Coal-water fuel: A summary of the Chatham Utility demonstration and future in Eastern Canada

In 1972, the Canadian Combustion Research Laboratory conducted an in-house program to study the combustion and heat transfer characteristics of several coal oil mixtures in a pilot scale research tunnel furnace. This early research into coal oil mixture combustion was discontinued when the availability and price of heavy oil reduced the advantage of coal oil mixtures to industry. Following the rapid escalation of oil prices in the late 1970's, there was renewed interest in coal-oil mixture technology. As part of the program to reduce the reliance on foreign oil supplies, EMR encourages this interest with financial and technological support for demonstration projects and research and development. The first demonstration project was undertaken between 1977 and 1980 to study the potential for utilizing coal oil mixtures in a small utility boiler at Chatham, New Brunswick. The price range which coal liquid mixtures can command is determined by competing fuels. In order to attract customers coal liquid mixtures must be priced sufficiently below that of the competing oil on a heat value basis, so that there is sufficient economic gain to encourage the customer to invest the necessary capital to convert to the cheaper fuel. The amount of coal which can bemore » mixed with oil appears to be limited to a maximum of about 50%. On the other hand, coal-water fuels which are 70% coal appear to have a substantial economic benefit. The Canadian Coal Liquid Mixture Program has veered away from its early interest in mixtures of oil only and coal only on economic grounds.« less