Coal log pipeline research at the University of Missouri : 1st quarterly report for 1997

Abstract

During this 1st quarter of 1997 (1/1/97 to 3/31/97), significant progress was made in many fronts of coal log pipeline research, development and technology transfer including the following: 1. A set of revised (final) drawings on certain parts of the coal log compaction machine (250-ton press) was sent to the Gundlach Company in January. (Dr. Yuyi Lin and Kang Xue) 2. The coal log machine (250-ton press) is under construction at the Gundlach Machine Company. The machine is expected to be completed in May or June. (Gundlach Machine Company/Floproducts). 3. Design of the metal building to house the coal log machine (250-ton press), other compaction related equipment and the pipeline inlet/outlet has been completed, and bid specifications for this building are being prepared. (Burkett/Campus Facilities). 4. A preliminary set of equations for mathematical and computer modeling of the coal log compaction process has been derived. Plans to verify the equations through experiments have been made. Instrumentation for the tests have been prepared. (Dr. Yuyi Lin and Guoping Wen). 5. It was found that water temperature has a significant effect on coal log wear in pipe. More wear occurs when the water temperature is higher. This is good news because the water temperature in an underground pipe is expected to be relatively low. (Wei Li under Dr. Brett Gunnink. 6. The standard coal log compaction test has been conducted for a second time with improved results (supervised by Bill Burkett). 7. Tests were conducted to determine the effects of compaction pressure, binder concentration, binder-coal sample mixing time, compaction peak load time and coal log curing time. It was found that variation of pressure had the strongest effect on the tensile strength of the coal logs (Wilson/Zhao). 8. Practical experience has been gained in analyzing CLP effluent water, and dealing with regulatory officials on CLP effluent water discharge (Wilson/Paano). 9. Costs of many items of the CLP Pilot Plant (6-inch-diameter pipeline 3,000 ft long recirculating loop) have been determined; pumps and pump seals have been selected; a clarifier for treating CLP effluent water has been selected; a sand bed has been designed to clean up the sludge discharged from the clarifier; detailed design of the diverters has been completed (Dr. Charles Lenau). 10. Much progress has been made in the preparation of the experimental set-up for testing Polyox drag reduction in CLP in the 8-inch-diameter test loop. The Polyox dissolution/injection tank has been built and tested. Test procedures for injecting and measuring Polyox concentration have been developed. Fluorescent dye (Rhodamine B) are being tested for possible use to determine Polyox concentration in water (Gangwei Wu under Dr. John Miles). 11. Hydrodynamic equations have been derived to determine the behavior of capsule trains entering and leaving a slope. A commercially available computational fluid dynamics (CFD) program (FLUENT) was used to determine the pressure field around a capsule in the turbulent regime (Xiang Gao under Dr. Henry Liu). 12. Five different biomass materials (sawdust, wood chips, alfalfa, soy bean hulls and cottonseeds) were compacted successfully into logs (1. 94-inch-diameter solid cylinders) at room temperature without use of binder. Compaction ratios of these materials range from 2 to 8. The result looks promising (Chris Yates under Dr. Tom Marrero. Future Research (Plan for Next Quarter): 1. Complete construction of the coal log machine by Gundlach Company, installation of the machine in Columbia, and preliminary testing--debugging (Gundlach Company). 2. Completion of the metal building to house the coal log machine (Campus Facilities.3. Complete preliminary tests to check the equations for predicting coal log compaction, and revising of equations if needed (Dr. Liu/Gao). 4. Conduct a set of more detailed tests on the effect of water temperature on coal log wear and breakage in pipe (Dr. Liuffao). 5. Conduct rapid compaction test (3-second compaction time) by using the new 1.9-inch mold and the new alignment fixture (Dr. Gunnink/Li). 6. Compare small log wear (in Columbia) with large log wear (in Rolla) using logs made under similar conditions except for the size of the mold (Dr. Wilson/Zhao) 7. Complete design of the Pilot Plant pipeline system (Dr. Lenau). 8. Complete design and selection of the sensors and automatic control system for operating the pilot plant pipeline system automatically (Dr. Nair/Du). 9. Make resin logs for drag reduction study in 8-inch-diameter pipeline. Conduct drag reduction tests with Polyox, capsules but without fiber (Dr. Miles/Wu).10. Complete CFD study of stationary capsule (comparing FLUENT results with Liu and Graze's 1980 measurements) (Dr. Liu/Dr. Miles/Gao). 11. Continue biomass with an estimate of the compaction cost (Dr.Marrero/Yates).