The integrals of the SO2 absorbance unit show that total SO2 emission from coal combustion in air is less than that in O2/CO2 mixture with the same O2 fraction, and SO2 emission in O2/CO2 mixture goes up first and declines then as O2 concentration increases. ©2008 Chin. Soc. for Elec. Eng.