Dr. Dishant Khatri

Dishant Khatri holds a bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology, Varanasi. He worked as a process engineer at Fluor Daniel Private Limited for one year, joining Washington University in St. Louis and LACER in 2015. 

Research
Today, coal produces more than 35% of the world’s electricity, and it will continue to provide energy to millions of people around the globe. During the past decade, due to its low cost, abundance and reliability, coal has contributed more to the global energy supply than any other energy source. Unfortunately, coal combustion raises environmental concerns, based on its strong greenhouse impact and formation of particulate matter (PM) that can contribute significantly to pollution. 

LACER has developed a staged pressurized oxy-combustion process (SPOC) that promises high efficiency with reduced emissions as compared to other contemporary and first-generation oxy-combustion technologies. A 100KW pilot scale based on the SPOC process has been developed at Washington University in St. Louis and experimental campaigns are being undertaken to understand flame structures, ash and soot formation, loss of ignition, product gases and heat flux profiles.

A fundamental approach to understanding the coal particle ignition, coal particle temperature and ash and soot formation during coal combustion is underway using a lab-scale, two-stage Hencken flat flame burner with unique characteristics mimicking the gas profile as experienced by coal particles in practical coal burners.