Bench-scale development of mild gasification char desulfurization; [Quarterly] report, September 1--November 30, 1993

This goal of this project is to scale up a process, developed under a previous ICCI grant, for desulfurization of mild gasification char by treatment with hydrogen-rich process-derived fuel gas at 650{degree}--760{degree}C and 7-15 atm. The char can be converted into a low-sulfur metallurgical form coke. In the prior study, IBC-105 coal with 4.0 wt % sulfur was converted to chars with less than 1.0 wt % sulfur in a laboratory-scale batch reactor. The susceptibility of the char to desulfurization was correlated with physicochemical char properties and mild gasification conditions. Acid pretreatment of the coal prior to mild gasification was also shown to significantly enhance subsequent sulfur removal. In this study, IGT is conducting continuous bench-scale tests in a 1-lb/h fluidized-bed reactor to determine the preferred process conditions and obtain steady-state data necessary for process design and scale-up. The desulfurized chars are to be used to produce low-sulfur form coke, which will be evaluated for density, reactivity, and strength properties relevant to utilization in blast furnaces. During the first quarter, 180 lb (82 kg) of IBC-105 coal was obtained and subjected to crushing, and sizing to prepare 49 lb (22 kg) of material for test operation