The use of coal is required to help satisfy the world's energy needs.
Yet coal is a difficult fossil fuel to consume efficiently and cleanly.
We believe that its clean and efficient use can be increased through
improved technology based on a thorough understanding of fundamental
physical and chemical processes that occur during consumption. The
principal objective of this book is to provide a current summary of this
technology. The past technology for describing and analyzing coal
furnaces and combus- tors has relied largely on empirical inputs for the
complex flow and chemical reactions that occur while more formally
treating the heat-transfer effects. GrOWing concern over control of
combustion-generated air pollutants revealed a lack of understanding of
the relevant fundamental physical and chemical mechanisms. Recent
technical advances in computer speed and storage capacity, and in
numerical prediction of recirculating turbulent flows, two-phase flows,
and flows with chemical reaction have opened new opportunities for
describing and modeling such complex combustion systems in greater
detail. We believe that most of the requisite component models to permit
a more fundamental description of coal combustion processes are
available. At the same time there is worldwide interest in the use of
coal, and progress in modeling of coal reaction processes has been
steady.