Sign In to Follow Application
View All Documents & Correspondence

Modified Coal Production Equipment

Abstract: Modified coal production equipment comprising: first oxygen adsorption speed measuring means (141 144 149a 149b) etc. that sort dried coal (3) dried in a drying device (112) and find the oxygen adsorption speed (Vd) of the dried coal (3); second oxygen adsorption speed measuring means (145 148 149a 149b) that sort modified coal (7) deactivated by an deactivation treatment device (130) and find the oxygen adsorption speed (Vr) of the modified coal (7); and an arithmetic control device (150) that calculates the oxygen adsorption speed ratio (N) from formula (Vr Vd)/Vd=N on the basis of Vd and Vr and if N>Ns (a standard value) reads from a map the increased oxygen concentration value (Oa) in a processing gas (106) corresponding to N calculates a revised oxygen concentration value (Oc) on the basis of the current oxygen concentration value (Op) and Oa and controls blowers (133 135) so as to reach Oc.

Get Free WhatsApp Updates!
Notices, Deadlines & Correspondence

Patent Information

Application #
Filing Date
15 July 2014
Publication Number
24/2016
Publication Type
INA
Invention Field
CHEMICAL
Status
Email
Parent Application

Applicants

MITSUBISHI HEAVY INDUSTRIES LTD.
16 5 Konan 2 chome Minato ku Tokyo 1088215

Inventors

1. ABE Hyota
c/o MITSUBISHI HEAVY INDUSTRIES LTD. 16 5 Konan 2 chome Minato ku Tokyo 1088215
2. NAKAGAWA Keiichi
c/o MITSUBISHI HEAVY INDUSTRIES LTD. 16 5 Konan 2 chome Minato ku Tokyo 1088215
3. OMOTO Setsuo
c/o MITSUBISHI HEAVY INDUSTRIES LTD. 16 5 Konan 2 chome Minato ku Tokyo 1088215

Specification

Technical Field The present invention relates to upgraded coal production equipment and is particularly useful when applied to a caseof upgrading low-rank coal such as brown coal and subbituminous coal which is porous and which contains a large amount of moisture. Background Art There are abundant reserves of low-rank coal which 10 is coal containing a large amount of moisture such as brown coal and subbituminous coal. Meanwhile, the calorific value of the low-rank coal per unit weight is small. In view of this, the low-rank coal is heated to be subjected- to drying processing and pyrolysis 15 processing and is thereby improved in calorific value per unit weight. In this connection, the heated low-rank coal tends to adsorb water. In addition, carboxylic groups and the like on a surface of the low-rank coal are removed, 20 thereby forming radical and the like on the surface. This increases activity on the surface of the low-rank coal and accordingly makes the low-rank coal easily react with oxygen in the air. The low-rank coal may thus spontaneously combust due to reaction heat generated 25 by the reaction. To counter this problem, in, for example. Patent Literature 1 listed below or the like, pyrolysis coal obtained by subjecting the low-rank coal to drying, and pyrolysis is subjected to deactivation processing in 30 which, by heating the pyrolysis (at about 150°C to 170°C) in a low-oxygen atmosphere (oxygen concentration around 10%), a surface of the pyrolysis coal is partially oxidized to reduce activity on the surface of the pyrolysis coal. As a result, upgraded coal whose spontaneous combustion is suppressed is 5 produced. Citation List Patent Literature Patent Literature 1: Japanese Patent Application 10 Publication No. Hei 11-310785 Summary of Invention Technical Problem The composition of the raw-material coal varies 15 depending on a mine from which the coal is extracted. For this reason, for producing upgraded coal as described above, various processing conditions such as an oxygen concentration in an atmosphere of the deactivation processing, an atmosphere temperature, 20 and a processing time are set such that the raw-material coal of even any composition can be deactivated sufficiently. Accordingly, even raw-material coal which can be sufficiently deactivated under relatively loose conditions is deactivated under relatively 25 strict conditions, and there is a waste in processing cost . In view of this, an object of the present invention is to provide upgraded coal production equipment capable of producing upgraded coal in a simple way by 30 deactivating raw-material coal of various compositions under necessary and sufficient conditions. Solution to Problem Upgraded coal production equipment of a first aspect of the invention for solving the problem described above is upgraded coal production equipment 5 including: drying means for producing dry coal by removing moisture from raw-material coal; pyrolysis means for producing pyrolysis coal by performing pyrolysis on the dry coal; and 10 deactivation processing means for producing upgraded coal by deactivating the pyrolysis coal by heating with processing gas containing oxygen, characterized in that the upgraded coal production equipment comprises: 15 first oxygen adsorption rate measuring means for collecting part of the dry coal dried by the drying means and obtaining an oxygen adsorption rate Vd of the dry coal; second oxygen adsorption rate measuring means for 20 collecting part of the upgraded coal deactivated in the deactivation processing means and obtaining an oxygen adsorption rate Vr of the upgraded coal; and main arithmetic control means for: calculating an oxygen adsorption rate ratio N from the following 25 oxygen adsorption rate ratio calculation formula on the basis of the oxygen adsorption rates Vd, Vr; if the oxygen adsorption rate ratio N is within a range of a standard value Ns, controlling the deactivation processing means such that a deactivation processing 30 condition is maintained; if the oxygen adsorption rate ratio N is beyond the range of the standard value Ns, reading, from a map, an additional oxygen concentration value Oa to be applied to the processing gas correspondingly to the oxygen adsorption rate ratio N, calculating a corrected oxygen concentration value Oc 5 in the processing gas on the basis of the additional oxygen concentration value Oa and a present oxygen concentration value Op in the processing gas, and controlling the deactivation processing means such that the processing gas is set to the corrected oxygen 10 concentration value Oc; if the oxygen adsorption rate ratio N is below the range of the standard value Ns, reading, from a map, a decrease oxygen concentration value Od to be applied to the processing gas correspondingly to the oxygen adsorption rate ratio N, 15 calculating the corrected oxygen concentration value Oc in the processing gas on the basis of the decrease oxygen concentration value Od and the present oxygen concentration value Op in the processing gas, and controlling the deactivation processing means such 20 that the processing gas is set to the corrected oxygen concentration value Oc, where the oxygen adsorption rate ratio calculation formula is N = I(Vr-Vd)I/Vd. 25 Upgraded coal production equipment of a second aspect of the invention is the first aspect of the invention characterized in that when the corrected oxygen concentration value Oc exceeds an upper limit value Ou, the main arithmetic control means reads, from 30 a map, an additional temperature value Ta to be applied to the processing gas correspondingly to the oxygen adsorption rate ratio N, calculates a corrected temperature value Tc on the basis of the additional temperature value Ta and a present temperature value Tp in the processing gas, and controls the deactivation 5 processing means such that the processing gas is set to the corrected temperature value Tc. Upgraded coal production equipment of a third aspect of the invention is the first or second aspect of the invention characterized in that the second 10 oxygen adsorption rate measuring means obtains a new oxygen adsorption rate Vrn of the upgraded coal by collecting part of the upgraded coal deactivated in the deactivation processing means, and then, every time a specific time Ts elapses, collecting again part of the 15 upgraded coal newly deactivated in the deactivation processing means, and the main arithmetic control means: calculates a stability S from the following stability calculation formula on the basis of the current oxygen adsorption 20 rate Vrn newly obtained and the oxygen adsorption rate Vrn-i obtained just before the current oxygen adsorption rate Vrn: if the stability S is within a range of a standard value Ss, recalculates the oxygen adsorption rate ratio N from the following oxygen adsorption rate 25 ratio recalculation formula on the basis of the oxygen adsorption rates Vd, Vrn; and compares the oxygen adsorption rate ratio N with the standard value Ns again, where the stability calculation formula is 30 S = I (Vrn-Vrn-i) I /Vrn, and the oxygen adsorption rate ratio recalculation formula is N = i (Vrn-Vd)I/Vd. Upgraded coal production equipment of a fourth 5 aspect of the invention is any one of the first to third aspects of the invention characterized in that the first oxygen adsorption rate measuring means includes: first sampling means for collecting the part of the dry coal dried by the drying means as a sample; 10 first testing means for performing an oxygen adsorption test by exposing the sample collected by the first sampling means to oxygen containing gas at a test temperature for a test time Td; first weighing means for measuring a weight Wdl 15 of the sample, collected by the first sampling means, before the oxygen adsorption test and a weight Wd2 of the sample after the oxygen adsorption test; and first sub-arithmetic control means- for calculating the oxygen adsorption rate Vd of the dry 20 coal from the following dry coal oxygen adsorption rate calculation formula on the basis of the weights Wdl, Wd2 measured by the first weighing means, and the second oxygen adsorption rate measuring means includes: 25 second sampling means for collecting the part of the upgraded coal deactivated in the deactivation processing means as a sample; second testing means for performing an oxygen adsorption test by exposing the sample collected by the 30 second sampling means to oxygen containing gas at a test temperature for a test time Tr; second weighing means for measuring a weight Wrl of the sample, collected by the second sampling means, before the oxygen adsorption test and a weight Wr2 of the sample after the oxygen adsorption test; and 5 second sub-arithmetic control means for calculating the oxygen adsorption rate Vr of the upgraded coal from the following upgraded coal oxygen adsorption rate calculation formula on the basis of the weights Wrl, Wr2 measured by the second weighing means, 10 where the dry coal oxygen adsorption rate calculation formula is Vd = (Wd2-Wdl)/(WdlxTd)xiOO, and the upgraded coal oxygen adsorption rate calculation formula is 15 Vr = (Wr2-Wrl)/(WrlxTr)xlOO. Upgraded coal production equipment of a fifth aspect of the invention is any one of the first to third aspects of the invention characterized in that the first oxygen adsorption rate measuring means includes: 20 first sampling means for collecting the part of the dry coal dried by the drying means as a sampler-first weighing means for measuring a weight Wdl of the sample collected by the first sampling means; first testing means for performing an oxygen 25 adsorption test by holding the sample collected by the first sampling means in an air tight manner for a test time Td in an inside of the first testing means filled with an oxygen containing atmosphere and maintained at a constant temperature; 30 first pressure measuring means for measuring a pressure inside the first testing means; and first sub-arithmetic control means for calculating the oxygen adsorption rate Vd of the dry coal from the following dry coal oxygen adsorption rate calculation formula on the basis of the weight Wdl 5 measured by the first weighing means as well as an internal pressure Pdl of the first testing means before the oxygen adsorption test and an internal pressure Pd2 of the first testing means just after the oxygen adsorption test which are measured by the first 10 pressure measuring means with the inside of the first testing means held in the air tight manner while being filled with the oxygen containing atmosphere and maintained at the constant temperature, the second oxygen adsorption rate measuring means 15 includes: second sampling means for collecting the part of the upgraded coal deactivated in the deactivation processing means as a sampler-second weighing means for measuring a weight Wrl 20 of the sample collected by the second sampling means; second testing means for performing the oxygen adsorption test by holding the sample collected by the second sampling means in an air tight manner for a test time Tr in an inside of the second testing means filled 25 with an oxygen containing atmosphere and maintained at a constant temperatures-second pressure measuring means for measuring a pressure inside the second testing means; and second sub-arithmetic control means for 30 calculating the oxygen adsorption rate Vr of the upgraded coal from the following upgraded coal oxygen adsorption rate calculation formula on the basis of the weight Wrl measured by the second weighing means as well as an internal pressure Prl of the second testing means before the oxygen adsorption test and an internal 5 pressure Pr2 of the second testing means just after the oxygen adsorption test which are measured by the second pressure measuring means with the inside the second testing means held in the air tight manner while being filled with the oxygen containing atmosphere and 10 maintained at the constant temperature, where the dry coal oxygen adsorption rate calculation formula is Vd = Qd/(WdlxTd)xlOO, and the upgraded coal oxygen adsorption rate 15 calculation formula is Vr = Qr/ (WrlxTr) xlOO, where Qd represents an oxygen adsorption quantity of the dry coal and Qr represents an oxygen adsorption quantity of the upgraded coal, Qd and Qr being values 20 obtained from formulae shown below, Qd = [{ (Pdl-Pd2) 71013} x{Cd-(Wdl/D) }]/(22.4xWdl) , Qr = [ { (Prl-Pr2) /1013 } x{Cr-(Wrl/D) }]/(22.4xWrl), 25 where Cd represents an internal capacity of the first testingmeans, Cr represents an internal capacity of the second testing means, and D represents a true density of the raw-material coal. Upgraded coal production equipment of a sixth 30 aspect of the invention is any one of the first to fifth 10 aspects of the invention characterized in that the raw-material coal is brown coal or subbituminous coal. Advantageous Effects of Invention The upgraded coal production equipment of the present invention can produce upgraded coal in a simple way by deactivating raw-material coal of various compositions under necessary and sufficient conditions. 10 Brief Description of Drawings Fig. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of a first embodiment of upgraded coal production equipment of the present invention. 15 Fig. 2 is a control flowchart of a main portion of the upgraded coal production equipment in Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a control flowchart subsequent to Fig. 2 . Fig. 4 is a control flowchart subsequent to Fig. 20 3. Fig. 5 is a schematic configuration diagram of a second embodiment of upgraded coal production equipment of the present invention. Fig. 6 is a control flowchart of a main portion 25 of the upgraded coal production equipment in Fig. 5. Fig. ^7 is a control flowchart subsequent to Fig. 6. Fig. 8 is a control flowchart subsequent to Fig. 7 . 30 Description of Embodiments Embodiments of upgraded coal production equipment of the present invention are described based on the drawings. However^ the present invention is not limited 5 to the embodiments described below based on the drawings, A first embodiment of the upgraded coal production 10 equipment of the present invention is described based on Figs. 1 to 4. As shown in Fig. 1, a delivery port of a mill-type pulverizer 111 configured to pulverize low-rank coal 1 which is raw-material coal such as subbituminous coal 15 and brown coal is connected to a port of a drying device 112 for receiving the low-rank coal 1, via a rotary valve 121, the drying device 112 being a steam tube dryer system and configured to cause moisture 2 in the low-rank coal 1 to evaporate. Water vapor 101 which is 20 a heat medium is supplied into a coil-shaped heating tube arranged in a center portion of the drying device 112, and the drying device 112 thereby heats (about 100°C) the low-rank coal 1 and removes the moisture 2 from low-rank coal 1. The drying device 112 can thus 25 produce dry coal 3. A port of the drying device 112 for discharging the dry coal 3 is connected to an upstream side of a conveyor 113 in a conveyance direction via a rotary valve 122. A downstream side of the conveyor 113 in the 30 conveyance direction is connected to a port of a pyrolysis device 114 for receiving the dry coal 3, via 12 a rotary valve 123^ the pyrolysis device 114 being a rotary kiln system and configured to perform pyrolysis on the dry coal 3. Combustion gas 102 which is a heating medium is supplied to a fixedly-supported outer jacket 5 of the pyrolysis device 114, and the pyrolysis device 114 thereby performs heating pyrolysis (4 00°C to 600°C) on the dry coal 3 and removes volatile component 4 from the dry coal 3. The pyrolysis device 114 can thus produce pyrolysis coal 6. 10 A port of the pyrolysis device 114 for discharging the pyrolysis coal 6 is connected to an upstream side of a conveyor 115 in the conveyance direction via a rotary valve 124. A downstream side of the conveyor 115 in the conveyance direction is connected to a port of 15 a cooling device 116 for receiving the pyrolysis coal Ns), the arithmetic control device 150 determines that the deactivation processing is insufficient, reads, from a map inputted in advance, an additional oxygen concentration value Oa to be applied the processing gas 106 correspondingly to the 10 oxygen adsorption rate ratio N (S115 in Fig. 3), and calculates a corrected oxygen concentration value Oc in the processing gas 106 on the basis of the additional oxygen concentration value Oa and a present oxygen concentration value Op in the processing gas 106 (S116 15 in Fig. 3) . Next, the arithmetic control device 150 determines whether the corrected oxygen concentration value Oc is equal to or smaller than an upper limit value Ou (for example, 10%) (S117 in Fig. 3) . When the corrected 20 oxygen concentration value Oc is equal to or smaller than the upper limit value Ou (Oc ^ Ou) , the arithmetic control device 150 controls the operations of the blowers 133, 135 of the deactivation processing device 130 such that the processing gas 106 is set to the 25 corrected oxygen concentration value Oc (S118 in Fig. 3) . When the corrected oxygen concentra.tion value Oc exceeds the upper limit value Ou (Oc > Ou), the arithmetic control device 150 determines that handling 30 the matter by increasing the oxygen concentration of the processing gas 106 is inappropriate, reads, from 23 a map inputted in advance, an additional temperature value Ta to be applied to the processing gas 106 correspondingly to the oxygen adsorption rate ratio N (S119 in Figo 3), and calculates a corrected 5 temperature value Tc of the processing gas 106 on the basis of the additional temperature value Ta and a present temperature value Tp in the processing gas 106 (S120 in Fig. 3). Next, the arithmetic control device 150 determines 10 whether the corrected temperature value Tc is equal to or smaller than an upper limit value Tu (for example, 95°C) (S121 in Fig. 3) . When the corrected temperature value Tc is equal to or smaller than the upper limit value Tu (Tc < Tu), the arithmetic control device 150 15 controls the operation of the heater 134 of the deactivation processing device 130 such that the processing gas 106 is set to the corrected temperature value Tc (S122 in Fig. 3). When the corrected temperature value Tc exceeds 20 the upper limit value Tu (Tc > Tu), the arithmetic control device 150 determines that the deactivation processing cannot be appropriately performed due to some reason and transmits a command required for suspending the production of the upgraded coal 7 (S123 25 in Fig. 3) . Moreover, if the oxygen adsorption rate ratio N is below the range of the standard value Ns (N < Ns) in step S114 described above, the arithmetic control device 150 determines that the deactivation processing 30 is excessively performed, reads, from a map inputted in advance, a decrease oxygen concentration value Od 24 to be applied to the processing gas 106 correspondingly to the oxygen adsorption rate ratio N (S124 in Fig. 3 ) ;, calculates the corrected oxygen concentration value Oc in the processing gas 106 on the basis of the decrease 5 oxygen concentration value Od and the present oxygen concentration value Op in the processing gas 106 (S125 in Fig. 3), and controls the operations of the blowers 133, 135 of the deactivation processing device 130 such that the processing gas is set to the corrected oxygen 10 concentration value Oc (S118 in Fig. 3). When a specific time Ts (for example, one hour) elapses from the collection of the upgraded coal 7 (S126 in Fig. 4) while the arithmetic control device 150 is controlling the operations of the blowers 133, 15 135 and the heater 134 of the deactivation processing device 130 such that the deactivation processing is appropriately performed, as in steps S106 to SllO described above, the arithmetic control device 150 collects again part of the upgraded coal 7 newly 20 deactivated in the deactivation processing device 130 as a sample 7an (S127 in Fig. 4) , measures the weight Wrln (g) of the sample 7an before the oxygen adsorption test (S128 in Fig. 4), performs the oxygen adsorption test on the sample 7an (S129 in Fig. 4), then measures 25 the weight Wr2n (g) of a sample 7bn after the oxygen adsorption test (S130 in Fig. 4), and calculates a new oxygen adsorption rate Vrn (wt%/min.) of the upgraded coal 7 again from the following formula (14) similar to the formula (12), on the basis of the weights Wrln, 30 Wr2n (S131 in Fig. 4). Vrn = (Wr2n-Wrln)/(WrlnxTr)xlOO (14) 25 Next, the arithmetic control device 150 calculates a stability S of the deactivation processing from the following stability calculation formula (15), on the basis of the current oxygen adsorption rate Vrn 5 newly-obtained and an oxygen adsorption rate Vrn-i (Vr in this case) obtained just before the current oxygen adsorption rate Vrn (S132 in Fig. 4) . S = 1 (Vrn-Vrn-i) I /Vrn (15) Then, the arithmetic control device 150 determines 10 whether the stability S is within a range of a standard value Ss (for example, 0 to 0.01) (S133 in Fig. 4). If the stability S is within the range of the standard value Ss, the arithmetic control device 150 determines that the deactivation processing is in a stable state in 15 which the processing is stably performed. Then, the arithmetic control device 150 recalculates the oxygen adsorption rate ratio N from the following oxygen adsorption rate ratio recalculation formula (16) similar to the formula (13) , on the basis of the oxygen 20 adsorption rate Vd obtained from the samples 3a, 3b of the dry coal 3 and the oxygen adsorption rate Vrn newly obtained from the samples Van/ Vbn of the new upgraded coal 7 which are collected again in the current test (S134 in Fig. 4), and thereafter returns to step S112 25 described above. N = I(Vrn-Vd)I/Vd (16) Meanwhile, if the stability S is within the range of the standard value Ss, the arithmetic control device 150 determines that the deactivation processing is in 30 a transition state in which the processing is unstable and that appropriate determination cannot be 26 performed. The arithmetic control device 150 then returns to step S126 described above and performs steps S127 to S133 described above again. Accordingly^ in the upgraded coal production 5 equipment 100 of the embodiment, even when the composition of the low-rank coal 1 varies, the deactivation processing can be performed in a simple way under necessary and sufficient conditions corresponding to the composition of the low-rank coal 10 1. Hence, in the upgraded coal production equipment 100 of the embodiment, upgraded coal can be produced in a simple way at a low cost from the low-rank coal 1 of various compositions. 15 A second embodiment of the upgraded coal production equipment of the present invention is described based on Figs. 5 to 8 . Note that parts similar 20 to those in the aforementioned embodiment are denoted by reference numerals similar to the reference numerals used in the description of the aforementioned embodiment, and description overlapping the description of the aforementioned embodiment is 25 omitted. As shown in Fig. 5, the first sample moving device 142 configured to receive the sample 3a from the first sampling device 141 and move the sample 3a can communicate with: a first testing device 243 which is 30 the first testing means and which performs the oxygen adsorption test by holding the sample 3a collected by 27 the first sampling device 141 in an air-tight manner in an inside of the first testing device 243 filled with an air atmosphere being an oxygen containing atmosphere and maintained at a constant temperature (for example, 5 20°C); andthe first weighing device 144 which measures the weight of the sample 3a collected by the first sampling device 141, A pressure sensor 243a which is first pressure measuring means and which measures the pressure inside the first testing device 243 is 10 provided in the first testing device 243. Moreover, the second sample moving device 146 configured to receive the sample 7a from the second sampling device 145 and move the sample 7a can communicate with: a second testing device 247 which is 15 the second testing means and which performs the oxygen adsorption test by holding the sample 7a collected by the second sampling device 145 in an air-tight manner in an inside of the second testing device 247 filled with an air atmosphere being an oxygen containing 20 atmosphere and maintained at a constant temperature (for example, 20°C) ; and the second weighing device 148 which measures the weight of the sample 7a collected by the second sampling device 145. A pressure sensor 247a which is second pressure measuring means and which 25 measures the pressure inside the second testing device 247 is provided in the second testing device 247. The pressure sensors 243a, 247a are electrically connected to an input portion of an arithmetic control device 250 including a timer and the like, together with 30 the weighing devices 144, 148. An output portion of the arithmetic control device 250 is electrically 28 connected to the blowers 133, 135, the heater 134, the sampling devices 141, 145, and the sample moving devices 142, 146, together with the testing devices 243, 247. The arithmetic control device 250 can control 5 the operations of the sampling devices 141, 145, the sample moving devices 142, 146, the testing devices 243, 247, and the like on the basis of information from the timer and the like, and can also control the operations.of the blowers 133, 135, the heater 134, and 10 the like on the basis of information from the weighing devices 144, 148, the pressure sensors 243a, 247a, and the like (details will be described later) . In such an embodiment, the arithmetic control device 250 and the like are configured to serve as the 15 main arithmetic control means, the first sub-arithmetic control means, and the second sub-arithmetic control means. Next, operations of the aforementioned upgraded coal production equipment 200 of the embodiment are 20 described. When the low-rank coal 1 is supplied to the hopper Ilia of the pulverizer 111, like the upgraded coal production equipment 100 of the aforementioned embodiment, the upgraded coal production equipment 200 25 of the embodiment removes the moisture 2 from the low-rank coal 1 to produce the dry coal 3, performs pyrolysis on the dry coal 3 to produce the pyrolysis coal 6, and deactivates the pyrolysis coal 6 by heating the pyrolysis coal 6 with the processing gas 106 to 30 produce the upgraded coal 7, and stores the upgraded coal 7 in the storage tank 118. 29 Moreover, as in the aforementioned embodiment, the arithmetic control device 250 controls the operation of the first sampling device 141 such that the first sampling device 141 collects part of the dry coal 3 dried 5 by the drying device 112 from the conveyor 113 as the sample 3a (S201 in Fig. 6), and then controls the operation of the first sample moving device 142 such that the first sample moving device 142 receives the collected sample 3a from the first sampling device 141. 10 Next, as in the aforementioned embodiment, the arithmetic control device 250 controls the operation of the first sample moving device 142 such that the weight Wdl (g) of the sample 3a is measured by the first weighing device 144 (S202 in Fig. 6) , then controls the 15 operation of the first sample moving device 142 such that the measured sample 3a is sealed inside the first testing device 243, and measures an internal pressure Pdl (hPa) of the first testing device 243 before the oxygen adsorption test on the basis of information from 20 the pressure sensor 243a (S203 in Fig. 6). Next, after the oxygen adsorption test is performed (S204 in Fig. 6) by holding the sample 3a inside the first testing device 243 in an air-tight manner in the air atmosphere at the constant 25 temperature for a predetermined test time Td (min.) (for example, 10 minutes) on the basis of information from the timer, the arithmetic control device 250 measures an internal pressure Pd2 (hPa) of the first testing device 243 after the oxygen adsorption test on 30 the basis of information from the pressure sensor 243a (S205 in Fig. 6) , and controls the operation of the first 30 sample moving device 142 such that the first sample moving device 142 discharges the sample 3b subjected to the oxygen adsorption test from the inside of the first testing device 243 to the outside of the system. 5 When the weight Wdl of the sample 3a and the internal pressures Pdl, Pd2 of the first testing device 243 before and after the oxygen adsorption test are measured as described above, the arithmetic control device 250 calculates the oxygen adsorption rate Vd 10 (wt%/min. ) of the dry coal 3 from the following dry coal oxygen adsorption rate calculation formulae (21) , (22) on the basis of the weight Wdl and the internal pressures Pdl, Pd2 (S206 in Fig. 6) . Vd = Qd/(WdlxTd)xlOO (21) 15 In this formula, Qd represents an oxygen adsorption quantity (mmol-02/g-coal) of the dry coal 3 and is a value obtained from the following formula (22) . Qd = f{ (Pdl-Pd2) /1013 } 20 X{Cd- (Wdl/D) }] / (22.4xWdl) (22) In this formula, Cd represents the internal capacity (cm^) of the first testing device 243 and D represents the true density (g/cm^) of the low-rank coal 1. Cd and D are both values obtained in advance. 25 Moreover, as in the aforementioned embodiment, the arithmetic control device 250 controls the operation of the second sampling device 145 such that the second sampling device 145 collects part of the upgraded coal 7 deactivated in the deactivation processing device 130 30 from the conveyor 117 as the sample 7a (S207 in Fig. 6) , and then controls the operation of the second sample 31 moving device 146 such that the second sample moving device 146 receives the collected sample 7a from the second sampling device 145. Thereafter, as in the aforementioned embodiment^, 5 the arithmetic control device 250 controls the operation of the second sample moving device 146 such that the weight Wrl (g) of the sample 7a is measured bythe second weighing device 148 (S208 in Fig. 6), then controls the operation of the second sample moving 10 device 146 such that the sample 7a whose weight has been measured is sealed inside the second testing device 247, and measures an internal pressure Prl (hPa) of the second testing device 247 before the oxygen adsorption test on the basis of information from the pressure 15 sensor 247a (S209 in Fig. 6). Next, after the oxygen adsorption test is performed (S210 in Fig. 6) by holding the sample 7a inside the second testing device 247 in an air-tight manner in the air atmosphere at the constant 20 temperature for a predetermined test time Tr (min.) (for example, 10 minutes) on the basis of information from the timer, the arithmetic control device 250 measures an internal pressure Pr2 (hPa) of the second testing device 247 after the oxygen adsorption test on 25 the basis of information from the pressure sensor 247a (S211 in Fig. 6), and controls the operation of the second sample moving device 146 such that the second sample moving device 146 discharges the sample 7a subjected to the oxygen adsorption test from the inside 30 of the second testing device 247 to the outside of the system. 32 When the weight Wrl of the sample 7a and the internal pressures Prl, Pr2 of the second testing device 247 before and after the oxygen adsorption test are measured as described above, the arithmetic control 5 device 250 calculates the oxygen adsorption rate Vr (wt%/min.) of the upgraded coal 7 from the following upgraded coal oxygen adsorption rate calculation formula (23) on the basis of the weight Wrl and the internal pressures Prl, Pr2 (S212 in Fig. 6). 10 Vr = Qr/(WrlxTr)xiOO (23) In this formula, Qr represents an oxygen adsorption quantity (mmol-02/g-coal) of the upgraded coal 7 and is a value obtained from the following formula (24) . 15 Qr = [{(Prl-Pr2)/1013} x{Cr-(Wrl/D)}]/(22.4xWrl) (24) In this formula, Cr represents the internal capacity (cm^) of the second testing device 247 and is a value obtained in advance. 20 When the oxygen adsorption rate Vd of the dry coal 3 and the oxygen adsorption rate Vr of the upgraded coal 7 are obtained as described above, as in the aforementioned embodiment, the arithmetic control device 250 calculates the oxygen adsorption rate ratio 25 N from the oxygen adsorption rate ratio calculation formula (13) on the basis of the oxygen adsorption rates Vd, Vr (Sill in Fig. 6). Next, the arithmetic control device 250 performs steps S112 to S126 described above as in the 30 aforementioned embodiment (see Figs. 6 to 8) . 33 Then, as in the aforementioned embodiment, when the specific time Ts (for example, one hour) elapses from the collection of the upgraded coal 7 (S126 in Fig. 8) while the arithmetic control device 250 is 5 controllin.g the operations of the blowers 133, 135 and the heater 134 of the deactivation processing device 130 such that the deactivation processing is appropriately performed, as in steps S207 to S212 described above, the arithmetic control device 250 10 collects again part of the upgraded coal 7 newly deactivated in the deactivation processing device 130 as the sample 7an (S213 in Fig. 8), measures the weight Wrln (g) of the sample 7an before the oxygen adsorption test (S214 in Fig. 8), measures the internal pressure 15 Prln before the oxygen adsorption test of the second testing device 247 held in an air-tight manner in the air atmosphere at the constant temperature (S215 in Fig. 8), then performs the oxygen adsorption test on the sample 7an (S216 in Fig. 8), measures the internal 20 pressure Pr2n just after the oxygen adsorption test (S217 in Fig. 8) , and calculates a new oxygen adsorption rate Vrn (wt%/min.) of the upgraded coal 7 again from the following formula (25) similar to the formula (23) , on the basis of the weights Wrln and the internal 25 pressures PRln. Pr2n (S218 in Fig. 8). Vrn = Qrn/(WrlnxTr)xiOO (25) In this formula, Qrn is an oxygen adsorption quantity (mmol-02/g-coal) of the new upgraded coal 7 collected again and is a value obtained from the 30 following formula (26) similar to the formula (24). Qrn = [{ (Prln-Pr2n) /1013} 34 x{Cr-(Wrln/D) }]/(22.4xWrln) (26) Next, as in the aforementioned embodiment, the arithmetic control device 250 calculates the stability S from the formula (15) on the basis of the current 5 oxygen adsorption rate Vrn newly-obtained and the oxygen adsorption rate Vrn-i (Vr in this case) obtained just before the current oxygen adsorption rate Vrn (S132 in Fig. 8) . Then, as in the aforementioned embodiment, the 10 arithmetic control device 250 performs steps S133, S134 described above (see Fig. 8) . Hereafter, the arithmetic control device 2 50 controls the operations as in the aforementioned embodiment (see Figs. 6 to 8). Accordingly, in the upgraded coal production 15 equipment 200 of the embodiment, even when the composition of the low-rank coal 1 varies, the deactivation processing can be performed in a simple way under necessary and sufficient conditions corresponding to the composition of the low-rank coal 20 1, as in the upgraded coal production equipment 100 of the aforementioned embodiment. Hence, in the upgraded coal production equipment 200 of the embodiment, upgraded coal can be produced in a simple way at a low cost from the low-rank coal 25 1 of various compositions, as in the upgraded coal production equipment 100 of the aforementioned embodiment. 30 In the aforementioned embodiments, description is given of the upgraded coal production equipment 100, 35 200 including the pulverizer 111 and the cooling device 116. However, depending on the state of the low-rank coal 1 and various conditions such as pyrolysis conditions, the pulverizer 111 and the cooling device 5 116 can be omitted. Moreover, in the aforementioned embodiments, the arithmetic control device 150, 250 is configured to serve as the main arithmetic control means, the first sub-arithmetic control means, and the second 10 sub-arithmetic control means. However, as another embodiment, for example, the main arithmetic control means, the first sub-arithmetic control means, and the second sub-arithmetic control means may be configured to be independent from one another. 15 Moreover, in the embodiments described above, the first sample moving device 142 moves the sample 3a collected by the first sampling device 141 to the first weighing device 144 and the first testing device 143, 243, and the second sample moving device 146 moves the 20 sample 7a collected by the second sampling device 145 to the second weighing device 148 and the second testing device 147, 247. However, as another embodiment, for example, the sample 3a collected by the first sampling means and the sample 7a collected by the second sampling 25 means may be moved by the same sample moving means, a single weighing means may be configured to serve as the first weighing means and the second weighing means, and a single testing means may be configured to serve as the first testing means and second testing means. 30 Furthermore, in the aforementioned embodiments, the processing gas 106 having the predetermined oxygen 36 concentration is produced by mixing the nitrogen gas 105 and the air 104 together. However, as another embodiment, for example, the processing gas 106 having the predetermined oxygen concentration may be produced 5 by mixing the nitrogen gas 105 and oxygen gas together. However, producing the processing gas 106 having the predetermined oxygen concentration by mixing the nitrogen gas 105 and the air 104 together as in the aforementioned embodiments is very preferable because 10 there is no need to prepare the oxygen gas. Moreover, a nitrogen gas cylinder or the like prepared only for production of the processing gas 106 may be used as the nitrogen gas supply source 132 as a matter of course. Alternatively, for example, it is 15 possible to use pyrolysis gas (main component: nitrogen gas) which is sent out from the pyrolysis device performing the pyrolysis of the low-rank coal by using nitrogen gas supplied thereto and which is then subjected to removal of volatile components, dusts, and 20 the like. In this case, it is possible to reduce heat energy to be newly added to the processing gas 106 to perform the deactivation processing. Moreover, in the aforementioned embodiments, description is given of the case where the low-rank coal 25 1 is dried and subjected to the pyrolysis and then deactivated to produce the upgraded coal 7. However, the present invention is not limited to this case and can be applied to any case where raw-material coal is dried and subjected to the pyrolysis and then 30 deactivated to produce upgraded coal, as in the aforementioned embodiments. 37 Industrial Applicability Since the upgraded coal production equipment of the present invention can produce the upgraded coal by deactivating raw-material coal of various compositions in a simple way at low cost, the present invention can be very useful in industries. 38 We Claim: 10 15 20 25 30 Upgraded coal production equipment including: drying means for producing dry coal by removing moisture from raw-material coal; pyrolysis means for producing pyrolysis coal by performing pyrolysis on the dry coal; and deactivation processing means for producing upgraded coal by deactivating the pyrolysis coal by heating with processing gas containing oxygen, characterized in that the upgraded coal production equipment comprises: first oxygen adsorption rate measuring means for collecting part of the dry coal dried by the drying means and obtaining an oxygen adsorption rate Vd of the dry coal; second oxygen adsorption rate measuring means for collecting part of the upgraded coal deactivated in the deactivation processing means and obtaining an oxygen adsorption rate Vr of the upgraded coal; and main arithmetic control means for: calculating an oxygen adsorption rate ratio N from the following oxygen adsorption rate ratio calculation formula on the basis of the oxygen adsorption rates Vd, Vr; if the oxygen adsorption-rate ratio N is within a range of a standard value Ns, controlling the deactivation processing means such that a deactivation processing condition is maintained; if the oxygen adsorption rate ratio N is beyond the range of the standard value Ns, 39 10 15 20 25 reading, from a map, an additional oxygen concentration value Oa to be applied to the processing gas correspondingly to the oxygen adsorption rate ratio N, calculating a corrected oxygen concentration value Oc in the processing gas on the basis of the additional oxygen concentration value Oa and a present oxygen concentration value Op in the processing gas, and controlling the deactivation processing means such that the processing gas is set to the corrected oxygen concentration value Oc; if the oxygen adsorption rate ratio N is below the range of the standard value Ns, reading, from a map, a decrease oxygen concentration value Od to be applied to the processing gas correspondingly to the oxygen adsorption rate ratio N, calculating the corrected oxygen concentration value Oc in the processing gas on the basis of the decrease oxygen concentration value Od and the present oxygen concentration value Op in the processing gas, and controlling the deactivation processing means such that the processing gas is set to the corrected oxygen concentration value Oc, where "the oxygen adsorption rate ratio calculation formula is N = I(Vr-Vd)I/Vd. 30 The upgraded coal production equipment according to claim 1, characterized in that when the corrected oxygen concentration value Oc exceeds an upper limit value Ou, the main arithmetic 40 a control means reads, from a map, an additional temperature value Ta to be applied to the processing gas correspondingly to the oxygen adsorption rate ratio N, calculates a corrected temperature value Tc on the basis of the additional temperature value Ta and a present temperature value Tp in the processing gas, and controls the deactivation processing means such that the processing gas is set to the corrected temperature value Tc. 15 20 25 30 The upgraded coal production equipment according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the second oxygen adsorption rate measuring means obtains a new oxygen adsorption rate Vrn of the upgraded coal by collecting part of the upgraded coal deactivated in the deactivation processing means, and then, every time a specific time Ts elapses, collecting again part of the upgraded coal newly deactivated in the deactivation processing means, and the main arithmetic control means: calculates a stability S from the following stability calculation formula on the basis of the current oxygen adsorption rate Vrn newly obtained and the oxygen adsorption rate Vrn-1 obtained just before the current oxygen adsorption rate Vrn: if the stability S is within a range of a standard value Ss, recalculates the oxygen adsorption rate ratio N from the following oxygen adsorption rate ratio recalculation formula on the basis of the oxygen 41 adsorption rates Vd, Vrn; and compares the oxygen adsorption rate ratio N with the standard value Ns again^ where the stability calculation formula is 5 S = I(Vrn-Vrn-1) i/Vrn, and the oxygen adsorption rate ratio recalculation formula is N = 1(Vrn-Vd)|/Vd, 10 4. The upgraded coal production equipment according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that the first oxygen adsorption rate measuring means includes: first sampling means for collecting the 15 part of the dry coal dried by the drying means as a sampler- first testing means for performing an oxygen adsorption test by exposing the sample collected by the first sampling means to 20 oxygen containing gas at a test temperature for a test time Td; first weighing means for measuring a weight Wdl of the sample, collected by the first sampling means, before the oxygen 25 adsorption test and a weight Wd2 of the sample after the oxygen' adsorption test; and first sub-arithmetic control means for calculating the oxygen adsorption rate Vd of the dry coal from the following dry coal oxygen 30 adsorption rate calculation formula on the basis of the weights Wdl, Wd2 measured by the first weighing means, and the second oxygen adsorption rate measuring means includes: 5 second sampling means for collecting the part of the upgraded coal deactivated in the deactivation processing means as a sample; second testing means for performing an oxygen adsorption test by exposing the sample 10 collected by the second sampling means to oxygen containing gas at a test temperature for a test time Tr; second weighing means for measuring a weight Wrl of the sample, collected by the 15 second sampling means, before the oxygen adsorption test and a weight Wr2 of the sample after the oxygen adsorption test; and second sub-arithmetic control means for calculating the oxygen adsorption rate Vr of 20 the upgraded coal from the following upgraded coal oxygen adsorption rate calculation formula on the basis of the weights Wrl, Wr2 measured by the second weighing means, where the dry coal oxygen adsorption rate 25 calculation formula is Vd = (Wd2-Wdl)/(WdlxTd)xioo, and the upgraded coal oxygen adsorption rate calculation formula is Vr = (Wr2-Wrl)/(WrlxTr)xlOO. 30 10 15 20 25 30 The upgraded coal production equipment according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that the first oxygen adsorption rate measuring means includes: first sampling means for collecting the part of the dry coal dried by the drying means as a sample; first weighing means for measuring a weight Wdl of the sample collected by the first sampling means; first testing means for performing an oxygen adsorption test by holding the sample collected by the first sampling means in an air tight manner for a test time Td in an inside of the first testing means filled with an oxygen containing atmosphere and maintained at a constant temperatures-first pressure measuring means for measuring a pressure inside the first testing means; and first sub-arithmetic control means for calculating the oxygen adsorption rate Vd of the dry coal from the following dry coal oxygen adsorption rate calculation formula on the basis of the weight Wdl measured by the first weighing means as well as an internal pressure Pdl of the first testing means before the oxygen adsorption test and an internal pressure Pd2 of the first testing means just after the oxygen adsorption test which are measured by the first pressure measuring means with the inside of the first testing means held in the air tight manner while 44 10 15 20 25 30 being filled with the oxygen containing atmosphere and maintained at the constant temperature, the second oxygen adsorption rate measuring means includes: second sampling means for collecting the part of the upgraded coal deactivated in the deactivation processing means as a sampler-second weighing means for measuring a weight Wrl of the sample collected by the second sampling means; second testing means for performing the oxygen adsorption test by holding the sample collected by the second sampling means in an air tight manner for a test time Tr in an inside of the second testing means filled with an oxygen containing atmosphere and maintained at a constant temperature; second pressure measuring means for measuring a pressure inside the second testing means; and second sub-arithmetic control means for calculating the oxygen adsorption rate Vr of the upgraded coal from the following upgraded coal oxygen adsorption rate calculation formula on the basis of the weight Wrl measured by the second weighing means as well as an internal pressure Prl of the second testing means before the oxygen adsorption test and an internal pressure Pr2 of the second testing means just after the oxygen adsorption test which are measured by the second pressure measuring means with the inside of the second testing means held in the air tight manner while being filled with the oxygen containing 45 10 15 20 atmosphere and maintained at the constant temperature, where the dry coal oxygen adsorption rate calculation formula is Vd = Qd/(WdlxTd)xioo, and the upgraded coal oxygen adsorption rate calculation formula is Vr = Qr/(WrlxTr)xioo, where Qd represents an oxygen adsorption quantity of the dry coal and Qr represents an oxygen adsorption quantity of the upgraded coal, Qd and Qr being values obtained from the formulae shown below, Qd = [{(Pdl-Pd2)/1013} x{Cd-(Wdl/D)}]/(22.4xWdl), Qr = [{ (Prl-Pr2) /1013 } x{Cr-(Wrl/D)}]/(22.4xWrl), where Cd represents an internal capacity of the first testing means, Cr represents an internal capacity of the second testing means, and D represents a true density of the raw-material coal . 25 The upgraded coal production equipment according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that the raw-material coal is brown coal or subbiruminous coal. th Dated this IS^"" day of July, 2014 30

Documents