Fuel Processing Technology 88 (2007) 107 116

www.elsevier.com/locate/fuproc

Selection of IGCC candidate coals by pilot-scale gasifier operation

Yongseung Yun , Young Don Yoo, Seok Woo Chung
Plant Engineering Center, Institute for Advanced Engineering, Goan-ri 633-2, Baekam-myon, Yongin, Gyunggi-Do 449-863, Republic of Korea
Received 23 February 2004; received in revised form 2 August 2004; accepted 5 August 2004

Abstract
Nine imported coal samples were tested to make the guidelines for IGCC (Integrated Gasification Combined Cycle) candidate coals the
guidelines that are applicable in future commercial IGCC plants in Korea. Entrained-bed slagging gasifier whose maximum capacity is 3 ton/day
has been operated under pressure ranges of 1029 bar. The factors considered were conversion efficiencies, moisture content, sulfur content, ash
content, ash melting temperature, slag viscosity, slag characteristics, and coal reactivity. The best coal type for IGCC applications appears to be the
one that contains low ash content with low-enough slag viscosity and high reactivity in coal. However, coal that exhibits high fluidity at the
gasifier exit resulted in higher probability in plugging by fly-slag, so that the coal of ash fluid temperature lower than 1260 C would require
precaution for utilizing the feedstock in the entrained-bed gasifier. Conventional ash fusion measurement data might disagree with slag viscosity
results in estimating the optimal operation temperature, and thus actual viscosity tests on slag would be necessary.
2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Keywords: Coal selection; Gasifier; IGCC; Slag viscosity; Fuel ratio; TGA

1. Introduction
IGCC (Integrated Gasification Combined Cycle) technology
together with PFBC (Pressurized Fluidized Bed Combustion) is
viewed as the most practical next-generation coal-utilizing
power generation technology that can meet the ever-stringent
environmental regulations of the mid-21st century. Korea
imports 97.2% of energy resources from abroad and thus
must use the abundant worldwide coal resources. Low-grade
anthracite is the only resource Korea possesses, and most of the
coal is imported from around the world, notably from Australia,
China, United States, Indonesia, and Russia. For Korea, coal is
an inevitable feedstock to cover at least 30% of the total
electricity during the next 3050 years. Unless there is a
revolutionary discovery in energy conversion technologies,
IGCC and PFBC will be the most suitable environmentally
sound technologies for coal utilization in Korea. Considering
the oscillating trend of oil price in the last decades, Korea is
greatly in need of more fuel-diversified industries, and it needs
Corresponding author. Fax: +82 31 216 9125.
E-mail addresses: ysyun@iae.re.kr (Y. Yun), ydnyoo@iae.re.kr (Y.D. Yoo),
swchung@iae.re.kr (S.W. Chung).
0378-3820/$ - see front matter 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.fuproc.2004.08.009

to develop environmentally benign technologies in the power

generation sector. Since coal is known to supply energy at the
current rate at least for the next 200 years [1], clean coal
technologies like IGCC appear to be an inevitable choice for
utilizing coal for power and other purposes. In addition, recent
interest in the hydrogen society prompts a wider application of
gasification technologies including IGCC [2].
The essence of gasification technology is that dirty feeds
containing a high level of sulfur and ash such as coal, petroleum
residues, and even domestic wastes can be utilized as a clean
energy source with an efficiency higher than the conventional
methods. Fuel cells, synthetic fuels, ammonia production, and
fertilizers are examples of final syngas applications.
The most eminent environmental advantage of gasification
treatment lies in its inherent reaction features that produce
negligible SOx and NOx during the oxygen-deficient reaction.
New coal-based power plants that would be built from 2005 in
Korea must meet the NOx level of 80 ppm. When this stricter
environmental regulation goes into effect, the environmental
advantages of Clean Coal Technology (CCT) would become
even more eminent. The SOx and NOx problems from the
conventional electricity generation by pulverized combustion
can be effectively minimized through the IGCC technology. If

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Y. Yun et al. / Fuel Processing Technology 88 (2007) 107116

the current concerns for the environment and energy get severer,
technology shift from the combustion-based to gasificationbased processes would be an inevitable trend in the long run.
IGCC technology is an environmentally benign power
generation technology advanced by many developed countries
with funding of several billions of dollars till now. Many countries
like USA, Japan, Germany and Holland reached the demonstration stage of commercial-scale IGCC plants. However, many
technological barriers still exist such as coal powder injection,
erosion of refractory, plugging of heat exchangers by fly-slag, etc.
More long-term operational experience is still required. Probably
510 years of time would be required to solve all the
technological barriers and particularly for developing hot gas
cleanup technology to improve the energy recovering efficiency.
Emergence of high efficiency gas turbines utilizing hot gas of
more than 1500 C probably in the next 10 years would yield 50%
plant efficiency [3] that is much higher than the conventional 36
38%. If IGCC system is connected to fuel cell technology, the
efficiency can reach even 5570%.
The most critical obstacles for commercialization of IGCC
technology are capital cost and the risks involved with first-ofa-kind facilities [3]. Construction cost of a coal IGCC plant after
2010 would drop to less than US$1100/kW [3]. With higher
efficiency and less generation of pollutants, it would be cheaper
than the pulverized coal power plants installed with desulfurization and de-NOx facilities.
According to the long-term power plant construction schedule
of the Korean Government published in 2002, the 300 MW-size
CCT plants are supposed to start operating from 2009, 2013, and
2014 in Korea. After revision on the construction schedule, a

decision has reached in 2006 to build a 300 MW-size coal IGCC

plant by 2011, and to operate as a demonstration plant for ensuing
two years. With the limited domestic energy reserve and the everincreasing environmental regulations on pollutants and CO2, the
gasification-based process is most likely to be one of the best
options when using coal for power generation.
Advantages and disadvantages of the entrained-bed gasifier
are well noted [4]. Most prominent advantages are the ability to
utilize nearly any type of coals with high throughputs per reactor
volume and the simpler mechanical design with nearly 100%
carbon conversion. Disadvantages are related mainly to the high
temperature requirement for the gasification. Among others,
possible troubles in slag handling and removal are the most
significant issue in addition to the high oxygen consumption and
refractory that needs to withstand severe conditions.
For the pilot plant in the study, we chose the dry-feeding
entrained-bed type of reactor using pure oxygen as oxidant. This
paper illustrates the results of gasifying nine imported coals at
the pilot gasification facility that has a maximum 3 ton/day (t/d)
capacity under high-pressure conditions of maximum 30 bar,
with a specific goal of presenting the coal selection guide for
IGCC applications in Korea.
2. Experimental
2.1. Coal samples
Nine imported coals that are utilized at the local power plants and a local
cement company were gasified. Coals were chosen to represent the coals from
different countries and coal ranks. Since the anthracite rank is unsuitable for the

Table 1
Coal properties tested in the 3 ton/day gasification system
Property\coal

Proximate analysis (as-received, wt.%)

Ultimate analysis (mf, wt.%)

Ash fusion temperature (reduction, C)

Inorganic analysis (wt.%)

Gross heating value (mf, kcal/kg)

Indonesia

Moisture
Volatile matter
Ash
Fixed carbon
C
H
N
S
O
Ash
I.T.
S.T.
H.T.
F.T.
SiO2
Al2O3
TiO2
Fe2O3
CaO
MgO
Na2O
K2 O
P2O5
MnO

Australia

USA

China

Russia

Baiduri

Adaro

Kideco

Curragh

Drayton

Usibelli

Cyprus

Datong

Denisovsky

26.28
32.78
3.92
37.02
70.77
5.56
1.49
1.37
15.47
5.32
1150

1250
1280
27.93
15.69
0.69
9.48
17.32
5.67
3.62
0.99
0.84
0.08
6367

25.27
34.28
3.08
37.37
68.08
5.40
0.40
0.12
21.88
4.12
1250

1290
1340
39.18
18.78
0.85
16.57
11.25
2.59
0.80
1.42
2.42
0.28
6748

7.63
45.44
1.55
45.38
63.04
5.11
0.24
0.52
29.41
1.68
1265
1295
1326
1408
37.93
15.15
0.73
21.47
12.02
2.57
0.19
0.98
0.10
0.20
5670

7.13
19.98
16.13
56.76
72.96
3.45
1.69
0.90
3.63
17.37
1175

1300
1380
44.22
19.09
0.80
8.74
20.52
2.58
N.D.
1.12
1.66

7008

2.06
34.93
10.76
49.25
70.61
4.94
0.34
0.90
12.22
10.99
1260
1580
1590
N1600
63.30
17.80
1.09
4.96
2.43
0.72
0.21
0.21
0.33
0.05
6556

9.14
44.11
9.87
36.88
54.40
4.55
0.64
0.17
29.38
10.86
1162
1184
1224
1257
42.73
18.93
0.74
6.00
21.01
3.13
0.93
1.27
0.33

5304

13.85
36.37
3.41
46.37
71.45
5.35
1.71
0.29
17.24
3.96
1155
1165
1193
1289
59.80
16.22
0.89
6.91
8.01
2.07
10.6
1.06
0.34

6824

4.60
32.64
7.72
55.04
67.08
4.31
0.66
0.60
19.26
8.09
1241
1259
1285
1343
56.80
22.58
1.10
3.59
5.32
1.33
1.39
0.87
0.27

6607

8.79
20.08
12.08
59.05
74.15
4.68
0.72
0.34
6.87
13.24

1400
54.59
26.37
0.99
8.29
4.39
1.89
0.44
1.69
1.16
0.12
7139

Y. Yun et al. / Fuel Processing Technology 88 (2007) 107116

entrained-bed gasification without specific adjustments, subbituminous and
bituminous ranks were selected as feed coals.
Table 1 illustrates detailed analytical data for the tested coals. The highest
ash was 16.13% in the Australian Curragh coal while the Indonesian Kideco
coal contained 1.55% ash. Sulfur content in all nine coals was less than 1.4%.
Most imported coals chosen contained low-sulfur content that in turn requires
smaller desulfurization process.
Basic compounds like CaO, Fe2O3 in ash are the ingredients in lowering ash
fluid temperature. Usibelli coal contains high CaO content that resulted in low
ash fluid temperature of 1257 C. Australian Drayton coal shows the ash fluid
temperature above 1600 C, and thus CaCO3 was used as a fluxing agent during
the gasification tests to lower the melting temperature.

2.2. Gasification facility and procedure

A dry-feeding entrained-bed type gasification facility located at Ajou
University in Suwon, Korea capable of treating 3 t/d at maximum 30 bar,
1550 C was built in April 1995. The main target feeds are subbituminous and
bituminous coals. Coal feed size range is identical with that of conventional
power plants using pulverized coal, as 8090% passing 200 mesh. Coal
powder was dried during the pulverizing step for less than 3% moisture content.
Pulverized coal is pneumatically conveyed with nitrogen gas at dense-phase into
the feeding nozzle system, where 99% pure oxygen and steam are mixed with
the coal powder. Steam is injected separately from the oxygen and coal powder.
Major operational variables of the gasification were the oxygen/coal weight
ratio, steam/coal weight ratio, temperature inside the gasifier, and the
gasification pressure. Normal operation consists of the preheating, pressurization, transient operation, normal gasification operation, and the shutdown steps.
The LPG burner at the bottom of the gasifier did the preheating of the gasifier at
least for 20 h. Then, nitrogen was introduced to pressurize the gasifier till the
pre-set gasifier pressure before injecting the oxygen and coal powder. The
current study did not use any steam, but only oxygen was employed to control
the temperature and the degree of conversion.
Coal supply was first started at the low feeding range so that no sudden
pressure buildup would take place in the gasifier, thus causing no back
pressurization into the coal feeding lines. This step takes normally less than 1 h.
The normal hot test operation step for obtaining gasification data was
maintained at the steady state for at least 4 h to provide enough gas, slag, and
other process data.

2.3. Analytical methods

The thermogravimetric analysis system (Cahn model TG151) was operated
at 35 bar with a heating rate of 10 K/min up to a final temperature of 950 C and
with a 10 min isothermal hold at 150 C to remove most of the moisture from
coal samples. Coal sample weights ranged from 66 to 78 mg of 100 mesh size.
During the operation, the reagent He gas was flowing continuously through the
reactor section at 500 ml/min.
On-line gas analyzers connected to the gasification system provide an
instantaneous gas composition of H2, CO, CO2, CH4, and the additional on-line
gas chromatography (MTI Analytical Instrument, P200H) gives more precise
quantitative gas composition with a 3-minute interval.

109

composition in a dry nitrogen-free basis exhibits 6268% of

CO, 1927% of H2, and 615% CO2. The carbon conversion
ranges between 88 and 108% with the average at about 100%,
and it shows a slight increase with O2/coal weight ratio while
reaching 100% after about 0.78 O2/coal ratio. The reason for
more than 100% conversion in the figure might be attributable
to the accumulation of measuring uncertainties from coal
feeding rate and syngas flow measurements. The coal feeding
rate was calibrated with the rotating speed of coal injection
screw. Syngas flow was measured at atmospheric pressure by
the flow-measuring device of v-cone meter type located after
the pressure-control valve. Pressure drop across the v-cone
meter was converted to the amount of flowing gas. Gas
compositions were calibrated every 3 h on average with the
calibration standard gas during the operation, and thus
composition values were mostly accurate.
Cold gas efficiency is defined as the recovered energy by
syngas relative to the input energy of the feed coal. Specifically,
the cold gas efficiency is the ratio of heating value in the
produced syngas to the multiplied value of feed coal by heating
value per coal weight. For the Baiduri coal, cold gas efficiency
ranged from 61% to 76%, which means that 6176% of the
energy input from the gasified coal has been recovered as
chemical energy in syngas, which can be utilized as fuel or
chemical feedstock. The cold gas efficiency shows a maximum
plateau in the O2/coal ratio of 0.780.81 ranges.
In addition, a slight increase is noted in CO2 concentration
with an increase in the O2/coal ratio whereas H2 concentration
demonstrates a decreasing trend with the O2/coal ratio. In
contrast, CO concentration exhibits a relatively flat response
with the O2/coal ratio variation.
Fig. 2 illustrates syngas composition and conversion
efficiencies for the other four coals that were gasified at
different gasification pressures. Pressure setting was rather
arbitrary depending on what the available system pressure
conditions were. In terms of carbon conversion, only Usibelli
and Adaro coals demonstrated nearly 100% value, although a
major difference in sensitivity to the oxygen/coal ratio existed
between Usibelli and Adaro coals. Two Australian Curragh and

3. Results and discussion

3.1. Syngas composition and conversion efficiencies
A total of nine coals were tested under the high-pressure
conditions of 1029 bar and high temperature of 14001550 C.
Most coals of bituminous and subbituminous rank were successfully applicable in the dry-feeding slagging-type gasifier, except the
coals of high fuel ratio (fixed carbon/volatile matter) and high ash
content like Australian Curragh and Russian Denisovsky coals.
Among the tested coals, Fig. 1 shows the result for the
Indonesian Baiduri coal that was gasified at 17 bar. Syngas

Fig. 1. Syngas composition and conversion efficiencies with oxygen/coal weight

ratio for Indonesian Baiduri coal.

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Y. Yun et al. / Fuel Processing Technology 88 (2007) 107116

Fig. 2. Coal gas composition and conversion efficiencies with oxygen/coal ratio for four coals ( CO, H2,

Drayton coals exhibited a lower carbon conversion. Especially,

Curragh coal showed a maximum of 82% carbon conversion
value at the O2/coal ratio of 0.8. Note that the efficiencies in
Fig. 2 are single-pass conversion values. If unconverted carbon
were recycled as in many commercial gasification systems,
efficiencies would reach much higher values.
The Usibelli coal showed that nearly 100% carbon
conversion and 70% cold gas efficiency could be obtained
even though both neither value could be reached at the same O2/
coal ratio. In contrast, Australian Curragh coal exhibited
unacceptable coal characteristics for the single-pass IGCC
gasifiers although the coal exhibited a comparable heating value
with other bituminous coals and was in bituminous rank (see
Table 1). The results demonstrated that the Curragh coal yields
less than 60% cold gas efficiency since it contains relatively
high 17% ash and its thermal reactivity is very low. To improve
the efficiency for this kind of low-reactivity coal, gasifier design
should consider increased reaction time including the option of
char recycling and methods of inducing higher mixing of coal
powder with reacting gases. This result exemplified the
importance of coal reactivity even for the bituminous coal,
and it became the important reference data in designing the
suitable IGCC candidate coal.
For the Usibelli coal, carbon conversion increased with the
O2/coal ratio while cold gas efficiency, CO and H2 concentrations decreased with the O2/coal ratio. The variation of values
was narrower compared to the other three coals shown in Fig. 2.
For Curragh and Drayton coals, carbon conversion and cold gas
efficiency were still increasing after the O2/coal ratio of 0.8 and
0.85, respectively, thus implying that higher conversion
efficiencies might be attained with a higher O2/coal ratio.
However, in this case, problems related to refractory wear by
high gasification temperature should be considered if a higher
O2/coal ratio is employed.

carbon conversion, cold gas efficiency).

Normally, cold gas efficiency starts to drop after reaching a

maximum with O2/coal ratio when the reaction proceeded
enough in a fixed reactor volume, because CO is transformed to
CO2 with increased O2/coal ratio after the optimal point. It
could be estimated that the reactor volume was not sufficient in
a single-pass to hold the required reaction time for Curragh and
Drayton coals. Gas compositions of CO and H2 were in the
same range with other coals except a lower H2 concentration in
the Curragh coal, implying that converted portion of the coal
had reacted reasonably well whenever the reaction itself had
proceeded. In other words, these two coals would require a
recycling system for unconverted carbon or an enlarged reactor
volume to sustain the longer reaction time. However, the O2/
coal ratio could not be increased to much larger than 0.85 owing
to the accompanied temperature increase. Maximum gasifier
temperature was limited by the characteristics of refractory
material and thus gasifier temperature was maintained at below
1550 C, normally in the range of 14501500 C in the study.
For Adaro coal, carbon conversion reached a maximum of
100% at around the O2/coal ratio of 0.69 while cold gas efficiency
showed a maximum in the O2/coal ratio range of 0.60.70. For the
five coals illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2, suitable coals appear to be
Baiduri, Usibelli, and Adaro coals. More detailed gasification
results on the Baiduri coal are available elsewhere [5].
The results demonstrate the limitation of applying several
different coals at the same gasifier without a char-recycling
system. If the gasification system is located at the coal mine, this
kind of problems would not occur. But, for cases like Korea
where all bituminous and subbituminous coals are imported,
differences in conversion efficiencies in a single reactor by
different coals should be regarded as a real factor in the design
and estimation of the operation performance.
Simplified range of syngas compositions obtained from the 3
t/d gasifier can be expressed that, except the low-reactivity

Y. Yun et al. / Fuel Processing Technology 88 (2007) 107116

Denisovsky and Curragh coals, seven coals out of nine coals

tested produced roughly around 5768% CO and 2032% H2
in a nitrogen-free basis at different optimal O2/coal ratios of
0.650.9 for each coal.
Gasifier performance can be determined by two important
gasification parameters of carbon conversion and cold gas
efficiency. Among the nine coals, Curragh and Denisovsky
coals showed lower conversion efficiencies and thus can be
categorized as coals that require specific design to accommodate near 100% carbon conversion. As illustrated in Fig. 2,
Curragh coal showed a low carbon conversion in a single
gasifier pass. Denisovsky coal that was gasified in a single-pass
showed a carbon conversion of 6880% and cold gas efficiency
of 6066% at the O2/coal ratio around 0.7.
3.2. Effects of moisture content in coal
Among the coal properties influencing the dry-feeding
gasification process, the removal rate of surface moisture
content after drying was more important than the total moisture
content in the coal feeding system. Surface moisture should be
eliminated sufficiently for proper pneumatic feeding. In the
study, surface moisture was maintained below 3 wt.% to ensure
a smooth coal feeding into the gasifier. With this low level of
moisture content after drying, the surface moisture was almost
all removed and a certain portion of the inherent moisture
residing inside the pore structure in coal was dried out. Thus,
coals containing lower surface moisture would be economically
beneficial because of the lower drying cost required. For all nine
tested coals, drying below 3 wt.% was not a problem for the
high moisture-containing subbituminous coals with the drying
system since LPG-combusted gas was employed for hot gas
generation. In the injection pipes of the dried coal powder,
nitrogen was employed as a moving carrier and as an explosionpreventing agent.
Moisture content affects the operability of dry-feeding
gasification system as well as the gasification efficiencies.
Although moisture content of less than 2 wt.% was used as a
guideline in a dry-feeding commercial-scale coal gasifier [6],
the nine coals tested were all feasible to gasify with a moisture
content of below 3 wt.% and demonstrated acceptable
pneumatically conveying characteristics. In selecting the
suitable IGCC coal for dry-feeding type gasifier, moisture
content does not present any technical problems. It should rather
be decided by economic consideration for drying and coal price.
3.3. Effects of sulfur content
All of the nine imported coals contain a low-sulfur content
with a maximum sulfur content of 1.37% in the Indonesian
Baiduri coal. When the IGCC plant is planned to utilize
imported coals, low-sulfur coal would be the choice even
though unit coal price could be a little higher because it would
lower the cost involved in the removal processes for sulfurcontaining gas components. Most sulfur components were
transformed to H2S and COS with no significant differences in
trend among the nine coals tested. Detailed analysis result

111

regarding the trace gases including H2S and COS for Adaro coal
has been reported elsewhere [7].
3.4. Effects of ash content
In the aspect of ash in coal, since most IGCC gasifiers
remove ash as a molten slag, ash characteristics are one of the
most important parameters in evaluating the IGCC coal. On the
basis of the satisfactory slag shapes and reasonable shape in
coating refractory wall by tested coals in the experiments that
applied coals with 1.516.1% ash content, the ash content of the
coals was proved to be in a reasonable range for the application
in the dry-feeding gasifier.
However, in commercial IGCC gasifiers that require longterm continuous operation, low ash containing coals might be a
better candidate since they produce a minimal fly-slag and
bottom slag that can act as a possible plugging material in exitgas pipes or in the slag tap. Judging from the operation results,
the low ash containing coals showed significantly lower
plugging problems by fly-slag in heat exchanging equipment
like gas cooler after the gasifier.
On the other hand, because a certain level of ash in coal
demonstrates a protecting function of the refractory as well as a
function of heat loss minimization by coating the inner gasifier
wall [1,8], an optimal ash content of the candidate coal should be
judged on the basis of several interrelated parameters of coal price
and ash melting temperature. Since one of the many reasons for
shutdowns in the demonstration IGCC plants of U.S.A., Europe,
and Japan was slag and ash accumulation that can eventually
develop to plugging and accompanying erosion, minimizing the
fly-slag amount transported to the gasifier outlet is an area that
should be scrutinized from the viewpoint of selecting the IGCC
design coal. Coals of high ash content would definitely enhance
the possibility of slag and ash accumulation.
Among the attributes of ash characteristics grasped in the
study, a certain amount of ash in coal exhibits more favorable
performance when judging from the experimental point of view.
If the IGCC plant plans to utilize imported coals as in Korea,
high ash content coals would not be a choice mainly because of
inherent high possibility of operational problems during ash
slagging and discharging. Additionally, there are still no largescale routes proven for slag utilization. Thereby, a suitable
IGCC coal would possess only a reasonable amount of ash
enough to coat the gasifier inner wall. The suitable ash content
appears to be 16 wt.% among the tested nine coals when there
is a choice to select coal for the gasification system. For
reference, a similar type of large-scale dry-feeding gasification
indicated that coals containing less than 8 wt.% ash content
were recommended to recycle flyash to coat the gasifier inner
wall for insulating purpose, and the operating costs would
increase from some 15% ash in coal [8]. Another reference
reported that at least 0.5% ash is required to protect the gasifier
inner wall when the wall is made of cooling tubes [9]. In
addition, if coal is being imported or moved a long distance
from the mine, higher ash content would only increase the cost
for transportation and enhance the possibility of operational
problems in gasifiers.

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Y. Yun et al. / Fuel Processing Technology 88 (2007) 107116

Table 2
Elemental analysis of slags
Coal

Pressure (bar)

C (wt.%)

H (wt.%)

N (wt.%)

S (wt.%)

Datong
Usibelli
Cyprus

27.2
26.6
25.0
29.0
17.0
11.0
12.0
14.5
1621
2629
26.0
16
25
25
26.0

0.08
0.06
0.18
0.13
0.03
0.11
0.01
0.03
0.03
0.35
0.52
0.05
0.46
0.31
0.59

0.05
0.03
0.18
0.10
0.03
0.01
0.02
0.05
0.01
0.07
n.d.
n.d.
0.04
0.06
n.d.

0.15
0.11
0.53
0.35
0.11
0.17
0.12
0.11
n.d.
0.29
n.d.
n.d.
n.d.
n.d.
n.d.

n.d.
n.d.
n.d.
n.d.
n.d.
n.d.
n.d.
n.d.
n.d.
0.02
n.d.
n.d.
0.04
0.06
0.01

Kideco
Drayton

Curragh
Adaro
Baiduri

Denisovsky

n.d.: not detected.

Table 2 shows the remaining unreacted carbon and other

ultimate analysis components for the bottom slag that was
produced at different gasification pressure conditions. All coals
contain less than 0.6% carbon content in the bottom slag.
Although the remaining carbon content in slag for the
Denisovsky coal showed the highest value of 0.59, the content
was much lower than the carbon content of 37% for ash
samples from the conventional large-scale combustion boilers.
It can be expected that higher temperature in gasification would
yield lower carbon content in the remaining slag. Even
Denisovsky coal that caused operational problems by slag
viscosity and low reactivity exhibited a low carbon content in
slag. Thus, the remaining carbon content in the bottom slag
would not be a discerning guideline in selecting the suitable
IGCC candidate coals.
3.5. Effects of ash melting temperature
Fig. 3 shows the plotting of the ash fluid temperatures with
the content of acid components in ash for the coals tested. Acid
content is defined as the weight ratio of acidic components in
ash like SiO2 and Al2O3 to basic components like Fe2O3, CaO,
MgO, Na2O, and K2O.
Usibelli coal had the lowest melting temperature whereas the
Drayton coal might require the fluxing agent to reduce the
melting temperature. Drayton coal during the gasification
utilized a CaCO3 flux at the 20% weight ratio of the ash
content, and no fluxing agent was employed in other coals. In
the figure, ash fluid temperature for the Drayton coal is for the
raw coal. Except the Usibelli and Drayton coals, other coals are
located in the ash fluid temperature range between 1280 and
1408 C. The line in the figure simply represents a regressed
line of the data. Although there is a trend of increased ash fluid
temperature with acid content, variation among coals was too
wide to generalize in comparison to other coals.
When the candidate coal meets the condition of ash melting
temperature, another condition such as slag viscosity has to be
considered. Suggested minimum gasifier operating temperature
applicable in the dry-feeding gasifier was reported to be 50 C

above the crystalline temperature of molten slag or 50 C above

the temperature that corresponds to the 1000 P of slag viscosity
for glassy slags [10]. Crystalline temperature is defined as the
point where slag viscosity commences to increase sharply with
decreasing temperature. Typically for the best performance, the
gasifier is operated while maintaining the slag viscosity at
below the 250 P level.
However, for practical applications, it would be better to
maintain the gasifier temperature at about 100 C above the
measured ash fluid temperature. A report for the central
Appalachian coal demonstrated that, even when the coal is
from one single mine, the variation of about 70 C in ash fusion
temperature could be observed with changes in ash content of
about 2% for one year period [11]. Therefore, noticeable
variation in ash fluid temperature should be incorporated in
determining the gasifier operating temperature.
The slag produced after the gasification was melted in a high
temperature viscometer, and viscosity was measured for slag
samples in a furnace cell that operated at the cooling rate of 2 K/
min with CO/CO2 gas mixture environment. Detailed results on
slag viscosity for each coal are published elsewhere [10].
Fig. 4 displays how the slag viscosity varies with
temperature. Note that viscosity data are for slags produced
from the gasification runs instead of raw coals. While Cyprus,
Datong, and Denisovsky coals showed a glassy slag behavior,
other six coals showed the behavior of crystalline slags [10].
Viscosity in glassy slag typically changed monotonously with
temperature as shown in Fig. 4 for the case of Cyprus, Datong,
and Denisovsky coals. In contrast, crystalline slag exhibited a
sharp rise in viscosity when the temperature descended below
the crystalline point as in the other six coals. All in all, slag
viscosities of coals showing the glassy slag behavior were
higher than those of molten slags above the crystalline
temperature, signifying that more operational plugging problems by slag might occur for the coals of glassy slag.
For the coals showing the crystalline slag behavior, the
gasifier operating temperature should be maintained above the
crystalline temperature. If the gasifier temperature happens to be
lower than the crystalline temperature, slag viscosity escalates
such that slag tap might become plugged by solidified slag.
Thus, securing the minimum operating temperature for the coals
exhibiting crystalline slag behavior is a critical issue in the
gasification operation.
For coals displaying a glassy slag behavior, an increase in
gasifier temperature does not improve the flowing ability of slag
fast enough like a crystalline slag. Thus, the operation temperature

Fig. 3. Ash fluid temperature with acid content of ash in coal.

Y. Yun et al. / Fuel Processing Technology 88 (2007) 107116

113

Fig. 4. Viscosity profile with temperature for slags obtained after the gasification.

of the gasifier would be required to be in a higher range than the

similar coals of crystalline slags.
Slag viscosity in Drayton coal exhibited the lowest
crystalline temperature owing to the effect of added flux.
Denisovsky coal showed the highest viscosity level. As a result
even after the gasifier temperature of 1500 C, slag viscosity
showed a value higher than 1500 P. With this high viscosity
level, a difficulty in slag discharge is expected. The actual
experiments using Denisovsky coal demonstrated a fluctuating
syngas composition and improper pressure balance among coal
injecting nozzles, which resulted in poor performance of
gasification. Chinese Datong coal produced a slag for which
the gasifier temperature needs to be sustained at the higher
range than other similarly ranked coals. The actual gasifier
operation for the Datong coal demonstrated a smooth operation
at the 14701520 C range. Thus, from the slag viscosity point
of view and from the actual gasifier test results, Denisovsky coal
was an unsuitable coal for the gasification.
Gasification temperature has a range for the proper
conversion efficiencies. Typically, it is between 1300 and
1500 C. Oil gasification temperature is in the range of 1300 C
while the solid gasification operates at the higher temperature
range. If the operating temperature is too low, carbon
conversion gets lower mainly by insufficient reaction time
that is caused by the decreased reaction rate. If the gasification
temperature rises above 1550 C for a long period, the
refractory wall would have a higher tendency for breakup or
shortened service lifetime. Also, higher gasification temperature
produces more CO2, which in turn sacrifices cold gas efficiency.
Therefore, at the condition that carbon conversion can be
sustained high enough, the lower the gasification temperature,
the better. Considering these limitations, only Denisovsky coal
would be eliminated from the candidate coals. If a proper
amount of fluxing agent is not mixed for the gasification,
Drayton coal would not make a suitable candidate coal because
of its high slag viscosity. As a rough guideline for the ash fluid
temperature, the 13001400 C range would be the first guess.
It should be noted that Denisovsky coal presents the
importance of applying the actual slag viscosity measurement

data for the selection of suitable coals. Employing only the

measurement of ash fluid temperature can mislead the coal
selection. Because the ash fluid temperature for the Denisovsky
coal is similar to the one for Kideco coal and also because the
ash fluid temperature is 1400 C, the gasification operation can
be predicted as if no problems were caused by slag viscosity
although the actual test result is quite opposite. Thus, in
selecting candidate coals and operating conditions, the
conventional analytical data should be used as a supplementary
tool for the actual gasifier test and the actual slag viscosity
measurement.
3.6. Operational obstacles
The biggest operational problems identified during the
gasification tests were the plugging in the slag discharge port
by the bottom slag and the plugging in the syngas outlet area of
the gasifier by the fly-slag, with the possibility of backfire
explosion in the area of feedlance nozzle [12]. From the aspect
of plugging by slag, slag viscosity with the gasifier temperature
is an important index as described in the previous section for
selecting the suitable coal for IGCC systems. From the viscosity
point of view, two Australian coals have showed the lowest slag
viscosity among the nine coals tested, and thus it seems that
they would not cause any operational problems by slag flow at
the proper operation temperature, whereas the Russian
Denisovsky coal yielded the highest slag viscosity that had
caused an operational problem in slag discharge even under the
gasifier temperature of 1500 C. The Denisovsky coal posed a
compounded problem in slag discharge with high ash content of
12 wt.% during the gasifier tests. Higher ash content increases
the possibility of slag-related operational problems. Indonesian
Kideco subbituminous coal and the Chinese Datong coal
produced slags of the next highest viscosity group in Fig. 4, thus
implying possible operational problems when the gasifier
operated for a long period of time.
The most troublesome coal with plugging by fly-slag at the
syngas outlet was Usibelli coal that showed an ash fluid
temperature of 1257 C. However, viscosity of the bottom slag

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Y. Yun et al. / Fuel Processing Technology 88 (2007) 107116

Fig. 5. Indirect estimation of coal reactivity by high-pressure TGA at 35 bar for nine coals of ash-free basis.

in Fig. 4 was higher than the slag viscosities of flux-added

Drayton and Curragh coals. Contrary to the case of Denisovsky
coal where slag viscosity values were more representing the
actual behavior of slag in the gasifier, Usibelli coal demonstrated that ash fluid temperature for the raw coal was more
representing the actual behavior of slag viscosity in the gasifier
than the viscosity measurement for the gasified slag. Viscosity
in the fly-slag of Usibelli coal exhibited at least a similar
melting behavior that could be represented by the ash fluid
temperature. Here, it should be recalled that the measured
viscosity in Fig. 4 was done for the bottom slag that was
produced after the actual gasifier operation for each coal, not for
the raw coal. The result signifies the importance of actual testing
under the gasification conditions to confirm the gasification
characteristics including the slag behavior.
Thus, caution should be exercised when the candidate coal
shows very low ash fusion temperature below 1260 C with
high ash content because the heat recovery system attached to
the gasifier might show a higher plugging tendency.
3.7. Slag characteristics
According to the leaching tests on the bottom slags, Cu, Cr,
Pb, Cd, As, Hg that are regulated as heavy metal pollutants in a
leached water in Korea were detected in a negligible level
[5,12]. The Japanese environmental regulation standard for the
heavy metal leaching is 10 times more stringent than the current
Korean standard. Even for the stringent Japanese standard, the
leaching results proved to be far less than the 10 times more
stringent standard. The slags produced proved to remain as a
stable compound that does not exhibit any leaching of heavy
metals, and thus yielding no secondary pollution problems
related to the leaching. Thereby, coal slag can be safely utilized
as construction materials or a filler for road. Usually, the coal
flyash from a boiler causes a secondary pollution through
leaching of heavy metals.
Since heavy metals in slags obtained from all the nine coals
are not leached out to cause any environmental pollution with

no noticeable differences among the nine slag samples, the

leaching test of heavy metal for the produced slag would not be
a precise criterion in determining the coal suitability for
gasification.
Typical slag compositions are shown in Table 2 indicating
that the remaining carbon content of the slags was less than
1 wt.%. Results in Table 2 demonstrate rather similar slag
composition regardless of coal types whenever coal ash has
melted properly to slag. Even the Denisovsky coal that had
exhibited several unsuitable features for the entrained-bed
gasification such as high discharge of unreacted char, the
formed slag contained a low carbon content when the inorganic
compounds passed through the gasification temperature properly. Additionally, the shape and size of slags showed a similar
size of a few millimeters with a cracked sharp-edged shape
[5,12].
3.8. Coal reactivity
For the fixed gasifier volume, more reactive coal would
complete the reaction within the available residence time.
Before performing the actual gasification tests, coal reactivity
should be studied by several ways. The most simple and
intuitive way is to compare the fuel ratio of the proximate
analysis data. Fuel ratio is defined as the weight ratio of fixed
carbon to volatile matter contents in coal. A lower fuel ratio
means more reactivity in general, such that lower rank coals are
more reactive.
A more detailed method for the reactivity is the thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). TGA has already been extensively
used in comparing the char combustion reactivity [13,14] and
also it has been reported that coal reactivity measured by TGA
under an inert gas correlates with the inverse of the fuel ratio
[15]. Although most accurate analysis data would be obtained
under the identical gasification conditions, reactivity itself could
be obtained from an analysis under an inert environment. Here,
reactivity can be defined as the ratio of weight change over the
specified reaction time.

Y. Yun et al. / Fuel Processing Technology 88 (2007) 107116

Fig. 5 illustrates the weight variation with temperature

increase for the nine coals of ash-free basis at the pressure
conditions of 35 bar. Clearly, Curragh and Denisovsky coals
show lower reactivity among the nine coals, and Drayton coal is
between the low-reactivity coals and the high-reactivity coals.
Usibelli, Kideco, Baiduri, Adaro, and Cyprus coals can be
grouped as high-reactivity coals. More detailed pyrolysis results
for the nine coals are available elsewhere [16].
Maximum carbon conversion in the single-pass gasification
without char recycling could be obtained from the highreactivity coals. The actual gasifier operation yielded nearly
100% carbon conversion for the high-reactivity coals. In
general, dry-feeding entrained-bed gasifier can treat all ranks
of coal while the slurry-feeding entrained-bed gasifier is
suitable for bituminous coals of higher rank. However, unless
the gasifier is designed to cover all different reactivities of coal
in the reaction, even for the dry-feeding gasifier, low carbon
conversion would result if the gasifier volume were not
sufficient to sustain enough residence time of coal powder. In
this case, the char-recycling process is required.
Coal reactivity is definitely an important parameter in coal
selection for the gasification, probably next to the proper ash
melting behavior. To evaluate the reactivity, TGA under inert
environment could be employed as a pre-selection guide data
before actual pilot tests or instrumental analysis under identical
gasification conditions.
3.9. Factors for coal selection
The most simple and intuitive selection guideline that has
been reported seems to be the plot between the fuel ratio that
represents the coal reactivity versus the ash fusion temperature
representing the slag viscosity. It can give the idea regarding the
possibility in gasifier plugging [17,18].
Coal selection for IGCC applications can be summarized as
follows. Coal properties of ash melting temperature, slag
viscosity, ash content, and fuel ratio can be used as guides for
estimating the plugging probability and gasification reactivity.
Among the nine coals, first of all, the ash melting temperature
and corresponding slag viscosity were used as a guide data for
suitable IGCC coals. Next, low-rank coals of high reactivity
were selected as the best candidate coals for dry-feeding
entrained-bed coal gasification operation. Then, low ash coal
would be chosen for the possibility of reduced operational
problems related to slag and ash. Although the drying process
would increase the cost for the subbituminous coals, more
reactive coals with appropriate ash melting temperature should
be the choice for dry-feeding entrained-bed gasification if all the
coals for IGCC applications should be imported.
4. Conclusions
In commercial IGCC gasifiers that require long-term
continuous operations, low ash containing coals may be a
better candidate since they produce a minimal slag-plugging
problem in addition to the minimal unburned carbon through
flyash and slag.

115

The most important indices for selecting the coal suitable

for IGCC applications are ash melting temperature, slag viscosity, ash content, and the fuel ratio (or gasification reactivity). The suitable coal should contain the following
properties. First, the approximate criteria for the ash melting
temperature would be at the range of 13001400 C. If the ash
melting temperature is below 1260 C in particular, more
precaution should be exercised to prevent the increased
possibility of plugging by fly-slag. When the ash melting
temperature is above 1500 C, adding the fluxing agent would
be required, or the gasifier temperature should be increased
with the anticipated problems in the refractory life. Second,
low-enough slag viscosity at the gasifier operating temperature must be guaranteed where slag would flow freely along
the gasifier inner wall. Third, ash and sulfur contents should
be at the lowest level if possible, and a certain amount of ash
needs to be present in coal to protect the gasifier wall by thinlayer coating. Fourth, coals with the low fuel ratio would be a
better choice if the gasifier would run without the charrecycling process. That means higher volatile content that
normally exhibits higher reactivity. To verify the suitable coal
reactivity, high-pressure TGA analysis under the inert gas
environment would be sufficient to differentiate the relative
reactivity of candidate coals in selecting the coal for IGCC
applications.
In the dry-feeding gasifier, the surface moisture content of
dried coal is more important than the total moisture data because
of the pneumatic feeding requirement of the coal powder into
the gasifier. Since the moisture content does not present any
technical problems after coal is dried to less than 3 wt.%,
moisture content would not be a discerning factor. Slags obtained from all the nine coals are leached out of heavy metal
compounds far less than the environmental regulations with no
noticeable differences among the nine slag samples, and thus
leaching test for slag would not be a precise criterion in
determining the coal suitability for gasification.
Acknowledgements
The R&D Management Center for Energy and Resources,
Korea supported this research project entitled Technology
Demonstration for the Integrated Gasification System and the
Development of Related Simulation Technologies. We thank
Professor Myungsook Oh for the data on slag viscosity.
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