The General Electric Coal-Fueled Diesel Engine Program (1982–1993): A Technical Review

Abstract

In the early 1980s, General Electric—Transportation Systems (GE-TS), a manufacturer of locomotive diesel engines, announced plans to develop a coal-fueled locomotive due to the availability and low cost of coal. In 1985 and 1988, the General Electric Company (GE) was awarded major contracts from the Department of Energy, Morgantown Energy Technology Center, to continue the research and development of a coal-fueled diesel engine. This paper is a review of the technical accomplishments and discoveries of the GE coal-fueled diesel engine research and development program during the years 1982–1993. The results of an economic assessment completed by GE-TS indicated the merits for the development of a coal fueled diesel engine for locomotive applications and therefore, GE-TS embarked on an ambitious program to develop and commercialize a coal-fueled diesel engine. Among the major accomplishments of this program were the development of specialized fuel injection equipment for coal–water slurries, diamond compact inserts for the nozzle tips for wear resistance, and an integrated emissions control system. Over 500 hours of engine operation was accumulated using coal fuel during the duration of this program. A major milestone was attained when, during November and December 1991, a coal-fueled diesel engine powered a locomotive on the General Electric test track.

Development of a Charcoal Slurry for Compression Ignition Internal Combustion Engines

“…The bulk of this research was conducted in the 1980's and continued into the early 1990's. The US Department of Energy (DOE) funded several research grants centered on the development of liquid fuel slurries of coal particles (Caton and Hsu, 1994). The ultimate goal of this research was the development of a coal-water slurry that could replace No.…”

Analysis of Micronized Charcoal for Use in a Liquid Fuel Slurry

“…Many of these issues were resolved by using water as a carrier for the coal dust instead of air. The US Department of Energy funded several research grants aimed at developing usable coal-water slurries for diesel engines tied mainly to locomotives [5]. The culmination of this research suggested that the optimum slurry composition (mass basis) was 48% percent coal particles with an average size of 3 µm, 2% additives, and the balance water with less than one percent ash [5].…”

“…The US Department of Energy funded several research grants aimed at developing usable coal-water slurries for diesel engines tied mainly to locomotives [5]. The culmination of this research suggested that the optimum slurry composition (mass basis) was 48% percent coal particles with an average size of 3 µm, 2% additives, and the balance water with less than one percent ash [5]. Using larger coal particles decreased time to sedimentation and required agitation before use [6].…”

“…Engines running coal-water slurries exhibited component wear that was 2 to 20 times faster than identical engines running on No. 2 diesel fuel [5]. More recent studies have continued this research using other solid carbon sources such as carbon black from automotive tire waste and other petroleum based wastes [8][9][10][11][12].…”

Ultra clean coal production by microwave irradiation pretreatment and sequential leaching with HF followed by HNO3

“…UCC has various potential uses, such as serving as the carbon source for the silicon smelting industry [2]; replacing oil for the production of aromatic chemicals and materials [2]; producing a coal slurry fuel that can be used to replace oil combustion in diesel engines [3][4][5][6][7]; producing activated carbon used in filters for water and air purification; producing carbon fiber that is an extremely strong reinforcement material used in construction [8]; fabricating carbon anodes to replace petroleum coke [2]; and serving as the fuel for advanced power generation technologies, such as direct firing in gas turbines [9].…”