In the 1970s a market demand developed for an economical fuel oil replacement product. However in the current environment. of declining oil prices and excess oil supplies, most of these potential replacement products are uneconomical. Nevertheless there is one notable exception -- coal-water fuel (CWF) -- that has achieved commercial status.

This paper includes a summary of the five-year development program conducted by one of the major CWF suppliers. Technology development included determining the relationships between the coal and chemical additive properties and the desirable CWF characteristics. Process scale-up has now reached the 20 ton/hour (5000 gallons/hour) level. Specially designed burners have been developed for CWF that are also capable of operation with fuel oil.

The conversion of an industrial boiler from No. 6 oil firing to CWF firing and the operating results are presented as an example of the commercial applicability of CWF. Finally, a summary is presented of the economic considerations related to a decision to convert a boiler to CWF firing.

Units: I-P