PRELIMINARY INVESTIGATIONS OF COMBUSTION OF PULVERIZED COCONUT SHELL-BASED FUEL SLURRIES IN AN OIL-FIRED FOUNDRY FURNACE

This paper reports the development effort of using coconut shell-based fuel slurries in an oil-fired foundry furnace. Solid fuel fines were dispersed in a liquid medium and the resultant fuel slurry was burnt l ike a liquid fuel. Light disel oil, furnace oil and water served as th e liquid media. The solid fuels burnt were pulverized coal and pulveri zed coconut shell. The solid fuel was directly mixed with the liquid m edium and was burnt in an oil-fired foundry furnace. No chemicals were used for the stabilization of slurries. Pulverized coal was found to settle down and was often blocking the fuel atomizer. But no such prob lems were encountered when pulverized coconut shell-light diesel oil a nd pulverized coconut shell-water slurries were burnt. Among the vario us slurries burnt, the pulverized coconut shell-water slurry was found to be the most appropriate slurry to be used in the oil-fired foundry furnace without any modifications to the existing furnace hardware. P reliminary results are presented.