COAL MILL OPERATION

SAFETY ASPECTS
2
Coal Shop Safety
2

SOLID FUELS
Coal
Petroleum coke (sulfur % )
Delayed coke: the most common
Non grindable fluid coke
Shot coke (as impurity in delayed coke)

Lignite
Charcoal (moinha)
3
Coal Shop Safety
FUEL DRYING- GRINDING SYSTEM
Flowsheet of Grinding - Drying System
Grinding - Drying
System
Pulverized
Coal
Pulverized
Coal Silo
Hot gases
Dust Collector
Feed
Bin
Raw Coal
4
Coal Shop Safety
General Safety Rules
Three Conditions
Combustible dust (or gas) in exploding
concentration

Oxygen above the critical concentration

Ignition source
5
Coal Shop Safety

COAL IGNITION TEMPERATURE Vs VM
6
Coal Shop Safety
Safety in Coal Shops Current TA
High Risk Fuels defined as any fuel >36%VM &
High Risk Operation defined when grinding finer.
Compliance of both TA and specific requirements for
High Risk Fuels & High Risk Operation required PRIOR
to use
For blended fuels
Weighted average VM of the blend determines the
level of risk.
If any single component of the blend 20%, by weight
has a VM higher than the weighted average then, this
fuels VM is used to determine the level of risk
TA: Technical Agenda - Safety in Coal grinding Shops Update FEB 2007
7
Coal Shop Safety
General Safety Rules Ignition Process
Coal absorbs oxygen from atmosphere
Heat Produced Heat Released
Temperature increases and speeds up oxidation
process
(Inside the pile, the heat cannot be released)
First three weeks of storage = maximum oxygen
intake.
Critical Temperature ( 70 - 80 C) for self-ignition
8
Coal Shop Safety
For coals stored at a temperature of 20 C, the
risk is worth paying attention to when the storage
time exceeds:
4 months for anthracite coals
2 to 3 months for lean, rich and 1/4 rich coals
1 to 2 months for long-flaming coals
1 week to 1 month for lignites
General Safety Rules Ignition Process
9
Coal Shop Safety
Some of the most important factors which
heighten the danger of self-ignition of coal are:
High volatile content in the fuel (>20 % over dry)
The more fine-granular the coal, the larger the
reactive surface to absorb oxygen (proportion of
fines greater than 10%)
Coal containing, besides the fine-granular portion,
also coarse material, since air intake into the coal
heap is facilitated by this heterogeneous structure
General Safety Rules Ignition Process
10
Coal Shop Safety
Some of the most important factors which
heighten the danger of self-ignition of coal are:
Freshly mined coal reacts faster with oxygen than
coal stored for a longer period
Coal with an abnormally high moisture content
Foreign components such as pyrite (>4%), iron,
phosphorus in the coal ash
Already hot fuel
General Safety Rules Ignition Process
11
Coal Shop Safety
General Safety Rules Oxygen Concentration
Coal grinding should be done in inert atmosphere
Basic rules for the Oxygen during coal grinding are:
< 14% O2 for Petcoke and Anthracite
< 10% O2 for coal with volatiles below 30%
< 9% O2 for coal with volatile above 30%
The interlocked maxmax is 1 % point higher
12
Coal Shop Safety
General Safety Rules Protection Measures
Explosion protection
Fire protection/ fighting
Water spray
Inerting installation
CO2
13
Coal Shop Safety
CIRCUIT CONTROL
Mill outlet temperature constant (70-95C), mill inlet
below safe level.

Sweep air volume: Fan power ( KW) constant
(damper).

Fuel fineness: Mill sweep / Separator settings / Roller
pressure /Ball charge.

Indirect firing : P.F. bin level constant / high bin level.
14
Coal Shop Safety
O2/CO analyser
Temp/Press sensors
O2/CO analyser
Temp/Press sensors
Typical Coal Mill Flow Sheet
15
Coal Shop Safety
Sensors Threshold
Grinding mill outlet temp (coke)
Grinding Mill outlet temp (coal)
Mill inlet Temperature: HVF
Mill inlet temperature: LVFuel
115C
95C
250C (550F)
300C (680F)
Filter outlet O
2
(coke)
Filter outlet O
2
(coal)
Filter outlet CO
15%
13%
2000 ppm
Fired fuel into the kiln (% H2O) 0.5 - 1.5%
Filter outlet temperature (coke)
Temperature difference (outlet - inlet)
Temperature difference variation
105C
10C
10C
Filter hopper temperature (coke) 85
Pulverized hopper CO
Pulverized hopper temperature
1000 ppm
85
Sources (JP Senechal 1997 memo, S. Fujimoto 1992 training course)
General Safety Rules Safety Control
16
Coal Shop Safety
17
Coal Shop Safety
BASIC CONSIDERATIONS
RAW COAL:
Feed size : 0-50 mm
Moisture content : 10-15% H
2
O
Grindability : 50-70H
EXHAUST GASES:
Temperature : 75-90C
Dust load : 500-600g/m
3

HOT GASES:
Temperature : 250-300C
O
2
content : 3-7%
Dew point : 20-70C
PULVERIZED COAL:
Fineness : 1-15%
R 0.09 mm
Moisture content : <1.0% H
2
O
DRYING
GRINDING
CLASSIFYING
Grinding-Drying of Coal: Basic Considerations