Influence of coal properties on the co-combustion characteristics of low-grade coal and city mud

In this paper, the effects of the mixing ratio and particle size of coal were investigated using a thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). A method of Achar-Brindley-Sharp-Wendworth (ABSW) was applied to a simultaneous calculation of the kinetic parameters (including the apparent activation energy, the reaction order and the frequency factor). Meanwhile, this study also revealed that both the burning performance and the characteristic parameters improved when sludge mixing ratio was smaller (10 wt.%). The ignition temperature advanced with an increase of the sludge proportion, while the combustion characteristic index dropped. As the sludge mixture ratio rose to 70 wt.%, the DTG curve reached three peaks at 293 °C, 580 °C and 748 °C Decreasing the coal particle size led to the advancement of the devolatilization, fixed carbon burning stage and maximum weight loss rate, and the reduction of the corresponding temperature. Additionally, the apparent activation energy and frequency factor of the mixture reduced when the proportion of the sludge mixing ratio went up. Also, the experiment results indicated that with the decline of the particle size distribution of coal, the apparent activation energy followed a downward trend, while the frequency factor increased.