Low Viscosity Lignite Slurries and Suspensions

摘要

Interest in both the transportation of coal by slurry pipeline and in the direct combustion of coal-water mixtures (CWM) has reached a high level in recent years. The development of similar technology for lignite-water slurries and suspensions is lagging far behind that of coal. This lag is primarily due the high water-to-solids ratio required of lignite-water mixtures (LWM) which are to be pumped at reasonable energy cost or which are to be used as a substitute for oil in process heating. Transportation of lignite from the mine site to the use site (either within Alabama or across the state line into Florida, for example) could be greatly facilitated if the technology developed for slurry transportation of coal could be modified so that it applied to lignite. In addition, technology that permitted the use of lignite-water suspensions as a 'liquid' fuel for power generation boilers and for process heating could also help the development of Alabama's large lignite resources.