Synergetic mechanism between corn stalk biochar and coal pulping in coal-water slurry

doi:10.1016/j.cjche.2025.03.011

Abstract

Abstract: The multipath application of green resources needs to be realised under the carbon neutrality goal. Worldwide, biomass is a resource in urgent need of treatment. In this paper, corn stover biomass (YM) or biochar with different particle sizes (YMF or YMX) was added during the preparation of coal-water slurry to investigate its effect on the performance of coal-water slurry and the micro-mechanism. The results showed that the fixed viscosity concentration of coal-water slurry (CYWS) with YM was only 47.42%, and the flowability was 49.9 mm, which made the slurry performance poor. The fixed viscosity concentration of coal-water slurry (CFWS) blended with YMF and coal-water slurry (CXWS) blended with YMX increased by 10.41% and 14.24%, respectively, compared with CYWS. Meanwhile, CXWS had the lowest thixotropy and yield stress, with a yield stress of only 16.13 Pa, which was 77.31 Pa lower than that of CYWS. This indicates that YMX treated by charring and milling is more favorable to be blended with coal to prepare coal-water slurry. This is due to the enhanced hydrophilicity and electronegativity of YMX. The enhanced hydrophilicity reduces the tendency to form three-dimensional networks in coal-water slurry, while the enhanced electronegativity improves the electrostatic repulsion between particles, which is beneficial to the dispersion of particles. In the subsequent EDLVO analyses, the same idea was proved.

Key words: Particle size gradation, Biomass, Rheology, Coal-water slurry, Concentration, Mechanism

摘要： The multipath application of green resources needs to be realised under the carbon neutrality goal. Worldwide, biomass is a resource in urgent need of treatment. In this paper, corn stover biomass (YM) or biochar with different particle sizes (YMF or YMX) was added during the preparation of coal-water slurry to investigate its effect on the performance of coal-water slurry and the micro-mechanism. The results showed that the fixed viscosity concentration of coal-water slurry (CYWS) with YM was only 47.42%, and the flowability was 49.9 mm, which made the slurry performance poor. The fixed viscosity concentration of coal-water slurry (CFWS) blended with YMF and coal-water slurry (CXWS) blended with YMX increased by 10.41% and 14.24%, respectively, compared with CYWS. Meanwhile, CXWS had the lowest thixotropy and yield stress, with a yield stress of only 16.13 Pa, which was 77.31 Pa lower than that of CYWS. This indicates that YMX treated by charring and milling is more favorable to be blended with coal to prepare coal-water slurry. This is due to the enhanced hydrophilicity and electronegativity of YMX. The enhanced hydrophilicity reduces the tendency to form three-dimensional networks in coal-water slurry, while the enhanced electronegativity improves the electrostatic repulsion between particles, which is beneficial to the dispersion of particles. In the subsequent EDLVO analyses, the same idea was proved.

关键词: Particle size gradation, Biomass, Rheology, Coal-water slurry, Concentration, Mechanism

Gaohan Li, Lirui Mao, Ling Zhang, Qiaoli Wu, Hanxu Li. Synergetic mechanism between corn stalk biochar and coal pulping in coal-water slurry[J]. Chinese Journal of Chemical Engineering, 2025, 83(7): 1-14.

Gaohan Li, Lirui Mao, Ling Zhang, Qiaoli Wu, Hanxu Li. Synergetic mechanism between corn stalk biochar and coal pulping in coal-water slurry[J]. 中国化学工程学报, 2025, 83(7): 1-14.

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