Evaluation of mineral matter transformations in low-temperature ashes of South African coal feedstock samples and their density separated cuts using high-temperature X-ray diffraction

Coal mineral matter is the leading cause of inevitable ash problems (fouling and slagging) during the combustion of coal. Low-temperature ash (LTA) samples of feed coals and the density separated fractions were subjected to high-temperature X-ray diffraction (HT-XRD) to identify the mineral reactions occurred at elevated temperatures under oxidizing conditions. Excluded minerals were mainly contained in the sink fractions, while included minerals were mainly present in the float fractions. QEMSCAN results indicate that the mineral associations in carbominerites and included minerals in Feeds A, B and C and sinks B and C are responsible for the melt formation during HT-XRD experiments. HT-XRD results indicate the presence of mullite, anorthite, and amorphous aluminosilicate materials formed in the thermally treated LTA samples. The formation of these slagging crystalline and glassy phases could be attributed to either crystallization during the cooling of the molten solution, or via solid-state reactions at elevated temperatures. A comprehensive knowledge of the included and excluded minerals can be used to prepare a blended feedstock for combustion processes. The operational ash-related problems in the combustion and gasification processes could be minimized by implementing this comprehensive knowledge of the transformation of coal minerals at elevated temperature