Modeling of Coal Drying before Pyrolysis

TL;DR

This paper presents a heat and mass transfer model for coal drying before pyrolysis, incorporating condensation and evaporation to accurately simulate temperature behavior observed in experiments.

Contribution

A comprehensive finite element model of coal drying that includes condensation and evaporation mechanisms, improving simulation accuracy of temperature profiles.

Findings

Model reproduces experimental temperature plateau.

Incorporates detailed heat and mass transfer mechanisms.

Requires basic input data from experiments or literature.

Abstract

The coking process is composed of two main stages: drying process and pyrolysis of coal. A heat and mass transfer model was developed to simulate the drying process of coal. The mechanisms of heat and mass transfer described in the model are: conduction through the coal cake; conduction and convection through the gas in pores; generation, flux and condensation of water vapor. The model has been implemented in finite element software. It requires basic data on the coke oven charge properties and oven dimensions as input. These input data were obtained by experiments or from the literature. The proposed model includes condensation and evaporation allowing us to reproduce the temperature plateau observed experimentally.