The Dust Explosion Characteristics of Coal Dust in an Oxygen Enriched Atmosphere

The ability to mix pulverised coal with oxygen at concentrations greater than the currently applied 21% may well provide advantages for burner design in oxy/coal fired systems. However the risk of dust explosions increases significantly with increasing oxygen concentration and temperature. In this study the influence of enriched oxygen concentrations is researched on the dust explosion characteristics of Indonesian (Sebuku) high volatile bituminous coal dust and on Pittsburgh Coal n¡8. Both ignition sensitivity characteristics (minimum ignition energy and minimum ignition temperatures) and explosion severity characteristics (maximum explosion pressure, Pmax, and maximum rate of pressure rise, Kst) are investigated.