SUMMARY
The object of research is the processes of thermal conversion of steam coal and biomass, with the aim of creating highly efficient environmentally friendly technologies for its joint combustion into fuel boiler units.One of the important problems that impede the introduction of co-combustion of biomass with coal is the insufficient knowledge of the interaction of two very different solid fuels. The characteristics of grinding, particle aerodynamics, kinetics of all stages of combustion during the joint combustion of two solid fuels remain unexplored. Co-combustion of biomass with coal allows partially replacing scarce grades of steam coal, as well as reducing emissions of harmful gases and dust.To study the peculiarities of co-combustion of coal and biomass, experimental and computational research methods are used, including combustion in a continuous installation designed to study the combustion characteristics of pulverized fuels.Experiments on the combined combustion of lean and bituminous coal with various types of solid biomass showed an improvement in the ignition conditions of coal, with the addition of biomass from 5 to 15 % by heat. The effect of biomass impurities on coal on the temperature distribution along the length of the plume is shown. The paper presents the dependences of the conversion degree of bituminous coal and its blends with crushed pellets of pine, wheat straw and sunflower husk, and also explains the nature of this dependence. The gas analysis of the combustion products shows the effect of biomass blending in bituminous coals on the formation of nitrogen oxides.The findings and dependencies justify the environmental feasibility and efficiency of co-combustion and allow to proceed to the development of a pilot project for partial replacement of coal with various types of solid biofuel.