我国铁路上使用的蒸汽机车约7,000多台,担负铁路货运的80％以上,每年耗用2,000多万吨煤炭,一个机务段用煤的费用支出约占全段总支出的60％以上。就目前的实际情况来讲,蒸汽机车的用煤量,在一个相当长的时期内不会减少,且有增加的趋势。目前,我国利用煤的热效率大大低于世界工业发达国家,浪费现象严重。因此,国家要求节约和合理利用煤炭资源,革新烧煤方法,对旧设备挖潜改造,这是有深远意义的。为了提高燃料燃烧性能和效果,有些国家的蒸汽机车曾采用过“型煤”、“煤、油并燃”的燃烧方式,有的国家还曾探讨烧“煤粉”、“煤气”的 More than 7,000 steam locomotives are used on China’s railways, and they account for more than 80% of railway freight. Each year, more than 20 million tons of coal are consumed. The cost of a coal section for locomotives accounts for more than 60% of the total expenditure of the entire section. As far as the actual situation is concerned, the coal consumption of steam locomotives will not decrease over a long period of time and will increase. At present, the thermal efficiency of coal utilization in China is much lower than that of the industrialized countries in the world, and waste is serious. Therefore, it is of far-reaching significance for the state to require conservation and rational use of coal resources, to reform coal-burning methods, and to tap and renovate old equipment. In order to improve the performance and effectiveness of fuel combustion, steam locomotives in some countries have used “combustion coal” and “coal and oil combustible” combustion methods. Some countries have also explored the burning of “pulverized coal” and “gas”.