Sulphur in Turkish lignites and possible remedies

Abstract

Lignites are the largest and most important solid fuels of Turkey. The high sulphur content of these fuels, their low calorific value and high ash content pose problems in their use. The organic sulphur content is generally over 5% in Turkish lignites, which makes simple technologies, such as washing and flotation, unapplicable. Pyrolysis, wet chemical desulphurisation and biochemical desulphurisation technologies are either not capable of reducing the sulphur to desired limits, or uneconomical. Overall, the most promising technology in overcoming the sulphur problem in Turkish lignites seems to be fluidised bed combustion.

Key words:

• Sulphur
• lignites
• Turkey
• fuel
• purification