AU2013201075B2 - Fluid bed drying apparatus, gasification combined power generating facility, and drying method - Google Patents

Abstract

Abstract There is provided a fluid bed drying apparatus including: a storage container for storing a wet fuel; a heating unit for heating the wet fuel stored in the storage container; a purging medium supply unit for supplying a purging medium for removing a non-condensable gas mixed with the wet fuel toward the wet fuel stored in the storage container and fluidizing the wet fuel by the supplied purging medium; and a drying container into which the wet fuel stored in the storage container is supplied and which fluidizes the supplied wet fuel by a fluidizing gas to form a fluid bed therein. FLUID BED DRYING BROWN APPARATUS FK) --- 41 CONTAINER 4 DRYING . . 46 FURNANCE 42 -45 5 PURGING MEDIUM SUPPLY PORTION 31--- 35 12a 12b 12c 8 11 DRY COAL GAS DISPERSION FLUIDIZING PLATE STEAM

Description

1 FLUID BED DRYING APPARATUS, GASIFICATION COMBINED POWER GENERATING FACILITY, AND DRYING METHOD CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS This application is based upon and claims the benefit of priority from Japanese Patent Application No. 2012 042232 filed February 28, 2012, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a fluid bed drying apparatus, a gasification combined power generating facility, and a drying method of drying a wet fuel such as brown coal in a flowing state. 2. Description of the Related Art There is conventionally known a fluid bed drying sorting machine which supplies sorted coarse pulverized coal (for example, see Japanese Patent Application Laid open No. 9-255968). In the fluid bed drying sorting machine, the coarse pulverized coal is supplied from a coal supply portion, and the supplied coarse pulverized coal is heated by a heating gas inside a fluid bed while flowing on a fluid bed dispersion plate, so that the coarse pulverized coal is dried. Incidentally, in a fluid bed drying apparatus which dries a wet fuel such as brown coal while the wet fuel is fluidized by a fluidizing gas, since a low-temperature wet fuel is supplied to the fuel supply side of the fluid bed drying apparatus, the aggregation of the wet fuel may easily occur. In particular, in a case where steam is used as the fluidizing gas, since the fuel supply side of the fluid bed drying apparatus decreases in temperature, 2 condensed water is produced by the condensation of the steam, and the wet fuel is easily aggregated by the condensed water. When the wet fuel is aggregated, the wet fuel may not easily flow inside the fluid bed drying apparatus, so that the wet fuel may not flow satisfactorily. Further, there is a case in which the latent heat of the steam discharged from the fluid bed drying apparatus is collected for use. At this time, when a non-condensable gas such as air including nitrogen is mixed with the discharged steam, the amount of the latent heat which is collected from the steam decreases by the amount in which the non-condensable gas decreases, and hence the latent heat collection efficiency may not be easily improved. Any discussion of the prior art throughout the specification should in no way be considered as an admission that such prior art is widely known or forms part of common general knowledge in the field. Unless the context clearly requires otherwise, throughout the description and the claims, the words "comprise", "comprising", and the like are to be construed in an inclusive sense as opposed to an exclusive or exhaustive sense; that is to say, in the sense of "including, but not limited to". SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a fluid bed drying apparatus including: a storage container for storing a wet fuel; a heating unit for heating the wet fuel stored in the storage container; a purging medium supply unit for supplying a purging medium for removing a non condensable gas mixed with the wet fuel toward the wet fuel stored in the storage container and fluidizing the wet fuel by the supplied purging medium; and a drying container into which 2a the wet fuel stored in the storage container is supplied and which fluidizes the supplied wet fuel by a fluidizing gas to form a fluid bed therein. According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a gasification combined power generating facility including: the fluid bed drying apparatus according to the first aspect; a gasification furnace for treating the dried wet fuel supplied from the fluid bed drying apparatus so that the dried wet fuel is changed into 3 a gasifying gas; a gas turbine which is operated by using the gasifying gas as a fuel; a steam turbine which is operated by steam produced by an exhausted heat recovery boiler into which a turbine flue gas is introduced from the gas turbine; and a generator which is connected to the gas turbine and the steam turbine. According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided a drying method including: storing a supplied wet fuel; heating the stored wet fuel; supplying a purging medium for purging a non-condensable gas mixed with the wet fuel toward the stored wet fuel and fluidizing the wet fuel by the supplied purging medium; and drying the wet fuel, subjected to the fuel heating and the purging, while fluidizing the wet fuel by a fluidizing gas. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of a coal gasification combined power generating facility which adopts a fluid bed drying apparatus according to a first embodiment; FIG. 2 is a schematic configuration diagram roughly illustrating the fluid bed drying apparatus according to the first embodiment; FIG. 3 is a schematic configuration diagram roughly illustrating a fluid bed drying apparatus according to a second embodiment; FIG. 4 is a schematic configuration diagram roughly illustrating a purging medium supply portion according to a first modified example; FIG. 5 is a schematic configuration diagram roughly illustrating a purging medium supply portion according to a second modified example; FIG. 6 is a schematic configuration diagram roughly 4 illustrating a purging medium supply portion according to a third modified example; FIG. 7 is a schematic configuration diagram roughly illustrating a purging medium supply portion according to a fourth modified example; FIG. 8 is a graph illustrating an intermittent ejection operation of a purging medium supply portion according to a fifth modified example; and FIG. 9 is a schematic configuration diagram roughly illustrating a fluid bed drying apparatus according to a third embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, a fluid bed drying apparatus, a gasification combined power generating facility, and a drying method according to the invention will be described by referring to the accompanying drawings. Further, the components in the following embodiments include a component which may be easily replaced by the person skilled in the art or a component which has substantially the same configuration. It is an object of embodiments of the present invention to provide a fluid bed drying apparatus and a drying method capable of appropriately fluidizing a wet fuel and efficiently collecting latent heat of discharged steam by suppressing aggregation of a wet fuel and suppressing mixture of a non-condensable gas. [First embodiment] Fig. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of a coal gasification combined power generating facility which adopts a fluid bed drying apparatus according to a first embodiment. A coal gasification combined power generating facility (IGCC: Integrated Coal Gasification Combined 5 Cycle) 100 which adopts an air combustion system in which a coal gas is produced in a gasification furnace by using air as an oxidation agent, and supplies the coal gas purified by a gas purification device as a fuel gas to a gas turbine facility so as to generate power. That is, the coal gasification combined power generating facility 100 of the first embodiment is a power generating facility of an air combustion type (air blow). In this case, brown coal is used as wet fuel to be supplied to the gasification furnace. Furthermore, in the first embodiment, brown coal is employed as the wet fuel, but when a high water content is ensured, low-grade coal including sub-bituminous coal or peat such as sludge may be also employed. Further, high grade coal may be also employed. Further, the wet fuel is not limited to coal such as brown coal, and biomass which is used as a renewable biological organic resource may be employed. For example, thinned wood, waste wood, driftwood, grass, waste, mud, a tire, and recycled fuel (pellet or chip) produced therefrom. In the first embodiment, as illustrated in Fig. 1, the coal gasification combined power generating facility 100 includes a coal supply device 111, the fluid bed drying apparatus 1, a coal pulverizer 113, a coal gasification furnace 114, a char recovery unit 115, a gas purification device 116, a gas turbine facility 117, a steam turbine facility 118, a generator 119, and an exhausted heat recovery boiler (HRSG: Heat Recovery Steam Generator) 120. The coal supply device 111 includes a raw coal bunker 121, a coal feeder 122, and a crusher 123. The raw coal bunker 121 can store brown coal, and inputs a predetermined amount of brown coal into the coal feeder 122. The coal feeder 122 conveys the brown coal input from the raw coal bunker 121 by a conveyor or the like, and inputs the brown 6 coal into the crusher 123. The crusher 123 crushes the input brown coal finely so that the brown coal becomes grains. Although it will be described below, the fluid bed drying apparatus 1 removes the moisture content included in the brown coal by drying the brown coal input from the coal supply device 111 while the brown coal flows by a fluidizing gas. The fluid bed drying apparatus 1 is connected with a cooler 131 which cools the dry brown coal (the dry coal) discharged therefrom. The cooler 131 is connected with a dry coal bunker 132 which stores the cooled dry coal. Further, the fluid bed drying apparatus 1 is connected with a dry coal cyclone 133 and an electric dry coal dust collector 134 as a dust collecting device 139 which separates dry coal particles from the exhaust gas discharged to the outside. The particles of the dry coal separated from the exhaust gas in the dry coal cyclone 133 and the electric dry coal dust collector 134 are stored in the dry coal bunker 132. Furthermore, the exhaust gas from which the dry coal is separated by the electric dry coal dust collector 134 is compressed by a steam compressor 135 and is used as various heat sources. A coal pulverizer 113 produces pulverized coal by crushing the brown coal (the dry coal) dried by the fluid bed drying apparatus 1 into fine particles. That is, when the dry coal stored in the dry coal bunker 132 is input to the coal pulverizer 113 by a coal feeder 136, the coal pulverizer pulverizes the dry coal into pulverized coal having a predetermined particle diameter or less. Then, the pulverized coal which is pulverized by the coal pulverizer 113 is separated from the carrier gas by pulverized coal bag filters 137a and 137b and is stored in pulverized coal supply hoppers 138a and 138b.

7 To the coal gasification furnace 114, the pulverized coal which is processed by the coal pulverizer 113 is supplied and char (the unburned portion of coal) which is collected by the char recovery unit 115 is supplied. The coal gasification furnace 114 is connected with a compressed air supply line 141 from the gas turbine facility 117 (compressor 161), so that the air compressed by the gas turbine facility 117 may be supplied thereto. The air separating device 142 is used to produce separate nitrogen and oxygen from the air in the atmosphere, a first nitrogen supply line 143 is connected to the coal gasification furnace 114, and the first nitrogen supply line 143 is connected with coal supply lines 144a and 144b from the pulverized coal supply hoppers 138a and 138b. Further, the second nitrogen supply line 145 is also connected to the coal gasification furnace 114, and the second nitrogen supply line 145 is connected with a char return line 146 from the char recovery unit 115. Further, an oxygen supply line 147 is connected to the compressed air supply line 141. In this case, the nitrogen is used as a carrier gas for the coal and the char, and the oxygen is used as an oxidation agent. The coal gasification furnace 114 is, for example, an entrained bed gasification furnace, and is used to burn and gasify the coal, the char, air (the oxygen), or the steam as the gasifying agent supplied thereinto and generates a combustible gas (a product gas and a coal gas) mainly including carbon dioxide, so that a gasification reaction occurs using the combustible gas as a gasifying agent. Furthermore, the coal gasification furnace 114 is provided with a foreign matter removing device 148 which removes foreign matter mixed with the pulverized coal. In this case, the coal gasification furnace 114 is not limited to 8 the entrained bed gasification furnace, and may be also a fluid bed gasification furnace or a fixed bed gasification furnace. Then, in the coal gasification furnace 114, a combustible gas generation line 149 is installed toward the char recovery unit 115, so that the combustible gas including the char may be discharged therethrough. In this case, the gas generation line 149 may be provided with a gas cooler, and the combustible gas may be cooled to a predetermined temperature and be supplied to the char recovery unit 115. The char recovery unit 115 includes a dust collecting device 151 and a supply hopper 152. In this case, the dust collecting device 151 includes one or plural bag filters or cyclones, and hence may separate the char included in the combustible gas produced by the coal gasification furnace 114. Then, the combustible gas from which the char is separated is sent to the gas purification device 116 through a gas discharge line 153. The supply hopper 152 is used to store the char separated from the combustible gas in the dust collecting device 151. Furthermore, a bin may be disposed between the dust collecting device 151 and the supply hopper 152 and a plurality of the supply hoppers 152 may be connected to the bin. Then, the char return line 146 from the supply hopper 152 is connected to the second nitrogen supply line 145. The gas purification device 116 performs gas purification on the combustible gas from which the char is separated by the char recovery unit 115 by removing impurities such as a sulfur compound or a nitrogen compound. Then, the gas purification device 116 produces a fuel gas by purifying the combustible gas and supplies the result to the gas turbine facility 117. Furthermore, in the gas purification device 116, since a sulfur content (t2S) is 9 still included in the combustible gas from which the char is separated, the sulfur content is finally collected as gypsum by the removal using amines absorbent and is effectively used. The gas turbine facility 117 includes the compressor 161, a combustor 162, and a turbine 163, and the compressor 161 and the turbine 163 are connected to each other by a rotary shaft 164. The combustor 162 is connected with a compressed air supply line 165 from the compressor 161, and is connected with a fuel gas supply line 166 from the gas purification device 116, so that the turbine 163 is connected with a combustion gas supply line 167. Further, the gas turbine facility 117 is provided with the compressed air supply line 141 which extends from the compressor 161 to the coal gasification furnace 114, and the compressed air supply line 141 is provided with a booster 168. Accordingly, in the combustor 162, the compressed air supplied from the compressor 161 is mixed with the fuel gas supplied from the gas purification device 116 and is burned. Thus, in the turbine 163, the generator 119 may be driven by rotating the rotary shaft 164 by the produced combustion gas. The steam turbine facility 118 includes a turbine 169 which is connected to the rotary shaft 164 in the gas turbine facility 117, and the generator 119 is connected to the base end of the rotary shaft 164. The exhausted heat recovery boiler 120 is provided in a flue gas line 170 from the gas turbine facility 117 (the turbine 163), and is used to produce steam by the heat exchange between air and the high-temperature flue gas. For this reason, a steam supply line 171 and a steam recovery line 172 are provided between the exhausted heat recovery boiler 120 and the turbine 169 of the steam turbine facility 118, and a condenser 173 is 10 provided in the steam recovery line 172. Accordingly, in the steam turbine facility 118, the turbine 169 is driven by the steam supplied from the exhausted heat recovery boiler 120, and the generator 119 may be driven by the rotation of the rotary shaft 164. Then, the flue gas of which the heat is collected in the exhausted heat recovery boiler 120 passes through the gas purification device 174 so as to remove a toxic material therefrom, and the purified flue gas is discharged from a stack 175 to the atmosphere. Here, an operation of the coal gasification combined power generating facility 100 of the first embodiment will be described. According to the coal gasification combined power generating facility 100 of the first embodiment, in the coal supply device 111, the raw coal (brown coal) is stored in the raw coal bunker 121, and the brown coal of the raw coal bunker 121 is input to the crusher 123 by the coal feeder 122 so that the brown coal is pulverized into a predetermined size. Then, the pulverized brown coal is heated and dried by the fluid bed drying apparatus 1, is cooled by the cooler 131, and is stored in the dry coal bunker 132. Further, the steam which is extracted from the upper portion of the fluid bed drying apparatus 1 passes through the dry coal cyclone 133 and the electric dry coal dust collector 134 so that the particles of the dry coal are separated, and the result is compressed by the steam compressor 135, so that the dry coal is used as various heat sources. Meanwhile, the particles of the dry coal separated from the steam are stored in the dry coal bunker 132. The dry coal which is stored in the dry coal bunker 132 is input to the coal pulverizer 113 by the coal feeder 11 136. Here, the dry coal is pulverized into fine particles to thereby produce the pulverized coal, and is stored in the pulverized coal supply hoppers 138a and 138b through the pulverized coal bag filters 137a and 137b. The pulverized coal which is stored in the pulverized coal supply hoppers 138a and 138b is supplied to the coal gasification furnace 114 through the first nitrogen supply line 143 by the nitrogen supplied from the air separating device 142. Further, the char which is collected by the char recovery unit 115 to be described later is supplied to the coal gasification furnace 114 through the second nitrogen supply line 145 by the nitrogen supplied from the air separating device 142. Further, the compressed air which is extracted from the gas turbine facility 117 to be described later is boosted by the booster 168, and is supplied to the coal gasification furnace 114 through the compressed air supply line 141 along with the oxygen supplied from the air separating device 142. In the coal gasification furnace 114, the supplied pulverized coal and char are burned by the compressed air (the oxygen), and the pulverized coal and the char are gasified, thereby producing the combustible gas (the coal gas) mainly including carbon dioxide. Then, the combustible gas is discharged from the coal gasification furnace 114 through the gas generation line 149 and is sent to the char recovery unit 115. In the char recovery unit 115, the combustible gas is first supplied to the dust collecting device 151, and the dust collecting device 151 separates the char included in the combustible gas. Then, the combustible gas from which the char is separated is sent to the gas purification device 116 through the gas discharge line 153. Meanwhile, the fine char which is separated from the combustible gas 12 is deposited on the supply hopper 152, and is returned to the coal gasification furnace 114 through the char return line 146 so as to be recovered. The combustible gas from which the char is separated by the char recovery unit 115 passes through the gas purification device 116 so that impurities such as a sulfur compound or a nitrogen compound are removed and the gas is purified, thereby producing a fuel gas. Then, in the gas turbine facility 117, when the compressor 161 produces the compressed air and supplies the compressed air to the combustor 162, the combustor 162 mixes the compressed air supplied from the compressor 161 with the fuel gas supplied from the gas purification device 116 and burns the mixed result to thereby produce a combustion gas. Then, the turbine 163 is driven by the combustion gas, and the generator 119 is driven through the rotary shaft 164, thereby generating power. Then, the flue gas which is discharged from the turbine 163 in the gas turbine facility 117 exchanges heat with air in the exhausted heat recovery boiler 120 so as to produce water vapor, and the produced water vapor is supplied to the steam turbine facility 118. In the steam turbine facility 118, the turbine 169 is driven by the steam supplied from the exhausted heat recovery boiler 120, and hence power may be generated by driving the generator 119 through the rotary shaft 164. Subsequently, in the gas purification device 174, the flue gas which is purified by removing the toxic material of the flue gas discharged from the exhausted heat recovery boiler 120 is discharged to the atmosphere from the stack 175. Hereinafter, the fluid bed drying apparatus 1 of the coal gasification combined power generating facility 100 13 will be described in detail. FIG. 2 is a schematic configuration diagram roughly illustrating the fluid bed drying apparatus according to the first embodiment. The fluid bed drying apparatus 1 of the first embodiment is used to heat and dry the brown coal input by the coal supply device 111 while the brown coal is fluidized by the fluidizing gas. As illustrated in FIG. 2, the fluid bed drying apparatus 1 includes a drying furnace 5 into which brown coal is supplied. The drying furnace 5 includes a storage container 6 and a drying container 7. The drying container 7 is formed in a rectangular box shape, and the brown coal which is supplied thereinto flows in the flow direction from one end side (the left side in the drawing) toward the other end side (the right side in the drawing). The drying container 7 has therein a gas dispersion plate 8. The gas dispersion plate 8 divides the space inside the drying container 7 into a wind chamber 11 which is positioned at the lower side (the lower side in the drawing) in the vertical direction and a drying chamber 12 which is positioned at the upper side (the upper side in the drawing) in the vertical direction. The gas dispersion plate 8 is provided with a plurality of penetration holes, and fluidizing steam is introduced into the wind chamber 11. Further, the drying container 7 has therein a plurality of dividing plates 9. The plurality of dividing plates 9 divide the drying chamber 12 into a plurality of chambers in the flow direction of the brown coal. In the first embodiment, there are provided two dividing plates 9, and there are provided three drying chambers 12, that is, an upstream drying chamber 12a in the flow direction, a middle drying chamber 12b in the flow direction, and a downstream drying chamber 12c in the flow direction.

14 The drying container 7 is provided with a brown coal input port 31 through which the brown coal is input, a dry coal discharge port 34 through which dry coal obtained by drying the brown coal is discharged, and a steam discharge port 35 through which fluidizing steam and steam produced in the drying process are discharged. The brown coal input port 31 is formed at the upper portion of the upstream drying chamber 12a. The storage container 6 is connected to the brown coal input port 31, and the brown coal which is supplied from the storage container 6 is supplied to the upstream drying chamber 12a. The dry coal discharge port 34 is formed at the lower portion of the other end side (the right side in the drawing) of the downstream drying chamber 12c. The brown coal which is dried in the drying chamber 12 is discharged as dry coal from the dry coal discharge port 34, and the discharged dry coal is supplied toward the cooler 131. The steam discharge port 35 is formed at the upper portion on the other end side of the downstream drying chamber 12c. The steam discharge port 35 discharges the steam produced by heating the brown coal along with the fluidizing steam supplied to the drying chamber 12 when drying the brown coal. Furthermore, the fluidizing steam and the produced steam which are discharged from the steam discharge port 35 are supplied toward the dust collecting device 139, and are supplied to the steam compressor 135. Accordingly, the brown coal which is supplied to the upstream drying chamber 12a through the brown coal input port 31 is fluidized by the fluidizing steam supplied through the gas dispersion plate 8, so that a fluid bed 3 is formed from the upstream drying chamber 12a to the downstream drying chamber 12c and a freeboard F is formed above the fluid bed 3. The flow direction of the fluid bed 15 3 which is formed in the drying chamber 12 becomes a direction from one end side toward the other end side of the drying chamber 12. Then, the brown coal which is supplied to the upstream drying chamber 12a is dried while flowing in the flow direction, so that the water content included in the brown coal becomes the produced steam and is discharged from the steam discharge port 35 along with the fluidizing steam. The brown coal from which the water content is removed and which flows to the downstream drying chamber 12c is discharged as the dry coal from the dry coal discharge port 34. Furthermore, although not illustrated in the drawings, a heat transfer pipe may be provided inside the fluid bed 3, and the brown coal of the fluid bed 3 may be heated by the heat transfer pipe. The storage container 6 is provided at the upper side in the vertical direction on the upstream side of the flow direction of the drying container 7, and is connected to the brown coal input port 31. Specifically, the storage container 6 is formed in a rectangular box shape, is provided directly above the upstream drying chamber 12a, and communicates with the drying container 7. The storage container 6 is provided with a brown coal supply port 39 and a gas discharge port 40. The brown coal supply port 39 is formed at the upper portion of the storage container 6. The coal supply device 111 is connected to the brown coal supply port 39, and the brown coal which is supplied from the coal supply device 111 is supplied into the storage container 6. The gas discharge port 40 is formed at the upper portion of the storage container 6. The purging steam and the non-condensable gas which are supplied to the storage container 6 are discharged from the gas discharge port 40. The storage container 6 has therein a heating pipe (a 16 heating unit) 41 and a purging medium supply portion (a purging medium supply unit) 42. The purging medium supply portion 42 includes a plurality of purging pipes 45, and the purging steam as the purging medium is supplied toward each purging pipe 45. The plurality of purging pipes 45 are provided at a predetermined interval in parallel to one another on the plane so that the pipe axial direction becomes the horizontal direction. Each purging pipe 45 is provided with a plurality of ejection holes 46, and ejects the purging steam supplied into the pipe. The ejection holes 46 are formed so as to eject the purging steam upward. Furthermore, the ejection holes 46 may be formed so as to eject the purging steam downward, and the invention is not limited to the above-described configuration. Then, the brown coal which is supplied from the coal supply device 111 is stored above the plurality of purging pipes 45. That is, a distance is formed between the plurality of purging pipes 45 so that the brown coal may be stored therein and the brown coal may pass therethrough. The heating pipe 41 is provided inside the brown coal which is stored above the plurality of purging pipes 45. A heating gas is supplied to the heating pipe 41, and heats the stored brown coal. As the heating gas, the exhausted heat from the coal gasification combined power generating facility 100 or the exhausted heat from the fluid bed drying apparatus 1 is desirable. Furthermore, the heating pipe 41 becomes a temperature at which the brown coal may be preheated to 1000C, and specifically, the temperature becomes a temperature at which the brown coal having a normal temperature of 20*C may be preheated to 600C to 100'C. Accordingly, the brown coal which is supplied from the coal supply device 111 is stored above the plurality of purging pipes 45 (a fuel storing process). The stored 17 brown coal is heated by the heating pipe 41 while being fluidized by the purging steam ejected from each purging pipe 45 (a fuel heating process and a purging process). At this time, a part of the steam which is produced in the drying container 7 which is directly positioned below the purging pipes also flows as the purging steam into the storage container 6. Thus, the purging steam ejected from each purging pipe 45 and the purging steam flowing from the drying container 7 expel a non-condensable gas such as air mixed with the brown coal from the gas discharge port 40 while fluidizing the brown coal, thereby removing the non condensable gas. Further, the brown coal which is fluidized by the purging steam is heated by the heating pipe 41, so that the brown coal is preheated to a predetermined preheating temperature. Then, the brown coal which is preheated in a flowing state passes (drops) between the plurality of purging pipes 45 due to the own weight, is input toward the upstream drying chamber 12a of the drying container 7, and is dried by the drying container 7 (a drying process). In this way, according to the configuration of the first embodiment, the brown coal may be heated by the heating pipe 41 in the storage container 6 before the brown coal is supplied to the drying container 7. Further, the mixed non-condensable gas may be removed by fluidizing the brown coal using the purging steam supplied from the purging medium supply portion 42. For this reason, since the heated brown coal is supplied to the drying container 7, the temperature at the brown coal supply side (the upstream side in the flow direction) in the drying container 7 may be increased, and hence the aggregation of the brown coal may not easily occur. Further, since the brown coal from which the non-condensable gas is removed is supplied to the 18 drying container 7, it is possible to suppress the mixture of the non-condensable gas inside the fluid bed drying apparatus 1. Thus, in a case where the steam which is discharged from the fluid bed drying apparatus 1 is used, it is possible to efficiently collect the latent heat of the steam by the amount in which the mixture of the non condensable gas may be suppressed. Further, according to the configuration of the first embodiment, since the steam which is produced by the drying container 7 may flow into the storage container 6, the steam which is produced by the drying container 7 may be utilized as the purging steam. For this reason, it is possible to decrease the amount of the purging steam supplied from the purging medium supply portion 42 and hence to efficiently remove the non-condensable gas. [Second embodiment] Next, a fluid bed drying apparatus 200 according to a second embodiment will be described by referring to FIG. 3. FIG. 3 is a schematic configuration diagram roughly illustrating the fluid bed drying apparatus according to the second embodiment. Furthermore, in the second embodiment, the difference from the first embodiment will be described so as to prevent the repetitive description, and the same component as that of the first embodiment will be denoted by the same letter or numeral. In the fluid bed drying apparatus 1 according to the first embodiment, the brown coal which is supplied from the coal supply device 111 is stored in the storage container 6. However, in the fluid bed drying apparatus 200 according to the second embodiment, the storage container 6 is integrated with a storage container 201 which stores the brown coal. Hereinafter, the fluid bed drying apparatus 200 according to the second embodiment will be described.

19 As illustrated in FIG. 3, in the fluid bed drying apparatus 200 of the second embodiment, the storage container 201 is a container which stores the brown coal supplied from the coal supply device ill. The lower end of the storage container 201 is connected to the upper end of the storage container 6, so that the storage container 201 communicates with the storage container 6. At this time, the brown coal supply port 39 and the gas discharge port 40 are provided at the upper portion of the storage container 201. In this way, according to the configuration of the second embodiment, the brown coal which is supplied from the coal supply device 111 is stored above the plurality of purging pipes 45. At this time, the brown coal is stored in the storage container 6 and the storage container 201. Accordingly, since the brown coal may be stored by integrating the storage container 201 with the storage container 6, the configuration may be simplified. Furthermore, in the first embodiment and the second embodiment, the plurality of purging pipes 45 are arranged at the same interval on the plane, but the invention is not limited to the configuration. For example, a first modified example illustrated in FIG. 4 may be employed. FIG. 4 is a schematic configuration diagram roughly illustrating a purging medium supply portion according to the first modified example. In the purging medium supply portion 42 of the first modified example, the plurality of purging pipes 45 are arranged so that the pipe axial direction becomes the horizontal direction, and are arranged in parallel at a predetermined interval on one horizontal plane. Further, in the plurality of purging pipes 45, a gap which is larger than the predetermined interval is formed at the center portion in the direction 20 in which the plurality of purging pipes 45 are arranged in parallel. For this reason, the plurality of purging pipes 45 are provided at both sides of the storage container 6 by forming a gap at the center portion of the storage container 6. According to the configuration of the first modified example, since the brown coal which is fluidized by the purging steam drops from the gap at the center portion of the storage container 6 toward the drying container 7 by the own weight, the plurality of purging pipes 45 may appropriately guide the brown coal. Further, in the first embodiment and the second embodiment, the plurality of purging pipes 45 are arranged at the same interval on the horizontal plane, but the invention is not limited to the configuration. For example, a second modified example illustrated in FIG. 5 may be employed. FIG. 5 is a schematic configuration diagram roughly illustrating a purging medium supply portion according to the second modified example. In the purging medium supply portion 42 of the second modified example, the plurality of purging pipes 45 are respectively arranged on two horizontal planes adjacent to each other in the vertical direction so that the pipe axial direction becomes the horizontal direction, and are arranged in parallel at a predetermined interval on each horizontal plane. Further, in the plurality of purging pipes 45, the plurality of purging pipes 45 at the upper-stage horizontal plane and the plurality of purging pipes 45 at the lower-stage horizontal plane are arranged in zigzag in the cross section (in the perpendicular cross-sectional view) of the plane perpendicular to the pipe axial direction. According to the configuration of the second modified example, since the plurality of purging pipes 45 may appropriately disperse the brown coal when the stored brown coal passes 21 through the plurality of purging pipes 45 which are arranged in zigzag, it is possible to appropriately remove the non-condensable gas which is mixed with the brown coal ejected from the plurality of purging pipes 45 by the purging steam. Further, in the first embodiment and the second embodiment, the plurality of purging pipes 45 are arranged in parallel at the same interval on the horizontal plane, but the configuration is not limited thereto. For example, a third modified example illustrated in FIG. 6 may be employed. FIG. 6 is a schematic configuration diagram roughly illustrating a purging medium supply portion according to the third modified example. In the purging medium supply portion 42 of the third modified example, the plurality of purging pipes 45 are arranged in parallel at the same interval on the horizontal plane. Further, a mesh member 205 is provided above the plurality of purging pipes 45. The mesh member 205 is provided on the entire area on the horizontal plane of the storage container 6 so as to define the upper side and the lower side of the storage container 6, so that the brown coal supplied to the storage container 6 may be stored therein and the brown coal may pass therethrough. According to the configuration of the third modified example, since the brown coal is stored on the mesh member 205, it is possible to reduce the load applied to the plurality of purging pipes 45. Further, in the first embodiment and the second embodiment, the purging steam is supplied by using the plurality of purging pipes 45, but the invention is not limited the configuration. For example, a fourth modified example illustrated in FIG. 7 may be employed. FIG. 7 is a schematic configuration diagram roughly illustrating a purging medium supply portion according to the fourth 22 modified example. The purging medium supply portion 42 of the fourth modified example includes a purging wind chamber 210, and the purging steam is supplied toward the purging wind chamber 210. The purging wind chamber 210 is provided in the entire area on the horizontal plane of the storage container 6 so as to define the upper side and the lower side of the storage container 6. The upper portion of the purging wind chamber 210 is provided with a plurality of ejection holes 211, and the purging steam which is supplied into the purging wind chamber 210 is ejected therefrom. The ejection holes 211 are formed so as to eject the purging steam upward. Further, the purging wind chamber 210 is provided with a plurality of penetration holes 212 which are formed in the vertical direction so as to penetrate therethrough. Then, the brown coal which is supplied from the coal supply device 111 is stored above the purging wind chamber 210, so that the stored brown coal passes through the penetration holes 212 and is input to the drying container 7. According to the configuration of the fourth modified example, since the brown coal is stored on the purging wind chamber 210, the stored brown coal may be appropriately supported. Further, in the first embodiment and the second embodiment, the purging steam is supplied from the plurality of purging pipes 45, but the invention is not limited to the configuration. For example, a fifth modified example illustrated in FIG. 8 may be employed. FIG. 8 is a graph illustrating an intermittent ejection operation of the purging medium supply portion according to the fifth modified example. In the purging medium supply portion 42 of the fifth modified example, the purging steam is supplied toward each purging pipe 45 so that the amount of the purging steam ejected from the ejection hole 46 of 23 each purging pipe 45 changes in response to a predetermined cycle. For example, in P1 illustrated in FIG. 8, the purging steam ejection amount changes at a predetermined time between zero and a predetermined ejection amount. Further, for example, in P2 illustrated in FIG. 8, the purging steam ejection amount changes at a predetermined time between a small ejection amount and a large ejection amount. According to the configuration of the fifth modified example, since the purging steam supply amount may be intermittently changed, the brown coal which is stored in the storage container 6 may be appropriately fluidized. [Third embodiment] Next, a fluid bed drying apparatus 220 according to a third embodiment will be described by referring to FIG. 9. FIG. 9 is a schematic configuration diagram roughly illustrating the fluid bed drying apparatus according to the third embodiment. Furthermore, even in the third embodiment, the difference from the first embodiment will be described so as to prevent the repetitive description, and the same component as that of the first embodiment will be denoted by the same letter or numeral. In the fluid bed drying apparatus 1 according to the first embodiment, the brown coal which is stored in the storage container 6 is heated by the heating pipe 41 while being fluidized by the purging steam, drops between the plurality of purging pipes 45 due to the own weight, and is input to the drying container 7. However, in the fluid bed drying apparatus 220 according to the third embodiment, the brown coal of the storage container 221 is heated by the heating unit while the brown coal is moved by a screw feeder 222 and is fluidized by the purging steam, and is input to the drying container 7. Hereinafter, the fluid bed drying apparatus 220 according to the third embodiment will be described.

24 As illustrated in FIG. 9, the fluid bed drying apparatus 220 includes the drying furnace 5 into which the brown coal is supplied. The drying furnace 5 includes the storage container 221 and the drying container 7. Since the drying container 7 has the same configuration as that of the first embodiment and 2, the description thereof will not be repeated. The storage container 221 is formed in a cylindrical direction of which the horizontal direction becomes the axial direction, and the other end side (the right side in the drawing) of the storage container 221 is connected to one end side (the left side in the drawing) of the drying container 7 by a communication pipe 225. The outer peripheral side of the storage container 221 is provided with a heating gas flow passage (a heating unit) 226 through which a heating gas flows, and the storage container 221 is heated when the heating gas flows inside the heating gas flow passage 226. The heating gas flow passage 226 is provided with a heating gas inflow port 231 into which the heating gas flows and a heating gas outflow port 232 from which the heating gas flows. The heating gas inflow port 231 is provided in the heating gas flow passage 226 at the other end side of the storage container 221, and the heating gas outflow port 232 is provided in the heating gas flow passage 226 at one end side of the storage container 221. Thus, the heating gas flows inside the heating gas flow passage 226 from the other end side toward one end side of the storage container 221. The storage container 221 is provided with a brown coal supply port 237 and a gas discharge port 238. The brown coal supply port 237 is formed at the upper portion on one end side of the storage container 221. The coal supply device 111 is connected to the brown coal supply 25 port 237, and the brown coal which is supplied from the coal supply device 111 is supplied into the storage container 221. The gas discharge port 238 is formed at the upper portion on one end side of the storage container 221. The purging steam and the non-condensable gas which are supplied to the storage container 6 are discharged from the gas discharge port 238. The storage container 221 has therein the screw feeder 222. The screw feeder 222 includes a rotary shaft 241, a screw portion 242 which is provided in the rotary shaft 241, and a motor 243 which rotates the rotary shaft 241. The direction of the rotary shaft 241 is identical to the axial direction of the storage container 221. Then, when the rotary shaft 241 is rotated by the motor 243, the brown coal is moved toward the other end side of the storage container 221 while the screw portion 242 rotates. That is, the flow direction of the brown coal becomes a direction from one end side toward the other end side of the storage container 221. Further, the fluid bed drying apparatus 220 is provided with a purging medium supply portion 250. The purging medium supply portion 250 includes a plurality of ejection holes 251 which eject the purging steam into the storage container 221. The plurality of ejection holes 251 are formed so as to penetrate the storage container 221, and the purging steam is ejected from each ejection hole 251 with the supply of the purging steam. The plurality of ejection holes 251 are provided at a predetermined interval in the flow direction of the brown coal. In the third embodiment, for example, two ejection holes 251 are provided, where one ejection hole 251 is provided at the center in the flow direction of the brown coal and the other ejection hole 251 is provided at the downstream side 26 in the flow direction of the brown coal. Accordingly, the brown coal which is supplied from the coal supply device 111 is input to one end side of the storage container 221, and the input brown coal is moved in the flow direction by the screw feeder 222. The brown coal which is moved in the flow direction is heated by the heating gas flow passage 226 through the storage container 221. Thus, the heated brown coal is preheated to a predetermined preheating temperature. Further, the brown coal which moves in the flow direction expels the non condensable gas such as air mixed with the brown coal from the gas discharge port 40 while the brown coal is fluidized by the purging steam ejected from each ejection hole 251, thereby removing the non-condensable gas. Furthermore, a part of the steam which is produced by the drying container 7 also flows as the purging steam into the storage container 221 through the communication pipe 225. Then, the brown coal which moves in the flow direction is input from the communication pipe 225 toward the upstream drying chamber 12a of the drying container 7. In this way, even in the configuration of the third embodiment, the brown coal may be heated by the heating gas flow passage 226 in the storage container 221 before the brown coal is supplied to the drying container 7. Further, the mixed non-condensable gas may be removed while the brown coal is fluidized by the purging steam supplied from the purging medium supply portion 250. For this reason, since the heated brown coal is supplied to the drying container 7, the temperature at the brown coal supply side (the upstream side in the flow direction) in the drying container 7 may be increased, and hence the aggregation of the brown coal may not easily occur. Further, since the brown coal from which the non-condensable gas is removed is 27 supplied to the drying container 7, it is possible to suppress the mixture of the non-condensable gas inside the fluid bed drying apparatus 220. Thus, in a case where the steam which is discharged from the fluid bed drying apparatus 220 is used, it is possible to efficiently collect the latent heat of the steam by the amount in which the mixture of the non-condensable gas may be suppressed. Furthermore, in the configurations of the first to third embodiments, the storage container 6 and the drying container 7 are connected so as to communicate with each other, but the invention is not limited to the configuration. When a part of the steam which is produced from the drying container 7 may flow into the storage container 6, a rotary feeder capable of supplying the brown coal from the storage container 6 to the drying container 7 may be provided between the storage container 6 and the drying container 7. According to the configurations of the embodiments, the wet fuel may be heated by the heating unit in the storage container before the wet fuel is supplied to the drying container. Further, the mixed non-condensable gas may be removed while the wet fuel is fluidized by the purging medium supplied from the purging medium supply unit. For this reason, since the heated wet fuel is supplied to the drying container, the temperature at the wet fuel supply side of the drying container may be increased, and hence the wet fuel may not be easily aggregated. Further, since the wet fuel from which the non-condensable gas is removed is supplied to the drying container, it is possible to suppress the mixture of the non-condensable gas inside the fluid bed drying apparatus. Thus, in a case where the steam discharged from the fluid bed drying apparatus is used, it is possible to efficiently collect the latent heat 28 of the steam by the amount in which the mixture of the non condensable gas may be suppressed. According to the configurations of the embodiments, since the steam which is produced by the drying container may flow into the storage container, the steam which is produced by the drying container may be used as the purging medium. For this reason, it is possible to decrease the amount of the purging medium supplied from the purging medium supply unit and hence to efficiently remove the non condensable gas. According to the configurations of the embodiments, the wet fuel may be appropriately guided from the center portion in the direction in which the plurality of purging pipes are arranged in parallel on one horizontal plane toward the drying container while the wet fuel is fluidized. According to this configuration, since the plurality of purging pipes may appropriately disperse the wet fuel when the stored wet fuel passes through the plurality of purging pipes arranged in zigzag, it is possible to appropriately remove the non-condensable gas mixed with the wet fuel by the purging medium which is ejected from the plurality of purging pipes. According to the configurations of the embodiments, since the wet fuel is stored in the mesh member, the load applied to the plurality of purging pipes may be reduced. According to this configuration, since the wet fuel is stored above the purging wind chamber, the stored wet fuel may be appropriately supported. According to the configurations of the embodiments, since the wet fuel may be stored by integrating the storage container with the storage container, the configuration may be simplified. According to the configurations of the embodiments, 29 the stored wet fuel may be appropriately fluidized. According to the configurations of the embodiments, the wet fuel which is appropriately fluidized and dried in the fluid bed drying apparatus may be supplied to the gasification furnace. According to this configuration, the wet fuel may be heated by the heating unit in the fuel heating before the drying, and the mixed non-condensable gas may be removed while the wet fuel is fluidized by the purging medium in the purging. For this reason, since the heated wet fuel is supplied in the drying, the temperature of the wet fuel may be increased, and hence the wet fuel may not be easily aggregated. Further, since the wet fuel from which the non-condensable gas is removed is supplied in the drying, the mixture of the non-condensable gas may be suppressed. Thus, in a case where the steam discharged in the drying is used, it is possible to efficiently collect the latent heat of the steam by the amount in which the mixture of the non condensable gas is suppressed. According to the fluid bed drying apparatus, the gasification combined power generating facility, and the drying method of the invention, since the aggregation of the wet fuel is suppressed and the mixture of the non condensable gas is suppressed, the wet fuel may be appropriately fluidized and the latent heat of the discharged steam may be efficiently collected.

Claims (13)

1. A fluid bed drying apparatus comprising: a storage container for storing a wet fuel; a heating unit for heating the wet fuel stored in the storage container; a purging medium supply unit for supplying a purging medium for removing a non-condensable gas mixed with the wet fuel toward the wet fuel stored in the storage container and fluidizing the wet fuel by the supplied purging medium; and a drying container into which the wet fuel stored in the storage container is supplied and which fluidizes the supplied wet fuel by a fluidizing gas to form a fluid bed therein.

2. The fluid bed drying apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the purging medium and the fluidizing gas are steam, the storage container and the drying container are connected to communicate with each other, and at least a part of the steam discharged from the drying container flows into the storage container.

3. The fluid bed drying apparatus according to claim I or 2, wherein the purging medium supply unit includes a plurality of purging pipes for ejecting the purging medium from an outer peripheral surface of the purging medium supply unit, the wet fuel is stored at an upper side of the plurality of purging pipes in a vertical direction, and the plurality of purging pipes are arranged at a predetermined interval so that pipe axial directions are 31 parallel to each other on one horizontal plane inside the storage container and a gap larger than the predetermined interval is formed at a center portion in a direction in which the plurality of purging pipes are arranged in parallel.

4. The fluid bed drying apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the purging medium supply unit includes a plurality of purging pipes for ejecting the purging medium from the outer peripheral surface of the purging medium supply unit, the wet fuel is stored at an upper side of the plurality of purging pipes in a vertical direction, and the plurality of purging pipes arranged in parallel at a predetermined interval so that pipe axial directions are respectively parallel to one another on two horizontal planes adjacent to each other in the vertical direction inside the storage container, and the plurality of purging pipes at the upper-stage horizontal plane and the plurality of purging pipes at the lower-stage horizontal plane are arranged in zigzag in a cross-sectional view perpendicular to the pipe axial direction.

5. The fluid bed drying apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the purging medium supply unit includes a plurality of purging pipes for ejecting the purging medium from the outer peripheral surface of the purging medium supply unit, the plurality of purging pipes are arranged in parallel at a predetermined interval so that pipe axial directions are parallel to one another on one horizontal plane inside the storage container, and a mesh member which extends on an entire area of one 32 horizontal plane is provided above the plurality of purging pipes.

6. The fluid bed drying apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the purging medium supply unit includes a purging wind chamber provided with a plurality of ejection holes ejecting the purging medium from an upper portion thereof, the purging wind chamber extends on an entire area of one horizontal plane inside the storage container, and the purging wind chamber includes a plurality of penetration holes which are formed in the vertical direction so as to penetrate therethrough.

7. The fluid bed drying apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the storage container is integrated with a storage container for storing the wet fuel.

8. The fluid bed drying apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the purging medium supply unit continuously or intermittently changes a supply amount of the purging medium.

9. A gasification combined power generating facility comprising: the fluid bed drying apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 8; a gasification furnace for treating the dried wet fuel supplied from the fluid bed drying apparatus so that the dried wet fuel is changed into a gasifying gas; a gas turbine which is operated by using the gasifying 33 gas as a fuel; a steam turbine which is operated by steam produced by an exhausted heat recovery boiler into which a turbine flue gas is introduced from the gas turbine; and a generator which is connected to the gas turbine and the steam turbine.

10. A drying method comprising: storing a supplied wet fuel; heating the stored wet fuel; supplying a purging medium for purging a non condensable gas mixed with the wet fuel toward the stored wet fuel and fluidizing the wet fuel by the supplied purging medium; and drying the wet fuel, subjected to the fuel heating and the purging, while fluidizing the wet fuel by a fluidizing gas.

11. A fluid bed drying apparatus substantially as herein described with reference to any one of the embodiments of the invention illustrated in the accompanying drawings and/or examples.

12. A gasification combined power generating facility substantially as herein described with reference to any one of the embodiments of the invention illustrated in the accompanying drawings and/or examples.

13. A drying method substantially as herein described with reference to any one of the embodiments of the invention illustrated in the accompanying drawings and/or examples.