Comparison of semi-coke with traditional pulverized coal injection and iron ore sintering fuels based on chemical structure and combustion behavior

Substantial semi-coke has been produced through the industrialized low-temperature pyrolysis process,which has great potential as an alternative fuel for pulverized coal injection(PCI)and iron ore sintering.X-ray diffraction,Raman spectroscope,and thermal analysis were used to compare the carbon chemical structure and combustion reactivity of semi-coke,pulverized coal,and coke breeze.The results show that the average volatile matter content in 46 types of semi-cokes is 8.94 wt.%.The fluctuation range of the characteristic parameters of the semi-coke chemical structure is d_(002)=(0.352–0.379)nm and A_(D1)/A_(G)=(2.51–7.92),while the fluctuation range of the characteristic parameters of pulverized coal is d_(002)=(0.348–0.373)nm and A_(D1)/A_(G)=(1.71–9.03)(where d_(002)means the interlayer spacing between the aromatic planes,and A_(D1)/A_(G)is an index that characterizes the degree of disorder of the char structure through the area ratio of the defect peak band D1 to the perfect graphite peak band G);the overlap between these ranges is relatively high.Contrarily,the fluctuation range of the characteristic parameters of coke breeze is d_(002)=(0.343–0.350)nm and A_(D1)/A_(G)=(0.75–2.51),which is markedly different from that of semi-coke.Semi-coke combustion reactivity is close to that of pulverized coal,but considerably better than that of coke breeze.In terms of chemical structure and combustion reactivity,semi-coke can be used as an alternative fuel for PCI;however,when used for sintering alternative fuel,matching of the heat supply and demand in the later sintering stage must be scrupulously analyzed.