Experimental study of volatile regeneration with plasma

To improve the ignition characteristics of low volatile coal, water gas reaction was performed to regenerate volatile material by spraying water into plasma burner in a plasma ignition system for coal combustion. The effect of water spray on the plasma regeneration of volatile was investigated and the optimal water spray flow rate for the reaction was obtained under the experiment conditions. Results show that with the increase of water flow rate, the CO concentration increases initially and then decreases, while the flame temperatures inside the reaction chamber and at the outlet of the chamber exhibit the same tendency. In this study, the CO concentration in the reaction chamber without water spray is 1332.3 mg/m³, while this value increases up to 2977.2 mg/m³ at water flow rate of 20 mL/min. It is concluded that the CO concentration in the reaction chamber can be one time larger with water spray. The plasma regeneration of volatile by water gas reaction is a simple, effective and strongly applicable method for the ignition and stable combustion of low volatile coal in the future.