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Show Alliance Research Center a McDermott company Babcock&Wilcox Coal Analysis Lab In B&W's Coal Analysis Lab chemists are involved in a number of tests that determine the characteristics of fuel and its ash. The results from these tests are used to design boilers that will use fuel efficiently and safely. The analyses are based on American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) Standards and special procedures developed by B & W . With information from these procedures it is possible to determine the properties of fuels, essential for matching the fuel with the boiler's design and operation. Chemists measure the fuel's heat content to know how much must be burned, the fuel's carbon to hydrogen atio to know the amount of air needed for combustion, and the fuel's grindability (for solids) or viscosity (for liquids) to determine the equipment required to prepare the fuel for combustion. Tests are also run on the fuel to determine its ignition point and burnout temperature, its properties pertaining to the formation of gaseous and particulate emissions, and its ash properties so that problems such as corrosion and plugging of furnace passages can be minimized. The results of these tests are used by the design engineers to size the boiler and its auxiliary equipment. Because of the great differences in fuels, the information the Coal Analysis Lab provides is essential for effective utilization of the fuel. Ilabcock & Wilcox Alliance Research Center Division General Office 1562 Beeson Street Alliance, O H 44601 A research chemist pours a sample into the Particle Size Analyzer which can measure particle size distribution in a range of from 3.3 to 300 microns. A fuel sample is lowered into a furnace for a burning profile test to determine the fuel's ignition point and burnout temperature. |