Blast furnace (BF) coal injection became a routine practice among European BFs; roughly, 40% of total energy required for the process is covered by auxiliary reducing agents. Pulverized coal (PC) remains the most commonly used auxiliary reductant. The key trend is increasing PC injection rates; over 200 kg tHM À1 PC on an annual basis is no rarity any more. Despite numerous measures for intensifying the coal conversion in the raceway, [1] it is hardly possible to combust such a high amount of coal within a very short residence time of few tens of milliseconds. Recent computational fluid dynamics calculations showed that at PC injection rate of 240 kg tHM À1 , about 50% of the coal amount entering the raceway may leave it as so-called char. [2] Another theoretical study from 2011 calculated a maximum PC injection rate of 190-210 kg tHM À1 for some BFs, considering that no ash deposition nor change in the gas flow distribution due to unburnt coal fines trapped in the coke bed takes place. [3] The following types of coal residues appear depending on different conditions and stages of its formation (Figure 1): 1) devolatilized coal particles (after light gases and tar have been released); 2) pyrolyzed (partly or completely) particles (caused by the thermal decomposition of the organic matter); and 3) not completely gasified particles (residues). Char formation, transportation, and behavior outside the raceway may significantly affect the BF process both negatively with respect to process stability and positively by increasing the combustion efficiency by possible consumption of char. The knowledge on these phenomena was limited because the main efforts over the last few decades were focused on the complete conversion of PC within the raceway. A char morphology system was introduced for the characterization of char types. [4] However, few studies are devoted to the
We have theoretically investigated the product of elastic modulus and linear coefficient of thermal expansion for 20 thermoelectrics. The product is inversely proportional to equilibrium volume, which is consistent with the Debye-Grüneisen model. Oxides exhibit larger products, while the products of Te-containing thermoelectrics are considerably smaller. This is likely due to strong bonding in these oxides, which makes them prone to thermal stress, thermal shock, and thermal fatigue. As this product is rarely available in literature and the equilibrium volume is easily measurable, this work provides a quick estimation for the thermomechanical response of thermoelectric phases.
To increase the thermoelectric efficiency and reduce the thermal fatigue upon cyclic heat loading, alloying of amorphous NbO2 with all 3d and 5d transition metals has systematically been investigated using density functional theory. It was found that Ta fulfills the key design criteria, namely, enhancement of the Seebeck coefficient and positive Cauchy pressure (ductility gauge). These quantum mechanical predictions were validated by assessing the thermoelectric and elastic properties on combinatorial thin films, which is a high-throughput approach. The maximum power factor is 2813 μW m−1 K−2 for the Ta/Nb ratio of 0.25, which is a hundredfold increment compared to pure NbO2 and exceeds many oxide thermoelectrics. Based on the elasticity measurements, the consistency between theory and experiment for the Cauchy pressure was attained within 2%. On the basis of the electronic structure analysis, these configurations can be perceived as metallic, which is consistent with low electrical resistivity and ductile behavior. Furthermore, a pronounced quantum confinement effect occurs, which is identified as the physical origin for the Seebeck coefficient enhancement.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.