Combustion of spent mushroom compost and coal tailing pellets in a fluidised-bed

Previous investigations found that fluidised-bed combustion of spent mushroom compost–coal tailing pellets was preferred for these high ash content fuels. This paper considers the combustion tests carried out on these wastes in a laboratory-scale fluidised-bed, where parameters, including the pellet feedrate, primary/fluidising air flowrate and bed depth, were investigated. Based on the minimum air ratio of 2.5 required to achieve high combustion efficiencies of around 97%, the optimum operating conditions for the combustor employed were a pellet feedrate of 3.25 kg/h (180 kg/m²h) and a total air flowrate of 650 kg/m²h. A lower sand bed depth of 0.22 m was also deemed beneficial, as deeper beds resulted in slugging and noticeable reductions in combustion efficiency. Acid gas emissions (NO_x, SO_x and HCl) were found in limited concentrations, as species remained primarily as inorganic compounds in the flyash. Some N₂O is thought to have formed, as fluidised-bed combustors are particularly prone to this. The alkali index of the ash suggests probable fouling/slagging in the system. For industrial-scale combustion of these wastes, the combustion efficiency could be improved by the presence of secondary air jets to aid turbulent mixing.     

Combustion characteristics of cotton stalk in FBC

The present work reports studies on the mixing and combustion characteristics of cotton stalk with 10–100 mm in length in FBC. Experiments on a cold model show that cotton stalk cannot fluidize, and adding bed material can improve the fluidization condition. Cotton stalk can mix well with 0.6–1 mm alumina at fluidization number N = 3–7. However, when the fluidization number is higher more than 7, the mixing bed will exist a little segregation comparing with N = 3–7. Thermogravimetric experiments show that cotton stalk can be ignited easily at a lower temperature, and its devolatilization and combustion are quick. Fluidized-bed combustion of cotton stalk was tested in a 0.2 MW_th test facility. According to the temperature distribution along the bed height, when the primary and secondary air is adapted cotton stalk can be burned stably in the fluidized bed. During pure cotton stalk combustion tests, silica sand and alumina are used as bed material to compare their agglomeration characteristics. SEM/EDX analysis on agglomerate samples after combustion about 38 h suggests that the high alkali metals content causes the formation of the coating around silica sand particles. The coating consists of compounds with low-melting temperature results in agglomeration of silica sand particles. By contrast, alumina is difficult to react with alkali metals from biomass ash, and the agglomeration of alumina was not found at 910 °C. It is found that alumina is more favorable than silica sand particle for use in a fluidized bed in cotton stalk combustion.     

Flame stabilization between two beds of alumina balls in a porous burner

Conditions for flame stabilization in a porous media combustor formed by two beds of different sizes of alumina balls were studied. Premixed combustion of lean methane–air mixtures were used as variables. Measurements performed included temperature profiles and chemical products compositions. Stabilized flames were observed in the range of volumetric flow rate from 7.01 l/min to 19.00 l/min at equivalence ratio of ? = 0.6 and ? = 0.7. Low pollutants emissions were found in the entire operation range.     

Simulation of emission performance and combustion efficiency in biomass fired circulating fluidized bed combustors

In this study, the combustion efficiency and the emission performance of biomass fired CFBs are tested via a previously published 2D model [Gungor A. Two-dimensional biomass combustion modeling of CFB. Fuel 2008; 87: 1453–1468.] against two published comprehensive data sets. The model efficiently simulates the outcome with respect to the excess air values, which is the main parameter that is verified. The combustion efficiency of OC changes between 82.25 and 98.66% as the excess air increases from 10 to 116% with the maximum error of about 8.59%. The rice husk combustion efficiency changes between 98.05 and 97.56% as the bed operational velocity increases from 1.2 to 1.5 m s^?1 with the maximum error of about 7.60%. CO and NO_x emissions increase with increasing bed operational velocity. Increasing excess air results in slightly higher levels of NO_x emission. A significant amount of combustion occurs in the upper zone due to the high volatile content of the biomass fuels.     

On the phase between pressure and heat release fluctuations for propane/hydrogen flames and its role in mode transitions

This paper presents an experimental investigation into mode-transitions observed in a 50-kW, atmospheric pressure, backward-facing step combustor burning lean premixed C₃H₈/H₂ fuel mixtures over a range of equivalence ratios, fuel compositions and preheat temperatures. The combustor exhibits distinct acoustic response and dynamic flame shape (collectively referred to as “dynamic modes”) depending on the operating conditions. We simultaneously measure the dynamic pressure and flame chemiluminescence to examine the phase between pressure (p′) and heat release fluctuations (q′) in the observed dynamic modes. Results show that the heat release is in phase with the pressure oscillations (θ_qp ≈ 0) at the onset of a dynamic mode, while as the operating conditions change within the mode, the phase grows until it reaches a critical value θ_qp = θ_c, at which the combustor switches to another dynamic mode. According to the classical Rayleigh criterion, this critical phase (θ_c) should be π/2, whereas our data show that the transition occurs well below this value. A linear acoustic energy balance shows that this critical phase marks the point where acoustic losses across the system boundaries equal the energy addition from the combustion process to the acoustic field. Based on the extended Rayleigh criterion in which the acoustic energy fluxes through the system boundaries as well as the typical Rayleigh source term (p′q′) are included, we derive an extended Rayleigh index defined as R_e = θ_qp/θ_c, which varies between 0 and 1. This index, plotted against a density-weighted strained consumption speed, indicates that the impact of the operating parameters on the dynamic mode selection of the combustor collapses onto a family of curves, which quantify the state of the combustor within a dynamic mode. At R_e = 0, the combustor enters a mode, and switches to another as R_e approaches 1. The results provide a metric for quantifying the instability margins of fuel-flexible combustors operating at a wide range of conditions.     

Combustion behavior in a dual-staging vortex rice husk combustor with snail entry

The combustion characteristics of rice husk fuel in a dual-staging vortex-combustor (DSVC) are experimentally investigated. In the present work, the vortex flow is created by using a snail entrance mounted at the bottom of the combustor. The temperature distributions at selected locations inside the combustor, the flue gas emissions (CO, CO₂, O₂, NO_x), and the combustion/thermal efficiency are monitored. Measurements are made at a constant rice husk feed rate of 0.25 kg/min with various excess airs (37%, 56%, 74% and 92%) and different secondary air injection fractions (λ = 0.0, 0.15 and 0.2), respectively. The combustion chamber is 1800 mm high and 300 mm in diameter (D) with a centered exhausted pipe while the middle chamber of the combustor is set to 0.5D. The smaller section at the middle chamber is introduced to split the chamber to be dual-staging chamber where a large central toroidal recirculation zone induced by swirl flow through the small section is generated in the top chamber. The experimental results reveal that the highest temperature inside the combustor is about 1000 °C whereas both the thermal and the combustion efficiency are 41.6% and 99.8% for 74% excess air without the secondary air injection (λ = 0.0). In addition, the emissions are CO₂ = 8.1%, O₂ = 9.3%, CO = 352 ppm, NO_x = 294 ppm and small amount of fly ash. Therefore, the DSVC shows an excellent performance, low emissions, high stabilization and ease of operation in firing the rice husk.     

Part I: Experimental studies on a pulverised fuel stove

This paper is concerned with development of a pulverised fuel stove with improved conversion efficiency and minimal emissions at near constant power level without the use of external power. The design originates from a cylindrical sawdust stove with a central porthole being lit from the bottom. Such a stove will have a flame in port with enhanced sooting tendency. For similar configuration, stable premixed combustion behaviour of the combustible gases from the port of the fuel block (known as the gasification mode) has been achieved by use of air supply through a thin slot at the bottom, for at least 30 min of stove operation. In order to ensure stable combustion of the gases at exit, a metal device is used. In an attempt to extend gasification duration, studies are conducted in single port configuration having air entry from the bottom with a horizontal baffle to control the flow rate. This configuration worked in gasification mode for about 20 min but there have been problems of flame extinction. To overcome these drawbacks multi-port design with vertical air entry is employed with success.The stove has exhibited conversion efficiency in excess of 37% due to well focused nature of flame at exit. CO emission factors are about 12 g (kg fuel)⁻¹, a performance superior to conventional biomass stoves (∼45 g kg⁻¹). NO_x emission factors are about 1 g kg⁻¹ fuel which falls in the range of reported data for NO_x. Studies with different pulverised leafy fuels have indicated these fuels have lower volatile release rates and therefore exhibit lower power level operation for a given port configuration compared to sawdust fuel.     

Numerical calculation of local entropy generation in a methane–air burner

This study considers numerical simulation of the combustion of methane with air including 21% oxygen and 79% nitrogen in a burner and the numerical solution of the local entropy generation rate due to the high temperature and velocity gradients in the combustion chamber for various fuel flow rates (from 5 to 10 lpm). Swirling air flow is also used to burn the methane more efficiently. The effects of equivalence ratio (ϕ) and swirl number (S) on the combustion and entropy generation rate are investigated for different (consecutive) equivalence ratios (from 0.5 to 1.0) and swirl numbers (from 0 to 0.3). The numerical calculation of combustion is performed individually for these cases with the help of the Fluent CFD code. The volumetric entropy generation rate distributions and the other thermodynamic parameters are calculated numerically by using the results of the combustion calculations. The maximum values of the rates of reaction-1 and -2 decrease with the increase of ϕ. In the case of ϕ < 1, complete combustion occurs, and the combustion in the case of ϕ = 1 is very close to the complete combustion state. In the case of no swirl, the entropy generation rate decreases exponentially with the increase of ϕ in the cases of high Q_f, whereas they have quadratic profiles having their minimum values in cases of low Q_f. In terms of the entropy generation rates, the optimum equivalence ratios for Q_f = 5, 6, 7, >7 lpm in the case of S = 0 and Q_f = 10 lpm in the case of S = 0.3 are obtained as ϕ = 0.66, 0.8, 0.86, 1.0 and 0.92, respectively.     

Ignition transition in turbulent premixed combustion

Recently, Shy and his co-workers reported a turbulent ignition transition based on measurements of minimum ignition energies (MIE) of lean premixed turbulent methane combustion in a centrally-ignited, fan-stirred cruciform burner capable of generating intense isotropic turbulence. Using the same methodology, this paper presents new complete MIE data sets for stoichiometric and rich cases at three different equivalence ratios ? = 1.0, 1.2 and 1.3, each covering a wide range of a turbulent Karlovitz number (Ka) indicating a time ratio between chemical reaction and turbulence. Thus, ignition transition in premixed turbulent combustion depending on both Ka and ? can be identified for the first time. It is found that there are two distinct modes on ignition in randomly stirred methane–air mixtures (ignition transition) separated by a critical Ka where values of Ka_c ≈ 8–26 depending on ? with the minimum Ka_c occurring near ? = 1. For Ka < Ka_c, MIE increases gradually with Ka, flame kernel formation is similar to laminar ignition remaining a torus, and 2D laser tomography images of subsequent outwardly-propagating turbulent flames show sharp fronts. For Ka > Ka_c, MIE increases abruptly with Ka, flame kernel is disrupted, and subsequent randomly-propagating turbulent flames reveal distributed-like fronts. Moreover, we introduce a reaction zone Péclet number (P_RZ) indicating the diffusivity ratio between turbulence and chemical reaction, such that the aforementioned very scattering MIE data depending on Ka and ? can be collapsed into a single curve having two drastically different increasing slopes with P_RZ which are separated by a critical P_RZ ≈ 4.5 showing ignition transition. Finally, a physical model is proposed to explain these results.     

Unsteady fluid mechanics and heat transfer study in a double-tube air–combustor heat exchanger with porous medium

Fluid mechanics and heat transfer are studied in a double-tube heat exchanger that uses the combustion gases from natural gas in a porous medium located in a cylindrical tube to warm up air that flows through a cylindrical annular space. The mathematical model is constructed based on the equations of continuity, linear momentum, energy and chemical species. Unsteady fluid mechanics and heat transfer by forced gas convection in the porous media, with combustion in the inner tube, coupled to the forced convection of air in the annular cylindrical space are predicted by use of finite volumes method. Numerical simulations are made for four values of the annular air flow Reynolds number in the range 100 ? Re ? 2000, keeping constant the excess air ψ = 4.88, the porosity ε = 0.4, and the air–fuel mixture inlet speed Uo = 0.43 m/s. The results obtained allow the characterization of the velocity and temperature distributions in the inner tube and in the annular space, and at the same time to describe the displacement of the moving combustion zone and the annular porous media heat exchanger thermal efficiency. It is concluded that the temperature increase is directly related to the outer Reynolds number.     

Thermogravimetric kinetic analysis of the combustion of biowastes

Thermogravimetric (TG) analysis was used to study and compare the combustion of sewage sludge (SS), animal manure (AM) and the organic fraction of municipal solid waste (OFMSW). TG curves are in correspondence with the volatiles and carbon content of the materials studied. Non-isothermal thermogravimetric data were used to assess the kinetics of the combustion of these carbonaceous materials. The paper reports on the application of a model-free isoconversional method for the evaluation of the activation energy corresponding to the combustion of these biowastes. The activation energy related to AM combustion (E ～ 140 kJ mol^?1) was similar to that corresponding to SS (E ～ 143 kJ mol^?1) while the OFMSW showed to have a higher value (E ～ 173 kJ mol^?1).     

Packed-bed thermal storage for concentrated solar power – Pilot-scale demonstration and industrial-scale design

A thermal energy storage system, consisting of a packed bed of rocks as storing material and air as high-temperature heat transfer fluid, is analyzed for concentrated solar power (CSP) applications. A 6.5 MWh_th pilot-scale thermal storage unit immersed in the ground and of truncated conical shape is fabricated and experimentally demonstrated to generate thermoclines. A dynamic numerical heat transfer model is formulated for separate fluid and solid phases and variable thermo-physical properties in the range of 20–650 °C, and validated with experimental results. The validated model is further applied to design and simulate an array of two industrial-scale thermal storage units, each of 7.2 GWh_th capacity, for a 26 MW_el round-the-clock concentrated solar power plant during multiple 8 h-charging/16 h-discharging cycles, yielding 95% overall thermal efficiency.     

Laminar forced convection in a heat generating bi-disperse porous medium channel

Thermal management of heat generating electronics using the Bi-Disperse Porous Medium (BDPM) approach is investigated. The BDPM channel comprises heat generating micro-porous square blocks separated by macro-pore gaps. Laminar forced convection cooling fluid of Pr = 0.7 saturates both the micro- and macro-pores. Bi-dispersion effect is induced by varying the porous block permeability Da_I and external permeability Da_E through variation in number of blocks N². For fixed Re, when 10^?5 ? Da_I ? 10^?2, the heat transfer Nu is enhanced four times (from ～200 to ～800) while the pressure drop Δp1 reduces almost eightfold. For Da_I < 10^?5, Nu decreases quickly to reach a minimum at the Mono-Disperse Porous Medium (MDPM) limit (Da_I → 0). Compared to N² = 1 case, Nu for BDPM configuration is high when N² ? 1, i.e., the micro-porous blocks are many and well distributed. The pumping power increase is very small for the entire range of N². Distributing heat generating electronics using the BDPM approach is shown to provide a viable method of thermo-hydraulic performance enhancement χ.     

Hydrogen production with integrated microchannel fuel processor for portable fuel cell systems

An integrated microchannel methanol processor was developed by assembling unit reactors, which were fabricated by stacking and bonding microchannel patterned stainless steel plates, including fuel vaporizer, heat exchanger, catalytic combustor and steam reformer. Commercially available Cu/ZnO/Al₂O₃ catalyst was coated inside the microchannel of the unit reactor for steam reforming. Pt/Al₂O₃ pellets prepared by ‘incipient wetness’ were filled in the cavity reactor for catalytic combustion. Those unit reactors were integrated to develop the fuel processor and operated at different reaction conditions to optimize the reactor performance, including methanol steam reformer and methanol catalytic combustor. The optimized fuel processor has the dimensions of 60 mm × 40 mm × 30 mm, and produced 450sccm reformed gas containing 73.3% H₂, 24.5% CO₂ and 2.2% CO at 230–260 °C which can produce power output of 59 Wt.     

Controlled autoignition of hydrogen in a direct-injection optical engine

Research into novel internal combustion engines requires consideration of the diversity in future fuels in an attempt to reduce drastically CO₂ emissions from vehicles and promote energy sustainability. Hydrogen has been proposed as a possible fuel for future internal combustion engines and can be produced from renewable sources. Hydrogen’s wide flammability range allows higher engine efficiency than conventional fuels with both reduced toxic emissions and no CO₂ gases. Most previous work on hydrogen engines has focused on spark-ignition operation. The current paper presents results from an optical study of controlled autoignition (or homogeneous charge compression ignition) of hydrogen in an engine of latest spark-ignition pentroof combustion chamber geometry with direct injection of hydrogen (100 bar). This was achieved by a combination of inlet air preheating in the range 200–400 °C and residual gas recirculated internally by negative valve overlap. Hydrogen fuelling was set to various values of equivalence ratio, typically in the range ? = 0.40–0.63. Crank-angle resolved flame chemiluminescence images were acquired for a series of consecutive cycles at 1000 RPM in order to calculate in-cylinder rates of flame expansion and motion. Planar Laser Induced Fluorescence (LIF) of OH was also applied to record more detailed features of the autoignition pattern. Single and double (i.e. ‘split’ per cycle) hydrogen injection strategies were employed in order to identify the effect of mixture preparation on autoignition’s timing and spatial development. An attempt was also made to review relevant in-cylinder phenomena from the limited literature on hydrogen-fuelled spark-ignition optical engines and make comparisons were appropriate.     

The effects of operating conditions on emissions from masonry heaters and sauna stoves

Emissions from masonry heaters and sauna stoves were studied. In the sauna stove the production of organic gaseous carbon (OGC) at 10 gC kg^?1 (per kilogram of fuel), carbon monoxide (CO) at 55 g kg^?1, fine particle mass (PM₁) at 5 g kg^?1 and number emissions (N) at 1.8 × 10¹⁵ kg^?1 was higher than in other measured appliances. In a modern technology masonry heater with a unique grate, the emissions were very low: 0.4 gC kg^?1 OGC, 14 g kg^?1 CO and 0.7 g kg^?1 PM₁. Conventional masonry heaters, using small logs, clearly produced higher emissions when compared to using large logs. Doubling the fuel load caused emission factors to increase by up to 4- times (OGC), except for the number emission, which decreased from 4.0 × 10¹⁴ to 2.0 × 10¹⁴ kg^?1. From the conventional masonry heater 90% of the PM was emitted during the firing phase. Its combustion process is different to that in stoves or conventional open fireplaces. The insufficient supply of air, due to too fast pyrolysis, and increased ash release, due to the high combustion temperature, are the main parameters which cause high particle and gas emissions in masonry heaters and sauna stoves.     

Effects of premixed diethyl ether (DEE) on combustion and exhaust emissions in a HCCI-DI diesel engine

In this study, the effects of premixed ratio of diethyl ether (DEE) on the combustion and exhaust emissions of a single-cylinder, HCCI-DI engine were investigated. The experiments were performed at the engine speed of 2200 rpm and 19 N m operating conditions. The amount of the premixed DEE was controlled by a programmable electronic control unit (ECU) and the DEE injection was conducted into the intake air charge using low pressure injector. The premixed fuel ratio (PFR) of DEE was changed from 0% to 40% and results were compared to neat diesel operation. The percentages of premixed fuel were calculated from the energy ratio of premixed DEE fuel to total energy rate of the fuels. The experimental results show that single stage ignition was found with the addition of premixed DEE fuel. Increasing and phasing in-cylinder pressure and heat release were observed in the premixed stage of the combustion. Lower diffusion combustion was also occurred. Cycle-to cycle variations were very small with diesel fuel and 10% DEE premixed fuel ratio. Audible knocking occurred with 40% DEE premixed fuel ratio. NO_x-soot trade-off characteristics were changed and improvements were found simultaneously. NO_x and soot emissions decreased up to 19.4% and 76.1%, respectively, while exhaust gas temperature decreased by 23.8%. On the other hand, CO and HC emissions increased.     

Impact of H2 addition on flame stability and pollutant emissions for an atmospheric kerosene/air swirled flame of laboratory scaled gas turbine

The purposes of this study are to compare the stability domains and the pollutant emissions when combustion occurs with and without addition of H₂ to a kerosene (Jet A1)/air premixed prevaporised mixture injected in a lean gas turbine combustor. Chemiluminescence of CH*, pollutant emissions (NO_x and CO) and pressure fluctuations data are simultaneously collected in order to determine the effects of H₂ addition on the stability of the combustion and on the flame structure for an inlet temperature of 473 K, atmospheric pressure and for a large range of equivalence ratio (from 0.3 to 1). Addition of hydrogen enables keeping stable combustion conditions when, for the same kerosene mass flow, the flame becomes lifted and very unstable. As for pollutant emissions, results show that the equivalence ratio is the key parameter to control NO_x emission even in the situation where the combustion power is increased due to H₂ addition. As H₂ addition strongly increases the flammability limits and the combustion stability domain, stable combustion can occur at leaner equivalence ratio and then decreases CO and NO_x emissions. This is an important fact since no substitution effect takes place in the reduction of NO_x and CO emissions. Study at constant combustion power and equivalence ratio by adjusting hydrogen and kerosene mass flow shows again a decrease in the pollutant emissions. Hydrogen injection in power generation systems using combustion seems to be a promising way in combustion research since due to the combined effects of enlarging combustion stability domain and reducing NO_x emissions by substituting kerosene to the benefit of H₂.     

Influence of fuel fraction gradient on triple flame velocity in plain and axis-symmetrical channels

Dynamics of laminar triple flame investigated numerically for the different mixture degrees. One-step methane–air chemistry adequate to reach and lean mixture combustion was accepted. Velocity of triple flame is determined as a function of methane concentration logarithm gradients μ = d(ln Y₁)/dx (characterizing mixing degree). It is found that maximum velocity of the triple flames correspond to the value of the methane concentration logarithm gradients μ ≈ 1000 m^?1 for plain and μ ≈ 2000 m^?1 for axis-symmetrical channels. The maximum velocity of triple flame in plain and axis-symmetrical channels in the case of non-gradient incoming gas flow is about twice bigger than normal laminar flame velocity S_f ≈ 2.1S_l.