Poly-Generation of Thermal Energy, Electricity and Anthropogenic Products

Abstract

This is the first in the series of engineering papers presenting new possibilities of coal-based power engineering, where the energy producing boiler is seen as a chemical reactor, which in the poly-generation process should be outputting only products, no waste. This is to help meeting the Circular Economy (CE) goals by the power sector. Rich chemical composition of flyash and conditions in which they arise, high temperatures and flue gas control systems, many times suggest to purposefully combine the processes of combustion of fuels with the processes of their energy-and-technological processing. Taking into account the huge interest in extracting aluminum compounds (alumina) from flyash, theoretical considerations were made in terms of possibilities of combing the combustion of coals rich in alumina compounds with the process of their extraction. Out of a very rich list of techniques for producing alumina, in the context of ashes the most interesting are the alkali-sintering methods. Of particular potential is the sintering-disintegrating method by Prof J. Grzymek, which has been already verified in industrial conditions in the cement sector, while in this paper it is analyzed from the angle of coal combustion and sintering of calcium-oxide containing ash.