Formation Processes and Main Properties of Hollow Aluminosilicate Microspheres in Fly Ash from Thermal Power Stations

The main parameters of aluminosilicate microspheres formed at thermal power stations in Russia were studied; these parameters are responsible for the prospective industrial application of these microspheres. A comparative analysis of the properties of mineral coal components, the conditions of coal combustion, and the effects of chemical and phase-mineralogical compositions of mineral impurities in coals from almost all of the main coal deposits on the formation of microspheres was performed. The effects of thermal treatment conditions on gas evolution processes in mineral particles and on the fraction of aluminosilicate microspheres in fly ash were considered. It was found that the yield of microspheres was higher in pulverized coal combustion in furnaces with liquid slag removal, all other factors being equal. The regularities of microsphere formation were analyzed, and the mechanism of microsphere formation in fly ash during the combustion of solid fuels was considered.