Advantages & Limitations for Using Ceramic Lining in Pipes

There's some of each, but over the long haul, they balance out.

Here's some general thoughts:

1. All pipe is to be made of a long hole surrounded by metal or plastic centred around the hole.

2. All pipe is to be hollow throughout the entire length - do not use holes of different length to the pipe.

3. The ID (Inside Diameter) of all pipe must not exceed the OD (Outside Diameter) - otherwise the hole will be on the outside.

4. All pipe is to be supplied with nothing in the hole, so that water, steam or other stuff can be put inside at a later date.

5. All pipe should be supplied without rust; this can be more readily applied at the job site. NOTE: Some vendors are now able to supply pre-rusted pipes. If available in your area, this product is recommended, as it will save a great deal of time at the job site.

6. All pipe over 500ft (150m) in length should have the words "LONG PIPE" clearly painted on each side and end, so that the contractor knows it's a long pipe.

7. Pipe over 2 miles (3.2km) in length must also have the words "LONG PIPE" painted in the middle, so the contractor will not have to walk the entire length of the pipe to determine whether or not it is a long pipe or a short pipe.

8. All pipe over 6ft (1.83m) in diameter must have the words "LARGE PIPE" painted on it, so the contractor will not mistake it for small pipe.

9. Flanges must be used on all pipe. Flanges must have holes for bolts, quite separate from the big hole in the middle.

10. When ordering 90 or 30 degree elbows, be sure to specify left-hand or righ-hand, otherwise you will end up going the wrong way.

11. Be sure to specify to your vendor whether you want level, uphill or downhill pipe. If you use downhill pipes for going uphill, the water will flow the wrong way.

12. All couplings should have either right-hand or left-hand threads, but do not mix the threads otherwise, as the coupling is being screwed on one pipe, it is being unscrewed fron the other.

13. All pipes shorter than 1/8in (3mm) are very uneconomical in use, requiring many joints. They are genreally known as washers.

14. Joints in pipes for piping water must be water-tight. Those in pipes for compressed air, however, need only be air-tight.

15. Lengths of pipes may be welded or soldered together. This method is not recommended for concrete or earthenware pipes.

16. Other commodities are often confused with pipes. These include: conduit, tube, tunnel and drain. Use only genuine pipes.

Disadvantage is and if you do not have noticed it yet:

Cost!

I can not speak to the use of ceramics with coal but, I can with sand transporting. The cost savings with sand is tremendous. Ceramic linings out last standard piping 4 to 1, In straight runs even better. I would suggest contacting one of the transport equipment suppliers in your area and discuss with them your options.

Fixit

Pipes with ceramic linings are applicable for corrosive fluids like acids and brine, I wonder the use of such would be applicable to a two-phase medium.

I wonder how would coal be fluidized. You would add water to it? I can't imagine the reasonable approach on this. Latent Heat of H₂O sure is a reduction to the heat content of the fuel (coal), why would it be added then? Are you sure about this?

Do you mean Fluidized Bed Combustion?

Fluidized coal is a term used for several processes in handling coal.

Fluidized bed boiler, furnace, combustion systems. The dry coal powder/air mixture, with its abrasive properties, is transferred in the ceramic pipe to a combustion device for burning. Limestone powder is usually also added but not always. This mixture is also used to transport coal powder or small pieces of coal from one point to another.

A coal slurry is dry coal powder mixed with water, with its abrasive properties, for ease in transportation within a pipe system, some times referred to as a pipeline. The water facilitates pumping instead of other more difficult and expensive transportation methods. If this is used for combustion it is either dried with residual or waste heat from the combustion system. It can also be injected as a slurry and appropriate heat allocated for the evaporation of the water during combustion.

During the cleaning process for coal a slurry of coal dust and water is generated. This is either used as a by-product of coal or pumped to a settling pond where the coal settles out and a dark liquid remains in the upper portion (There have been several disasters concerning the failure of the dams of these). Ceramic lined pipe is used to pump this slurry from the cleaning plant to the settling pond.

During the coal mining process water and coal dust sometimes settle in the lower portions of the mine. This slurry is pumped through ceramic pipe, whenever possible, to the mine entrance for further processing or storage. This usually also contains gob which is also pumped through the piping with or without the coal. These mixtures are much easier to transfer as a pump able slurry than to transport them as a powder from the coal face to the surface.

Another similar use of ceramic pipe is the dredging of sand from bodies of water. The slurry of sand and water pumped from a dredge to a stock pile or other place is much simpler and less costly than using draglines to dig the sand and transport it in vehicles to the stock pile. For small operations or temporary uses steel or cast iron pipe is usually used for economic reasons. The slurry can also be transferred great distances as seen in beach replenishment projects. This is used to replenish beaches from the erosion of hurricane "Sandy".

In general, for large operations using powders it is easier to use fans to transport dry powders (powder/air) through pipe than to transport it by material handling vehicles and the same for slurries (powder/liquid).

Good Luck, Old Salt

If it is a mixture/solution of water and coal (carbon) byproducts could be at lower ph, (Carbonic Acid) which is not only abrasive but also corrosive. That sure is applicable.

Yes, but ceramic is generally tolerant of a wide range of acidic pH's. At one time acids were shipped in ceramic jugs, sort of a small carboy. These looked almost identical to the "big brown jugs" popularized by their supposed use by moonshiners.

Coal mixtures with water in ceramic pipes has a long history of acceptable use. It does not have an infinite life but certainly much longer than metal interior surface pipe.

I learned at an early age not to argue with a coal miner. My grandfather was one.

Good Luck, Old Salt