How is the coal used? How much coal does MSU burn each year?
Coal is dumped from an automatic scale in 200-pound batches into the mills where it is ground to a fineness resembling baby powder. The crushed coal is conveyed pneumatically using primary combustion into the furnace side of the boiler. The boilers are about four stories high. Secondary combustion air is blown up the center to keep the coal stirred up and the ash off the walls. After the steam is superheated, it enters the turbines. Steam leaves the power plant through a steam tunnel. Approximately 250,000 tons of coal are burned each year.
