Experimental Investigation on Mixed Combustion Characteristics of Coal, Tobacco Straw, and Cinder in an Energy-Saving Bake Process

Abstract

Abstract In view of high-energy consumption, high baking cost, and serious pollution emission during the baking process of tobacco leaves, thermogravimetric analysis is employed to investigate the combustion characteristics of coal, tobacco straw, and cinder. Analyzing thermogravimetric-derivative of thermogravimetric (TG-DTG) characteristics of samples with different blending ratios and based on the ignition temperature and burnout temperature, the combustion characteristics of the samples are obtained. Compared with the individual combustion of coal, the blending ratio of the optimal positive effect is obtained. It is illustrated that different blending ratios of coal, tobacco straw, and cinder result in different effects between promotion and inhibition. Tobacco straw is beneficial to burn on fire but adverse to keep combustion of fixed carbon. Compared with the TG and DTG characteristics in different blending ratios of coal, tobacco straw, and corresponding combustion characteristic parameter, it is illustrated that the best blending ratio of tobacco straw is 40%. According to the TG and DTG characteristics of different blending ratios of coal, cinder, and corresponding combustion characteristic parameter, it is shown that the more blending ratio of cinder, the more adverse effect to fixed carbon burning. The composite fuels with 40% tobacco straw, 10% coal cinder, and 50% coal have two obvious advantages. On the one hand, it can maintain quick burning and the volatile combustion of the tobacco straw at low-temperature stage. On the other hand, it can keep continuous combustion of the fixed carbon in coal at high-temperature stage.