Simulation of gas-solid combustion characteristics in a 1000 MW CFB boiler for supercritical CO2 cycle

Supercritical CO₂ (S-CO₂) power cycle has become one of the most efficient and low-pollution cycle schemes to improve thermal power generation efficiency and reduce energy consumption around the world. In this study, the 3D physical model of a 1000 MW S-CO₂ circulating fluidized bed (CFB) boiler with annular furnace is established to simulate the gas-solid combustion process based on the MP-PIC method under the Eulerian-Lagrangian framework. By comparing with the conventional water steam CFB boiler, the S-CO₂ CFB boiler has a smooth and stable gas-solid flow pattern with good uniformity of the particle concentration and velocity distribution, indicating that the annular structure and the layout of the heating surfaces is conducive to the gas-solid flow uniformity. The gas-solid phase temperature distributes uniformly basically without sudden rise or sudden drop, and the temperature difference between the solid phase and the gas phase is not large, which reflects the good combustion uniformity of the S-CO₂ CFB boiler. Compared with 300 MW and 600 MW S-CO₂ CFB boilers, the 1000 MW one shows a higher carbon conversion rate, lower desulphurization effect, and lower nitrogen removal performance with the CO, NO, and SO₂ outlet concentration of 0.002%, 5.8 mg/m³, and 125 mg/m³, respectively.     

3D simulation on pressurized oxy-fuel combustion of coal in fluidized bed

Pressurized oxy-fuel combustion technology is considered as a perspective carbon capture technology in industrial process. A computational fluid dynamics (CFD) model based on Multi-Phase Particle-In-Cell (MP–PIC) method was developed to predict pressurized oxy-coal combustion process in fluidized bed. The heterogeneous and homogeneous combustion reactions of coal were considered in this model. The predicted results were validated the accuracy of this model with experimental data from a 15 kW_th pressurized fluidized bed combustor in terms of the gas component and temperature characteristics. The characteristics of gas–solid flow and combustion under different pressure (0.1–2 MPa) and oxygen atmosphere were studied in this work. The predicted results show that the intensity of particle motion and the expansion degree in the fluidized bed was gradually decreased with an increase in pressure. A correlation was proposed based on the simulation results to maintain suitable fluidization conditions in pressurized circulating fluidized bed at different pressures. The temperature of particle phase region gradually increased with combustion pressure and inlet O₂ concentration increased. In addition, the CO₂ concentration in outlet increased while the emission of CO and NO_x decreased as the combustion pressure increased.     

Simulation on coal-fired supercritical CO2 circulating fluidized bed boiler: Coupled combustion with heat transfer

Using supercritical carbon dioxide (S-CO₂) as the working fluid integrated in a circulating fluidized bed (CFB) boiler is a rising technology used to improve the power generation efficiency and reduce gas pollutant emissions in coal-fired power generation systems. This study established a comprehensive 3-D model based on an Eulerian-Lagrangian frame to simulate the combustion process. A new method was presented using constant heat flux as the boundary obtained from the coupled simulation of heat transfer and combustion. The gas phase was described with large eddy simulation (LES). The solid phase used the multi-phase particle-in-cell (MP-PIC) approach. Simulations were carried out in a 10 MW S-CO₂ CFB boiler (with cross section area of 3.557 × 3 m² and height of 21.01 m). Combustion characteristics obtained in boundary heat flux and excess air ratio were numerically investigated. Results showed that the temperature profile was relatively uniform in the whole boiler and the furnace temperature increased with the increase of boundary heat flux. Emissions of CO₂ and SO₂ declined with the increase of boundary heat flux while CO emission increased. An increased excess air ratio caused a decrease in furnace temperature and the rise of CO and SO₂. The characteristics of combustion and pollutant emissions were optimal with the heat flux at around 25–37 kW/m² and an excess air ratio at 1.18–1.25.     

The influence of flue gas recirculation on oxy-oil combustion in an existing furnace

Oxy-fuel combustion has received increasing attention as one of the major solutions for CO₂ capture. This study aimed to obtain a better understanding on the oxy-oil firing process and to gain experience handling flue gas recirculation. A 300 kW_th multi-fuel combustion test furnace at National Cheng-Kung University in Tainan, Taiwan was chosen as the experimental facility. This experimental study had successfully converted a conventional air-fired furnace to operate on oxy-fuel firing with various operating conditions. Oxygen-enriched combustion and oxy-fuel combustion tests were conducted. The effects of oxygen enrichment, flue gas recirculation, fuel type, and thermal loading on the operational characteristics of the furnace such as temperature distribution, pressure variation, and emission characteristics were examined and discussed. Several concerns about a conventional air-fired furnace adapted for oxy-fuel combustion were scrutinized, including optimization of flue gas recirculation for better combustion efficiency, higher SO₂ concentration in the flue gas under oxy-fuel operation, and air leakage coming from negative pressure operation. These findings provided valuable data to improve the performance of oxy-fuel combustion and to allow better conceptual designs in future development.     

Simulations on pressurized oxy-coal combustion and gasification by molecular dynamics method with ReaxFF

Pressurized oxy-fuel combustion (POFC) is recognized to have the potential to effectively capture CO₂ with low cost and high efficiency. To investigate the chemical mechanism of oxy-fuel combustion and the effects of different operating parameters on combustion characteristics, a gasification reaction model and the pressurized oxy-fuel combustion model were constructed. A series of reactive molecular dynamics (MD) simulations were conducted on the POFC model using ReaxFF force field under the pressure of 0.2, 0.3 and 0.5 MPa, and with the temperature at 1600, 1800 and 2000 K, respectively. The activation energy for atmospheric oxy-fuel combustion was firstly calculated, in agreement with reported experimental results, which verified the accuracy of ReaxFF MD method. The results of gasification and combustion showed that both temperature and pressure positively affect coal decomposition and the combustion reaction rate. The conversion mechanism of C in coal to CO₂ is a process with dehydrogenation, coal decomposition and oxidation reaction. Compared with atmospheric oxy-fuel combustion, the increase of pressure/density would accelerate the dehydrogenation reaction and the decomposition of coal structure, and improve the performance of coal combustion and promote the decomposition of coal molecule into smaller fragments, and further promote the releasing of CO₂ and small fragments.     

Corrosion evaluation of one dry desulfurization equipment – Circulating fluidized bed boiler

As a clean fuel combustion technology, circulating fluidized bed (CFB) possesses various advantages. Among them, flexibility in fuels and superiority in desulfurization are the two prominent ones and can hereby facilitate sufficient utilization of high-sulfur fuels. But unfortunately, these low-grade fuels always introduce harsh service environment within the CFB boilers and consequently result in severe degradation extent on relevant equipments, especially the high-temperature sulfur corrosion. In this event, by nearly ten characterization methods, comprehensive investigation was carried out on a whole CFB boiler during downtime, and special emphasis was particularly laid on the failure components including one perforated nozzle along with its fractured inlet tube for primary air, and one perforated manhole door of refeed valve. Finally, countermeasure and suggestion was put forward, which can provide instructive significance in corrosion prevention for the CFB boilers, even other desulfurization equipments, running under similar aggressive conditions in engineering practice.     

CFD modeling of hydrodynamics,combustion and NOx emission in a tangentially fired pulverized-coal boiler at low load operating conditions

With deep peak-load regulations, utility boilers are frequently operated under variable/low load conditions. However, their hydrodynamics, combustion and NOx emission characteristics are uncertain and relevant theoretical guidance are lacking. For this purpose, a comprehensive CFD model including flow, coal combustion and NOx formation is established for a 630 MW tangentially fired pulverized-coal boiler, aiming at solving the problem of decreasing combustion stability and increasing NOx emission in low-load operation. Based on the grid independence and model validation, the flow field, temperature profile, species concentration profile and NOx emission are predicted, and the influences of angle/arrangement of burners are further evaluated. Simulation results indicate that under low-load conditions, residual airflow rotation still persists at the top of boiler regardless of how to adjust the angle/arrangement of burners. With tilting the burner angle upward, flame is more concentrated, combustion becomes more stable, and heat flux rises in the upper zone; the burner arrangement of ABDE gives more uniform temperature distribution in the combustion zone. CO species shows higher content in the combustion zone; the 0° tilt angle gives maximum CO content, followed by the 15° angle, and finally the ?15° angle; compared to the ACDE and ABCE arrangement, the ABDE arrangement mode gives much lower CO contents. Burner tilt angle of ?15° benefits for lower NOx emission (183 mg/m³) but goes against stable combustion; the burner arrangement mode of ABDE is optimal for the present boiler, which ensures both stable combustion and lower NOx emission (209 mg/m³).     

气力输送在锅炉飞灰回燃技术中的应用

以山东省内几家热电厂75、130t/h循环流化床锅炉飞灰回燃、热效率提高为例,介绍气力输送系统在热电厂飞灰回燃过程中的应用,对热电厂飞灰含碳量高的原因进行分析,详细分析飞灰回燃系统的工艺流程,并对飞灰回燃前后的含碳量及成本进行对比。结果显示:飞灰回燃技术能够显著提高煤炭的燃烧率,提高锅炉的热效率。     

Improving Prediction Accuracy of a Rate-Based Model of an MEA-Based Carbon Capture Process for Large-Scale Commercial Deployment

Carbon capture and storage (CCS) technology will play a critical role in reducing anthropogenic carbon dioxide (CO₂) emission from fossil-fired power plants and other energy-intensive processes. However, the increment of energy cost caused by equipping a carbon capture process is the main barrier to its commercial deployment. To reduce the capital and operating costs of carbon capture, great efforts have been made to achieve optimal design and operation through process modeling, simulation, and optimization. Accurate models form an essential foundation for this purpose. This paper presents a study on developing a more accurate rate-based model in Aspen Plus^® for the monoethanolamine (MEA)-based carbon capture process by multistage model validations. The modeling framework for this process was established first. The steady-state process model was then developed and validated at three stages, which included a thermodynamic model, physical properties calculations, and a process model at the pilot plant scale, covering a wide range of pressures, temperatures, and CO₂ loadings. The calculation correlations of liquid density and interfacial area were updated by coding Fortran subroutines in Aspen Plus^®. The validation results show that the correlation combination for the thermodynamic model used in this study has higher accuracy than those of three other key publications and the model prediction of the process model has a good agreement with the pilot plant experimental data. A case study was carried out for carbon capture from a 250 MW_e combined cycle gas turbine (CCGT) power plant. Shorter packing height and lower specific duty were achieved using this accurate model.     

Design optimization of the bell type blast cap employed in small scale industrial circulating fluidized bed boilers

Blast cap is the key component of air distributor in circulating fluidized bed (CFB) boilers. Its configuration and performance affects the fluidization quality of the bed, as well as the boiler performance. With the advantage of controlling the jet penetration characteristics and the resistance coefficient individually, bell type blast cap has been widely applied in big-scale utility CFB boilers. Moreover, the inner circuitous gas pass of the bell-type blast cap is able to prevent the bed material from flowing backward into the air chamber effectively, and its tube shield is also convenient to be maintained and replaced. Consequently, the bell-type blast cap is also fit for the small scale industrial CFB boilers with lower operation and maintenance levels in spite of higher manufacturing cost. At present, bell type blast cap is mainly applied in the large scale utility CFB boilers, seldom employed in the small scale industrial CFB boilers with lower bed pressure drop. In the study, aim to acquire favorable fluidization quality and reasonable pressure drop of the bed of small scale industrial CFB boiler, the air jet penetration characteristics of the bell type blast cap were investigated in static beds composed of two typical solids in CFB individually, and the impacts of the inner configuration on blast cap’s resistance characteristics were studied via numerical simulation. The detailed design principle and approach of bell type blast cap was proposed finally based on the study results.     

Coupled simulation and deep-learning prediction of combustion and heat transfer processes in supercritical CO2 CFB boiler

The supercritical CO₂ (S-CO₂) power cycle has a wide application prospect in coal-fired power generation field because it’s highly effective, compactly structured, and flexible of operation. To observe more accurate heat transfer and coal combustion characteristics in the circulating fluidized bed (CFB) with the distinctive S-CO₂ boundary, a 3D computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulation of the furnace-side combustion process treated by the multiphase particle-in-cell (MP-PIC) method was conducted in a 600 MW S-CO₂ CFB boiler coupled with the heat transfer process on working fluid side based on the polynomial fitting calculation model. Furthermore, a novel method to predict simulation results via Radial Base Function (RBF) neural network was proposed to simplify the computational process, enhance the sample data fusion, and improve the prediction accuracy. Results show that staggered high-temperature fluid and high heat flux was a major concern in S-CO₂ heating surface arrangement. The temperature rise of wall heaters was less than the conventional steam CFB, and the heat flux of spiral and vertical heat transfer tubes decreased along the tube. The predicted temperature distribution of tubes and cold walls was in a good agreement with the coupling simulation results, whose accuracy can meet the engineering requirements.     

Unburned carbon measurement in fly ash using laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy with short nanosecond pulse width laser

The unburned carbon in fly ash is one of the important factors for the boiler combustion condition. Controlling the unburned carbon in fly ash is beneficial for fly ash recycle and to improve the combustion efficiency of the coal. Laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) technology has been applied to measure the fly ash contents due to its merits of non-contact, fast response, high sensitivity, and real-time measurement. In this study, experimental measurements have been adopted for fly ash flows with the surrounding gases of N₂ and CO₂, while the CO₂ concentration varified to evaluate the CO₂ effect on the unburned carbon signal from fly ash powder. Two kinds of pulse width lasers, 6?ns and 1?ns, were separately adopted to compare the influence of laser pulse width. Results showed that compared with that using 6?ns pulse width laser, plasma temperature was lower and had less dependence on delay time when using 1?ns pulse width laser, and spectra had more stable background. By using 1?ns pulse width laser, the emission signal from surrounding CO₂ also decreased because of the less surrounding gas breakdown. The solid powder breakdown signals also became more stable when using 1?ns pulse width laser. It is demonstrated that 1?ns pulse width laser has the merits for fly ash flow measurement using LIBS.     

CFB电厂中输煤系统优化设计

针对华电四川发电有限公司攀枝花分公司460t/h循环流化床(CFB)锅炉输煤系统增加ZZS.600双转式筛煤机作为细筛的改造示例,提出了一种改善入炉煤粒度匹配以优化CFB锅炉输煤系统运行的控制策略.在此基础上,通过对锅炉运行可靠性、经济性分析比较,对制煤系统配置论证,以及对ZZS.600双转式筛煤机的原理、技术参数、性能等介绍说明,阐述了系统优化设计后锅炉运行的适应性和经济性,对CFB锅炉输煤系统配置具有积极意义.     

Experimental study on gas-solid flow characteristics in an internally circulating fluidized bed cold test apparatus

A self-designed internally circulating fluidized bed cold test apparatus was built to investigate the gas-solid flow characteristics in a new kind of internally circulating fluidized bed furnace. The test material was circulating ash from a power plant CFB boiler. Optical fiber probes and differential pressure transmitters were employed for the measurements. The particle internal circulation rate and the solids holdup in the upper space of the furnace were studied by changing the fluidization air velocity in the main chamber, the height of partition wall and the initial static bed height. The results showed that with the increase of fluidization air velocity in the main chamber, the particle internal circulation rate increased at first then decreased. Meanwhile, the particle internal circulation rate decreased with the increase of the partition wall height and increased with the increase of initial static bed height in the main chamber. The solids holdup in the upper space of the internally CFB cold test apparatus was 1–4% of that in the normal CFB cold test apparatus. The proportion of particle external circulation rate was relatively low in the circulating system.     

Prediction and real-time monitoring techniques for corrosion characterisation in furnaces

Abstract

Combustion modifications to minimise NO_x emissions have led to the existence of reducing conditions in furnaces. As regulations demand lower NO_x levels, it is possible (to a degree) to continue to address these requirements with increased levels of combustion air staging. However, in most practical situations, a number of adverse impacts prevent the application of deep combustion air staging. One of the more important limitations is the increased corrosion that can occur on wall tubes exposed to fuel rich combustion environments. Current boiler corrosion monitoring techniques rely on ultrasonic tube wall thickness measurements typically conducted over 12 to 24 month intervals during scheduled outages. Corrosion coupons are also sometimes used; typically require considerable exposure time to provide meaningful data. The major drawback of these methods is that corrosion information is obtained after the damage has been done. Management of boiler waterwall loss and system optimisation therefore requires a real-time indication of corrosion rate in susceptible regions of the furnace. This paper describes the results of a program of laboratory trials and field investigations and considers the use of an on-line technology in combination with innovative applications, also modelling and precision metrology to better manage waterwall loss in fossil fuelled boilers while minimising NO_x emissions.     

Investigation of non-uniform characteristics in a 300 MWth circulating fluidized bed with different coal feeding modes

Circulating fluidized bed (CFB) has been practised in many engineering fields, but the non-uniform characteristics deteriorate combustion performance and system control. In this study, the improvement of external-loop and in-furnace non-uniformity of a 300 MW_th industrial-scale CFB with multiple cyclones by a dual-side coal feeding mode was numerically quantified. The results show that the pressure is non-uniformly distributed among three external loops, where the pressure in the middle loop seal is lower than that in the corner loop seals by 4.5 %. The pressure gradient positively correlates with the solid holdup. As compared with the traditional single-side coal feeding mode, the dual-side coal feeding mode: (i) promotes the final mixing degree by 11.15 %; (ii) extends the residence time of coal particles by 10.3 %; (iii) reduces the magnitude and fluctuation of the horizontal solid flux by 28.5 % and 77%, respectively; (iv) narrows the temperature range and reduces the mean temperature by 7 °C; (v) enhances the combustion of coal particles by consuming more O₂; (vi) decreases the concentrations of SO₂ and NO by 3 % and 5 %, respectively. The present study shows the superiority of the dual-side coal feeding mode to the traditional single-side coal feeding mode in the optimization of CFBs in practical industrial processes.     

Pretreatment methods for gasification of biomass and Fischer–Tropsch crude production integrated with a pulp and paper mill

In this paper, the influence on the system performance and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions of different biomass pretreatment methods before gasification and Fischer–Tropsch (FT) crude production was evaluated. Entrained flow gasification has the benefit of producing a practically tar-free synthesis gas with nearly complete carbon conversion. This gasifier type requires a relatively dry fuel, with small particle size, at high pressure. The size can be acquired by milling, which is energy intensive and feeding is challenging. Torrefaction of biomass facilitates milling; it thus requires less electricity, however, the torrefaction process requires heat. Pyrolysis decomposes the biomass into gaseous, liquid, and solid parts, respectively. This further makes feeding easier, but comes with a greater heat demand than torrefaction. The impact of the different pretreatment methods on the overall energy system has been evaluated using process integration methodology. The results show that the excess heat from an FT process with a biomass input of 300 MW_HHV can replace the bark boiler in a large chemical pulp and paper mill, producing 350,000 tonnes of bleached paperboard annually. With the preconditions given for this study, thermal pretreatment of biomass may be beneficial in terms of wood-to-FT crude efficiency, with efficiencies up to 68 %, assuming 40 % electrical efficiency. Pretreatment using pyrolysis performed the best in regards to GHG emissions, if CO₂ from acid gas removal was vented, while milling, with an annual reduction of around 700,000 tonnes of CO₂,_eq, had the best results if the CO₂ was captured and sequestrated.     

330 MW循环流化床锅炉燃烧调整试验研究

为解决某330 MW循环流化床（circulating fluidized bed,CFB）锅炉运行床温分布不均匀、炉内受热面磨损爆管等问题,进行了锅炉的燃烧优化调整试验。结果表明,通过优化一次风量、总风量及风室压力等关键运行参数,确定了最佳运行工况及参数,降低了锅炉灰渣平均可燃物含量,使锅炉热效率提高0.85%。燃烧优化调整试验还使一、二次风机总功率降低了0.8 MW,厂用电率相应降低了0.24%,锅炉的运行安全性和经济性由此得到进一步提高。     

基于蚁群神经网络的飞灰含碳量测量方法

飞灰含碳量是衡量电站锅炉燃烧效率的重要参数。飞灰含碳量的准确测量有助于调整锅炉燃烧,提高锅炉运行的经济性和安全性。本文采用了蚁群神经网络算法,利用蚁群算法对神经网络进行优化,将优化过后的神经网络用于飞灰含碳量的预测,并分析了经过蚁群神经算法与遗传神经网络的预测效果。     

Radiative heat transfer in splash and dilution zones of the pressurized oxy-fuel combustion CFB considering particle-dependent scattering

Radiative heat transfer is dominant in splash and dilution zones of the oxy-fuel combustion pressurized circulating fluidized bed (PCFB). However, the particle radiation fields interact with each other due to the high particle concentration. Moreover, the particle concentration distribution, the flue gas components and pressure change drastically due to pressurized oxy-fuel combustion technology. In this paper, the radiative heat transfer in splash and dilution zones of the oxy-fuel combustion PCFB is investigated when particle-dependent scattering is considered. The results show that the maximum error of the particle radiation model is less than 1% in predicting the incident heat flux at the wall when particle-dependent scattering is considered. The particle concentration distribution has a significant impact on the radiative heat transfer in splash and dilution zones of oxy-fuel combustion PCFB. The simplified particle concentration distribution model cannot capture the zero-source term phenomenon in the core region and has a large error in the annular region. In addition, the mechanism and importance of the flue gas composition and pressure on the radiative heat transfer in splash and dilution zones of oxy-fuel combustion PCFB are analyzed.