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SYNERGISTIC EFFECT ON COMBUSTION KINETICS AND ASH FUSION CHARACTERISTICS DURING CO-COMBUSTION OF BITUMINOUS COAL AND WHEAT STRAW

ABSTRACT

In this study, the combustion behavior, synergistic effect and ash characteristics during the co-combustion of bituminous coal and wheat straw were fully analyzed by thermogravimetric analyzer, ash melting point analyzer, X-ray diffraction, and SEM. Thermogravimetry analysis showed that wheat straw was easier to be ignited, showing higher devolatilization activity and lower thermopositive temperature. Co-combustion displayed volatiles and char combustion stage and showed lower combustion rate compared to mono-combustion. For the wheat straw blending ratio ≤ 50%, significant positive synergistic effect was observed during the volatiles combustion stage while negative synergistic effect was found during the char combustion stage. With wheat straw blending, the co-combustion ash fusion temperature first increased and then decreased. The mineral components of co-combustion ash gradually changed from high ash melting point compounds to complex calcium silicate hydrate. The morphology of co-combustion ash turned from hard flake structure to loose porous structure, showing partial melting in the biomass derived pores. Small addition of wheat straw during co-combustion would be beneficial to enhance the ash fusion temperature and optimize combustion performance.

KEYWORDS

co-combustion, thermogravimetric analysis, synergistic effect, ash fusion, surface morphology, mineral transformation

PAPER SUBMITTED: 2025-03-14

PAPER REVISED: 2025-06-18

PAPER ACCEPTED: 2025-06-19

PUBLISHED ONLINE: 2025-08-02

DOI REFERENCE: https://doi.org/10.2298/TSCI250314138N

CITATION EXPORT: view in browser or download as text file

THERMAL SCIENCE YEAR 2025, VOLUME 29, ISSUE No. 5, PAGES [3615 - 3628]

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Synergistic effect on combustion kinetics and ash fusion characteristics during co-combustion of bituminous coal and wheat straw

© 2026 Society of Thermal Engineers of Serbia. Published by the Vinča Institute of Nuclear Sciences, National Institute of the Republic of Serbia, Belgrade, Serbia. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 4.0 International licence

THERMAL SCIENCE

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Miaomiao Niu

Fengxia An

Ruize Shi

Xiangyu Xu

Yu Peng

Jingze Dong

Yuheng Liu

SYNERGISTIC EFFECT ON COMBUSTION KINETICS AND ASH FUSION CHARACTERISTICS DURING CO-COMBUSTION OF BITUMINOUS COAL AND WHEAT STRAW