EXPERIENCES IN TRANSPORTATION OF DRIED LOW-RANK WESTERN COALS

The Grand Forks Energy Research Center and Commonwealth Edison of Chicago jointly conducted tests in which 400 tons each of subbituminous coal and lignite were dried in a commercial scale dryer, oil sprayed and cooled, then shipped in open-top rail cars from Pekin, IL to Grand Forks, ND and stockpiled. Cars containing raw coal and dried coal that had not been oil sprayed were also transported for comparative purposes. The subbituminous coal was dried from 26 to 16 pct moisture and the heating value was upgraded from 8,420 to 9,650 Btu/lb. The lignite was dried from 39 to 22 pct moisture and its heating value was increased from 6,420 to 8,300 Btu/lb. Before loading, subbituminous coal was cooled at 115 exp 0 F and sprayed with oil at a rate of from 2 to 6 gal/ton. Similarly, lignite was cooled to 85 exp 0 F and oil sprayed at rates of from 1 to 2 gal/ton. The subbituminous coal was subjected to 2 inches of rain during transit with no change in average moisture content. The cars containing dried and oil treated coal had less material lost to wind than either cars containing raw or untreated dried coal. With both dried lignite and subbituminous shipments, a moderate increase in temperature was measured during transit. With the subbituminous shipments, ignition occurred near poorly fitted bottom dump doors, but was limited to a very small area. The dried lignite was shipped when ambient temperatures were below freezing, and frozen coal was noted around the edge of the car. At Grand Forks, the coal was stockpiled using proven techniques and has remained stable to this date. (ERA citation 01:022577)

• Supplemental Notes:
  • Meeting of the Society of Mining Engineers, Salt Lake City, Utah, USA, 12 Sep 1975.
• Corporate Authors:

  Bureau of Mines

  Department of the Interior
  Grand Forks, ND  United States 

  Commonwealth Edison Company

  Maywood, IL  United States 

  Energy Research and Development Administration

  Grand Forks Energy Research Center
  Grand Forks, ND  United States 
• Authors:
  • Paulson, L E
  • Cooley, S A
  • Wegert, C
  • Ellman, R C
• Publication Date: 1975

Media Info

• Pagination: 21 p.

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Bulk cargo handling; Coal; Coal industry; Coal processing; Drying; Fires; Freezing; Freight traffic; Lignite; Loss and damage; Moisture content; Open top cars; Subbituminous coal; Transportation; Unit trains; Wind
• Old TRIS Terms: Bulk handling; Calorific value; Coal preparation; Lignite traffic; Loss and damage controls; Spontaneous combustion
• Subject Areas: Construction; Transportation (General);

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00146724
• Record Type: Publication
• Source Agency: National Technical Information Service
• Files: TRIS
• Created Date: Feb 16 1977 12:00AM