Coal particle behavior in a continuous fluidized bed

In the coal pretreatment process of SCOPE21, a continuous fluidized bed dryer is used as the first stage equipment before rapid heating in pneumatic preheaters. Since raw coal is simultaneously dried and classified into fine and coarse coal, coal particle behavior should be clarified to design the equipment. The separation behavior and RTD (residence time distribution) are studied. The separation behavior affects the fine and coarse coal ratio and RTD affects the heat efficiency for drying and heating. Both behaviors are important factors for designing the dimensions and operational conditions of the pilot and actual plant. In this paper, cold model and bench plant results are described.