Effects of particle sizes on transport phenomena in single char combustion

A one-dimensional char combustion model including pore structure effects is used to numerically investigate single char particle combustion for several different types of char samples. Previously, it is expected that small char particles have less combustion time. However, the present work shows that this is true only if the combustion time is defined as that needed for a char particle diameter diminished below a certain value. If the combustion time is defined as time needed for the carbon conversion ratio higher than a certain value, there are optimal particle sizes in a limited combustion period. Just reducing the char particle sizes may not get high carbon conversion ratios. It has also been found that, in general, the larger particles have higher temperatures at the exterior surfaces.     

Effect of reactivity loss on apparent reaction order of burning char particles

Considerable debate still exists in the char combustion community over the expected and observed reaction orders of carbon reacting with oxygen. In particular, very low values of the reaction order (approaching zero) are commonly observed in char combustion experiments. These observations appear to conflict with porous catalyst theory as first expressed by Thiele, which suggests that the apparent reaction order must be greater than 0.5. In this work, we propose that this conflict may be resolved by considering the decrease in char reactivity with burnout due to ash effects, thermal annealing, or other phenomena. Specifically, the influence of ash dilution of the available surface area on the apparent reaction order is explored. Equations describing the ash dilution effect are combined with a model for particle burnout based on single-film nth-order Arrhenius char combustion and yield an analytical expression for the effective reaction order. When this expression is applied for experimental conditions reflecting combustion of individual pulverized coal particles in an entrained flow reactor, the apparent reaction order is shown to be lower than the inherent char matrix reaction order, even for negligible extents of char conversion. As char conversion proceeds and approaches completion, the apparent reaction order drops precipitously past zero to negative values. Conversely, the inclusion of the ash dilution model has little effect on the char conversion profile or char particle temperature until significant burnout has occurred. Taken together, these results suggest that the common experimental observation of low apparent reaction orders during char combustion is a consequence of the lack of explicit modeling of the decrease in char reactivity with burnout.     

Modeling and countermeasures of combustion characteristics of char particles in CFBC

INTRAODUCTIONAsahigh-efficiencyandcleancoalcombustiontechnology,circulatingfluidizedbed(CFB)combustiontechnologyachievesrapiddevelopmentinChinaforburningvariouslow--gradefuels.ThescalerupofCFBboilersbecomesakeypointconcernedbytheCFBboilerdesigners.At...     

Numerical Studies on Combustion Characteristics of Interacting Pulverized Coal Particles at Various Oxygen Concentration

The two-dimensional laminar combustion characteristics of coal particles at various oxygen concentration levels of a surrounding gas have been numerically investigated. The numerical simulations, which use the two-step global reaction model to account for the surrounding gas effect, show the detailed interaction among the inter-spaced particles, undergoing devolatilization and subsequent char burning. Several parametric studies, which include the effects of gas temperature (1700 K), oxygen concentration, and variation in geometrical arrangement of the particles on the volatile release rate and the char burning rate, have been carried out. To address the change in the geometrical arrangement effect, multiple particles are located at various inter-spacings of 4–20 particle radii in both streamwise and spanwise directions. The results for the case of multiple particles are compared with those for the case of a single particle. The comparison indicates that the shift to the multiple particle arrangement resulted in the substantial change of the combustion characteristics and that the volatile release rate of the interacting coal particles exhibits a strong dependency on the particle spacing. The char combustion rate is controlled by the level of oxygen concentration and gas composition near particles during combustion. The char combustion rate is highly dependent on the particle spacing at all oxygen levels. The correlations of the volatile release rate and the change in total mass of particles are also found.     

Extended combustion model for single boron particles - Part II: Validation

Boron particle addition to propellants is advantageous due to a very high heating value. However, the combustion of boron particles is a very complex process because of an inhibiting oxide layer covering the particles. This layer has to be removed before vigorous combustion can start. Hence, the boron particle combustion process runs in two distinct stages. There are two outstanding combustion models for single boron particles in the literature. A very detailed model by the Princeton/Aerodyne-group features hundreds of elementary reactions and considers all physical processes in the particle environment. The second model developed at Penn State University takes on a global approach with only a few reactions which makes it promising for CFD applications. A careful analysis of this model revealed some inconsistencies, errors and drawbacks which gave rise to the new model presented in Part I of this paper. The new model comprises a consistent formulation of the heat and mass transfer processes in the particle environment based on a quasi-steady approach, accounts for boron evaporation which is a relevant process despite the high boiling point of boron, and it considers the influence of forced convection on the particle conversion. The chemical reaction rates adopted from the original model were revised and are slightly changed, the differential equations to be solved are corrected and an iterative solution algorithm was introduced. In Part II, the results of the new extended model are compared to experimental data from literature and opposed to results of the other two models. They show reasonable agreement with measured data. A more complex transient model is also derived which serves as a means of scrutinising the principal assumption of the new model which are quasi-steady state changes. It appears that the new model is suitable for boron particle sizes relevant for ramjet combustion chambers.     

Combustion of particles in a large pulverized brown coal flame

A model of the ignition of a polydisperse cloud of brown coal particles, in a known gas environment, is presented and used to predict the behavior of the particles in a burner jet of a utility boiler. The model allows for drying, devolatilization, and char combustion of the particles. It is assumed that the volatiles burn in the free stream so that char combustion can occur during volatiles evolution, the diffusion of oxygen to the particle surface being inhibited due to the net outflow of volatiles. The model is used to calculate the behavior of a cloud of p.f. size particles along the centerline of a brown coal burner jet in which the gas temperature and composition have been measured. Rates of volatile release and char combustion are calculated and shown to be in agreement with measurements of volatile material in the flame. It is found that particles smaller than about 80 μm contribute most to the ignition of the jet and that they closely follow the local gas temperature. The unique character of brown coal of combustion, its high volatile evolution on rapid heating, the high activity of its char at low temperature, and the demonstrated ignition of its char without a jump in temperature make the overlap of devolatilization and char combustion more likely than with other coals. The mathematical formulation that allows this overlap gives oxygen consumption levels consistent with measurement. An analysis is made of the relative importance of radiation from the flame front to the particle, and entrainment of hot combustion gases into the jet. It is found that the radiation is of secondary importance compared to the effect of entrainment which is the controlling mechanism in the initial heating of the particles. Also, the significance of the assumption that the volatiles burn in the free stream is discussed.     

Numerical studies on the combustion properties of char particle clusters

Particle clustering is an important phenomenon in dense particle–gas two-phase flow. One of the key problems worth studying is the reacting properties of particle clusters in coal particle combustion process in the dense particle region. In this paper, a two-dimensional mathematical model for the char cluster combustion in airflow field is established. This char cluster consists of several individual particles. The comprehensive model includes mass, momentum, and energy conservation equations for both gas and particle phases. Detailed results regarding velocity vector, mass component, and temperature distributions inside and around the cluster are obtained. The micro-scale mass and heat transfer occurred inside and around the char cluster are revealed. By contrastively studying the stable combustion of char particle clusters consisting of different particles, the combustion properties of char clusters in various particle concentrations are presented and discussed.     

A new flame sheet model to reflect the influence of the oxidation of CO on the combustion of a carbon particle

A model with a moving flame front is proposed for the combustion of a carbon particle, taking into account the effect of CO oxidizing in the boundary layer around the particle. Using this model, the continuous transition of the effective combustion product from CO₂ under the ignition condition to CO under the condition of diffusion control has been successfully realized. Good agreement was obtained with the experimental measurements of Young and Niksa; such agreement could not be obtained using the customary single-film model.     

Mechanism and kinetics of sodium release from brown coal char particles during combustion

A model for the release of sodium during the combustion of single Loy Yang brown coal char particles is presented. The model is combined with further analysis of recently published measurements of the release of sodium from single brown coal particles burning in a flat flame to estimate the rate constant for sodium release as a function of burnout time for these experiments. A char combustion and heat transfer model is also used to predict the char burnout behaviour and surface temperature of the particle as a function of time during combustion for each of the experiments. By combining the predicted time–temperature history of the particles with the estimated rate constant for sodium release, an Arrhenius expression for the release of sodium during char combustion is determined as:A full mechanism for sodium release during the various stages of coal combustion is also proposed. Utilising the proposed mechanism, the rate-determining step for sodium release during char combustion is proposed to be the formation of a reduced form of sodium in the char which subsequently leads to the rapid loss of sodium from the particle.     

A new method for simulating the combustion of a large biomass particle—A combination of a volume reaction model and front reaction approximation

Combining a volume reaction model and front reaction approximation is proposed to simulate the combustion of a large biomass particle. Two intraparticle processes—drying and char oxidation—are simplified as front reaction because they are transport controlled. The other intraparticle process—pyrolysis—is described as the volume reaction because it is controlled by both heat transfer and kinetics. A new numerical method based on the basic mechanism of the process is applied to mitigate oscillations of the solution of the front reactions. To compare the calculation results with the experimental results presented in the literature, combustion of cubic wood particles between 5 and 25 mm is chosen to test the new method. Drying, pyrolysis, char oxidation, vapor condensation, shrinkage of the process, heat transfer via conduction, diffusion, convection, radiation and mass transfer via diffusion, and convection inside particle are taken into account. Finite volumes attached to solid materials are used to discretize the domain and explicit method with variable time step is used to calculate the process. A program was written and the calculation showed that the conversion of a particle is almost independent of computational mesh from 10 cells on. However there is significant instability in the mass loss rate curve when the number of cells is less than 20. Predictions for different particle sizes, furnace temperatures and moisture contents were compared with measurements and they agree reasonably well. The results highlight the significance of pyrolysis kinetics on prediction. Thus, the front reaction model of pyrolysis assuming a constant reaction temperature of 773 K is sometimes inadequate. The proposed method also showed that moisture content and pyrolysis reactivity significantly affect the thickness of devolatilizing fuel.     

炉内煤粉燃烧一维数学模型及其仿真

为了准确计算炉内煤粉的燃尽率,从研究煤粉粒子的燃烧机理入手,以炉膛内最复杂的燃烧器区域的煤粉燃烧过程为研究对象,通过合理简化煤粉中挥发分和焦炭的燃烧过程,建立了炉内煤粉燃烧沿高度方向上的一维宏观模型,在模型中考虑了煤粉燃烧过程中氧含量的变化,以单个煤粉颗粒燃烧的等密度模型为基础,通过多种煤粉粒径的燃烧过程反映煤粉燃烧的整体过程,推导出计算炉内煤粉燃尽率的显示公式,满足了实时仿真计算的要求。计算结果与实测数据和现有的文献相符,并对结果进行了分析。     

煤焦颗粒燃烧模拟在W型火焰锅炉炉膛设计热力计算中的应用

分析了炉膛设计热力计算中引入煤焦颗粒燃烧模拟的可能性和必要性,探讨了采用早期的锅炉机组热力计算标准进行新型的W型火焰锅炉炉膛热力计算的可行性及经验系数的取值问题,分析、比较了煤焦颗粒在实验室和炉膛内燃烧环境的差异,并引入氧量分布不均系数、区段充满度系数来考虑炉膛内颗粒表面氧浓度、停留时间等方面与实验环境的差异.在此基础上,建立了适合于炉膛分区段热力计算的煤焦燃烧模型,并最终将煤焦非均相反应的实验室数据应用于炉膛分区段热力计算,克服了目前炉膛设计热力计算仅考虑传热所带来的不足.在一台W型火焰锅炉上的应用表明,颗粒燃烧和炉膛传热相耦合的分区段热力计算模型能够揭示过量空气量、煤粉细度、煤种、负荷等因素对燃尽和传热的影响,适合工程应用.     

部分气化煤焦燃烧动力学的活化能分布模型研究

运用两段DAEM模型分析了部分气化煤焦的燃烧动力学．结果表明，两段DAEM模型能准确地描述部分气化煤焦的燃烧行为这是因为部分气化煤焦随着气化率的增加，其燃烧曲线的二次峰越来越显著，而两段DAEM模型正好从理论上考虑了部分气化煤焦燃烧曲线的二次峰特性．同时由两段DAEM模型计算结果发现，随着3种煤焦气化率的增加，其活化能与指前因子增加，代表易反应物质量m的减小，这说明了实验与理论结果一致，随着气化反应的进行，难反应物质的比例增加．     

燃煤链条炉排工业锅炉燃烧数值模型研究

针对燃煤链条炉排工业锅炉的燃烧过程中床层内部存在复杂的传热、传质及物理化学反应过程等特点开发了三维床层和炉膛耦合的燃烧数值计算模型,模型包含了煤燃烧过程中水分蒸发、挥发析出、气相反应、焦炭燃烧和传热传质等基本的化学物理过程,同时考虑了大粒径煤颗粒内部的非等温传热特性,并通过实验测试与数值模拟对数值模型进行校核,实验结果与模型计算吻合得较好,从而验证了计算模型的准确性。燃煤链条炉排工业锅炉燃烧数值模型的建立为实现燃煤工业锅炉的优化设计和运行指导提供了先进的设计手段和理论支持。     

大颗粒碳／炭着火规律的研究

本文研究了大颗粒碳／炭的着火过程，通过实验和数值模拟发现，大颗粒碳／炭的着火与小颗粒的不同，它的温升历程不存在突跃现象，因此也就不存在ｄ＾２Ｔ／ｄｔ＾２＝０的着火特征点。为此，本文针对大颗粒碳／炭着火过程的特点，提出了一个新的着火判据，据此建立了大颗粒碳／炭着火模型，导出了与小颗粒碳／炭相同形式的着火表达式。实验验证了在小颗粒模型下推导出的着火温度与煤质之间的通用关系仍适用于大颗粒碳／炭的着火。     

生物质链条炉床层燃烧建模及一次风影响分析

基于多孔介质非热平衡的方法,考虑了床层高度的变化及颗粒内部温度梯度的影响,建立了一维非稳态燃烧模型来模拟炉排上移动床层的生物质燃烧。模拟计算结果与实验值对比分析表明,总体上数值计算结果与实验数据吻合较好。通过对不同一次风参数下床层燃烧的模拟结果分析得到,随着一次风风量的增加,床层剩余质量先减小后增大;在燃烧前期,床层出口气体温度上升速度减慢,挥发分析出速率降低,焦炭燃烧速率增大;在燃烧中期,床层出口气体温度先上升后下降,焦炭燃烧速率下降。一次风风温相比于一次风风量对床层燃烧影响较小,增大一次风风温可以提高挥发分析出速率,降低床层出口气体温度和床层剩余质量。     

Extended combustion model for single boron particles - Part I: Theory

Ramjet engines have significant advantages when compared to conventional rocket motors concerning specific impulse, manoeuvrability, and range. Boron particle addition to the propellant of ducted rockets further increases this potential due to a very high heating value. However, the combustion of boron particles is a very complex process because of an inhibiting oxide layer covering the particles. This layer has to be removed before vigorous combustion can start. The boron particle combustion process runs in two distinct stages. In the literature review presented in this article two combustion models for single boron particles are outstanding. A very detailed model by the Princeton/Aerodyne group features hundreds of elementary reactions and considers all physical processes in the particle environment. It is very elaborate and, thus, not suitable for incorporation into three-dimensional CFD-calculations at present. The second model developed at Penn State University takes on a global approach with only a few reactions which makes it promising for CFD applications. A careful analysis of this model revealed some inconsistencies, errors and drawbacks which gave rise to the new model presented in this paper. The new model comprises a consistent formulation of the heat and mass transfer processes in the particle environment based on a quasi-steady approach, accounts for boron evaporation which is a relevant process despite the high boiling point of boron, and it considers the influence of forced convection on the particle conversion. The chemical reaction rates adopted from the original model were revised and are slightly changed, the differential equations to be solved are corrected and an iterative solution algorithm is introduced. A careful validation of the model is presented in Part II of this paper showing that the new model is suitable for boron particle sizes relevant for ramjet combustion chambers.     

Numerical Simulation of Pressure Effects on the Gasification of Australian and Indian Coals in a Tubular Gasifier

This article presents a numerical study on the effect of pressure on the gasification performance of an entrained flow tubular gasifier for Australian and Indian coals. Gasification using a substoichiometric amount of air, with or without steam addition, is considered. The model takes into account phenomena such as devolatilization, combustion of volatiles, char combustion, and gasification. Continuous-phase conservation equations are solved in an Eulerian frame and those of the particle phase are solved in a Lagrangian frame, with coupling between the two phases carried out through interactive source terms. The numerical results obtained show that the gasification performance increases for both types of coal when the pressure is increased. Locations of devolatilization, combustion, and gasification zones inside the gasifier are analyzed using the temperature plots, devolatilization plots, and mass depletion histories of coal particles. With increase in pressure, the temperature inside the gasifier increases and also the position of maximum temperature shifts upstream. For the high-ash Indian coal, the combustion of volatiles and char and the gasification process are relatively slower than those for the low-ash Australian coal. The mole fractions of CO and H₂ are found to increase with increase in pressure, in all the cases considered. Further, the effects of pressure on overall gasification performance parameters such as carbon conversion, product gas heating value, and cold gas efficiency are also discussed for both types of coals.