Determining of drying characteristics for South Sumatera low-rank coal using solar and laboratory scaled oven

Abstract

South Sumatera is one of the provinces in Indonesia that has the largest coal reserve in Indonesia. Unfortunately, the type of coal is mostly in the low-rank coal. Through a national energy policy, the government of the Republic of Indonesia has set an increased consumption of coal for domestic use. The energy derived from coal will be increased approximately 33 percent of the total Indonesia energy consumption in 2025. Currently, approximately 70 percent of Indonesia's coal production is used by the State Electricity Company as fuel for power generation, 10 percent for the manufacturer of cement, and the rest for industrial and metallurgical processes. The low-rank coal, which contents a high moisture into solution be decreased firstly and then through drying process before using in industry. In the power generation industry, usually, low-rank coal is dried naturally in a closed stockpile before being used as fuel, and spontaneous ignition happens frequently. The results show a decrease in moisture content for solar drying and using laboratory scale oven. Solar drying depends on the solar radiation falling onto the surface, so coal drying depends on highly weather and time.