Raw fuel enters a pulverizer, a classifier returns coarse material for further grinding, and accepted fines travel in primary air toward a burner. Use the animation to follow those paths and compare four entered process values.
Feeding Pulverized Fuel Interactive Calculator
Explore pipe velocity, primary air/fuel ratio, fineness and outlet moisture alongside a diagram of the preparation and transport process.
Equation Used
- The diagram represents a generic direct-fired pulverizer/classifier arrangement, not a selected mill or boiler.
- Accepted fines are shown traveling with primary air from the classifier outlet toward a burner; coarse particles are shown returning to the mill.
- Particle size, spacing and speed in the drawing are illustrative.
- Operating assessment needs the actual fuel, air flow, equipment, piping and control conditions. The animation does not evaluate transport adequacy, ignition or explosion protection.
The four readouts are your entered values, not calculated operating limits.
Mill, classifier, return and burner path
Raw fuel enters the pulverizer. Air carries ground material upward to a classifier; oversized material returns for further grinding, while accepted fines leave through burner piping entrained in primary air.
The animation follows these connected paths. Particle tracks explain the process rather than predicting individual trajectories.
Using the process illustration
Use the diagram to identify where velocity, air/fuel ratio, fineness and moisture matter in the process. It does not determine suitable operating values for a particular mill, piping or burner.
What the readouts show
Each tile displays its corresponding input unchanged. The tool does not combine these quantities into a transport or combustion rating.
Example inputs
Entering 15 m/s, 1.60 kg/kg, 75% passing 200 mesh and 2.0% outlet moisture displays those same four values. The result makes no claim that they are suitable for any selected fuel, pipe, mill, classifier, burner or duty.
Assessing an actual installation
For an actual installation, assess fuel properties and mass flows together with pipe geometry, air pressure and temperature, mill and classifier performance, and burner requirements. Deposition, erosion, ignition protection and controls need system-specific analysis and manufacturer data.
Questions
Is a displayed value a safe range?
No. The page provides no acceptance thresholds.
Does particle motion predict conveying?
No. It is qualitative animation.
What happens to oversized material?
The classifier returns coarse material to the pulverizer for further grinding.
Process references
U.S. EPA AP-42, Section 1.1, describes pulverized coal being ground in a mill, entrained in primary air and fed through burners. The EPA Combustion Source Inspection: Student Reference Manual describes a classifier returning oversized particles to the pulverizer while accepted particles enter burner piping. They describe the process paths shown here; operating requirements depend on the installation.
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