SUBLIMATION AND COMBUSTION OF COAL PARTICLES IN THE EROSION LASER TORCH

Abstract

Rate of coal particles' combustion in low-temperature plasma is of interest both from application and scientific points of view. Necessity of knowing parameters of the process of coal particles' combustion in plasma torch with the temperature of 2500-3000 K is governed by arising a number of state-of-the-art technological tasks related to the problems of finding new methods of power production, generation of high-calorific synthetic gases and using carbon as a high temperature structural material in nuclear power engineering. The present work deals with a rate of combustion of the sorbed coal particles in the erosion laser torch formed by means of interaction of pulse laser radiation (wave length {lambda} = 1,06 {mu}m, power density j = 10{sup 5} - 10{sup 7} Wcm{sup 2} with coals of various grades (in the wide range of carbon concentrations (80-95 %)). Physical and mathematical modeling of the process of coal particles' sublimation and combustion in non-equilibrium plasma flows with weight-average temperature of 2500-3000 K showed a good convergence of results for the particles of 10-100 {mu}m diameter and satisfactory one for the particles of {gt} 250{mu}m diameter.