Numerical prediction of unburned carbon levels in large pulverized coal utility boilers

Advanced combustion kinetics models are of widespread use to predict carbon losses from coal combustion. However, those models cannot completely capture the complexity of the real phenomena affecting the fluid flow in a full-scale utility boiler, such as burner-to-burner interactions and bottom hopper vortexes or reversed-flows, and usually underpredict carbon in ash values. The use of CFD codes offers a more detailed treatment of the fluid dynamics involved in the boiler. However, most of them do not incorporate advanced kinetics submodels for char oxidation. In this paper, rank-dependent correlations and ash inhibition submodel have been coupled to a commercial CFD code, significantly improving carbon in ash predictions. Results from the simulation of the ASM Brescia power plant (Italy) for three different South-American coals are compared against plant laboratory values, using either the popular single film combustion model or the modified combustion model discussed in this paper.     

Modelling coal combustion: the current position

At the present time, computer models for coal combustion are not sufficiently accurate to enable the design of combustion plant or the selection of a coal based on combustion behaviour. Most comprehensive combustion models can predict with reasonable accuracy flow fields and heat transfer, but usually with a much lesser degree of accuracy than the combustion of the coal particles through to char burnout. Many research programmes are aimed at developing a much more accurate predictive tool for assessing coals specially fired in burners or furnaces employing a range of NO_x abatement technologies. Some of the current developments in CFD coal combustion modelling are outlined here. Particular attention is paid to the first step, where the devolatilisation pre-processor code is used to compute the pyrolysis rate, the yields and the composition of volatiles and char. These parameters are used as inputs to the devolatilisation and volatile combustion sub-models, where various options can be used, and also the char burnout sub-models. The accuracy of the sub-models is examined using data from four well-studied coals, three from the UK and one from the US. The main network devolatilisation codes are compared with experimental data. Two char combustion models have also been investigated in order to compare char burnout predictions and the development of char morphology and surface area during burnout are considered. The applications of these sub-models to two combustion situations were considered. These involve reactions in a drop tube furnace and a low NO_x industrial burner and in both cases, the model predictions were compared with experimental measurements.     

Numerical simulation of industrial boilers

The numerical simulation of combustion aerodynamics is a topic that has been generating much interest in the past few years. Much research has been devoted to this field since the late 1960’s, and many models of varying complexity were developed. However, most of the computational effort was devoted to the validation of these various models on experimental geometries. Furthermore, most of these models were only available within the framework of research codes : commercial CFD software offered only the most basic of models to their users. In recent years, with the advent of more powerful and affordable workstations, the feasibility of treating very large coupled problems became a reality. Consequently, the incentive for commercial CFD code developers to apply their product to the simulation of industrial combustion phenomena brought about a lot of activity in this field. The result was the possibility to include sophisticated modelling of this complex physical phenomena within the framework of commercial codes designed to solve flows in very large and complex geometries. This presentation will endeavour to show that by interfacing a commercial CFD package (Star-CD) with a research combustion model library we were able to successfully simulate several different types of industrial boilers and incinerators fired with different types of fuels (gas, oil, wood). Though precise measurements inside industrial boilers are difficult to obtain, comparisons with measurements taken at the various outlets show good agreement with the predicted values. Furthermore, the simulations predicted trouble spots within the apparatus that were in close agreement with the manufacturer’s field observations. In short, the numerical simulation of industrial combustion is not only qualitative, in the sense that it can correctly predict trends, but is well on its way to being quantitatively correct.     

燃煤水泥窑炉低NOx排放控制技术研究进展

我国是水泥生产和消费大国,水泥行业已成为我国继热力发电和交通运输之后的第三大NOx排放源,是引起我国雾霾天气的主要成因之一。随着水泥工业NOx排放标准的不断提高,燃煤水泥窑炉低NOx排放控制技术的发展越来越受到重视。为清晰了解水泥行业常见低NOx排放控制技术的优化方向和新型低NOx排放控制技术的发展现状,为水泥工业实现超洁净绿色生产提供技术储备,笔者梳理总结了燃煤水泥窑炉常见低NOx排放控制技术以及新型低NOx排放控制技术。围绕燃煤水泥窑炉常见低氮脱硝技术,阐述了燃烧前、燃烧中以及燃烧后等各种低NOx排放控制技术的降氮原理、特点以及应用现状,并指出了这些技术在实际应用中面临的问题;同时介绍了燃烧前、中、后等各种低NOx排放控制技术的组合应用。重点介绍了近年来新涌现出的以两步还原法为代表且具有潜力的低氮脱硝技术,论述其降氮原理及研究发展现状,对比总结了水泥行业常见低NOx排放控制技术以及新型低NOx排放控制技术的脱硝效率、研究和应用现状。面对日益严峻的减排形式,水泥行业深度脱硝工作的开展势在必行。结合常见低NOx排放控制技术的减排原理、优势以及存在的问题,建议水泥行业可采用燃烧中与燃烧后各种低氮控制技术的组合应用方案,以此达到降本增效的目的,并具体提出了水泥行业现有生产线以及新建生产线可行的组合应用方案。考虑到各种新型低NOx排放控制技术的降氮原理和发展现状,笔者对水泥行业低氮脱硝技术未来的研究和努力方向进行展望,认为未来水泥行业低NOx排放控制技术的发展应注重提高还原氛围下的碳还原能力,以激发碳还原能力为核心进行现有技术的优化以及新技术的探索,同时应考虑到与低氮燃烧技术相匹配的精准自动化、智能化测控设备的应用,以全方位监测、反馈系统的相关指标,更好地发挥低NOx排放控制技术的降氮脱硝效果。     

An overview on oxyfuel coal combustion—State of the art research and technology development

Oxyfuel combustion is seen as one of the major options for CO₂ capture for future clean coal technologies. The paper provides an overview on research activities and technology development through a fundamental research underpinning the Australia/Japan Oxyfuel Feasibility Project. Studies on oxyfuel combustion on a pilot-scale furnace and a laboratory scale drop tube furnace are presented and compared with computational fluid dynamics (CFD) predictions. The research has made several contributions to current knowledge, including; comprehensive assessment on oxyfuel combustion in a pilot-scale oxyfuel furnace, modifying the design criterion for an oxy retrofit by matching heat transfer, a new 4-grey gas model which accurately predicts emissivity of the gases in oxy-fired furnaces has been developed for furnace modelling, the first measurements of coal reactivity comparisons in air and oxyfuel at laboratory and pilot-scale; and predictions of observed delays in flame ignition in oxy-firing.     

Integration of on‐the‐fly kinetic reduction with multidimensional CFD

A reduction approach for coupling complex kinetics with engine computational fluid dynamics (CFD) code has been developed. An on‐the‐fly reduction scheme was used to reduce the reaction mechanism dynamically during the reactive flow calculation in order to couple comprehensive chemistry with flow simulations in each computational cell. KIVA‐3V code is used as the CFD framework and CHEMKIN is employed to formulate chemistry, hydrodynamics and transport. Mechanism reduction was achieved by applying element flux analysis on‐the‐fly in the context of the multidimensional CFD calculation. The results show that incorporating the on‐the‐fly reduction approach in CFD code enables the simulation of ignition and combustion process accurately compared with detailed simulations. Both species and time‐dependant information can be provided by the current model with significantly reduced CPU time. © 2009 American Institute of Chemical Engineers AIChE J, 2010     

作物秸秆能源转化技术研究进展

利用作物秸秆生产可再生能源是解决秸秆环境污染和开辟新的能量资源的重要途径之一。作物秸秆能源转化技术主要有热解气化、厌氧消化、液化、乙醇化、直接燃烧和固化等。简要介绍了我国作物秸秆的资源量及利用现状,着重对国内外作物秸秆能源转化技术的发展、研究现状及工业化应用情况进行了详细介绍。通过对各技术特点和存在问题的分析,探讨了未来发展趋势。建议加强作物秸秆液化与乙醇化技术的系统性研究以及工艺过程的开发。     

低NOx燃气燃烧技术研究进展

气体燃料具有易于点火、燃烧迅速、燃烧完全等特点,且氮、硫、灰分低,因此燃烧后产生的污染物相对较少,属于较清洁的燃料,且国家燃气补贴政策的实施,使气体燃料燃烧近年来有很好的发展前景。但随着国家对大气污染物的控制更加严格,控制气体燃料燃烧过程中NOx的生成至关重要。笔者介绍了不同种类NOx的产生机理及影响因素,并基于NOx的产生机理提出控制措施,分析目前应用较广泛的燃气燃烧技术的低氮原理及应用现状,最后提出燃气燃烧器应用的展望。燃气燃烧过程中主要以热力型NOx及快速型NOx为主,温度和过量空气系数是影响NOx生成的主要影响因素。燃烧温度高于1 500℃时,热力型NOx呈指数型增长,温度是影响NOx生成的最重要因素。根据NOx产生机理,低NOx燃烧技术的实质是降低最高燃烧温度,控制燃烧区燃料浓度以及氧浓度,缩短烟气在高温区的停留时间,破坏NOx生成的最佳条件,最终抑制NOx的生成。低NOx燃烧技术一定程度降低了NOx的生成,但又会破坏整个燃烧进程,对燃烧和放热过程造成不利影响,降低了燃烧效率和传热效率,因此如何解决这些矛盾是亟需解决的问题。在实际应用中,应根据需求选择合适的燃烧技术,同时可将不同燃烧技术相结合起到稳燃、低氮的效果。应用较广泛的燃气燃烧技术主要是阶段型燃烧技术、烟气再循环燃烧技术、无焰燃烧技术等,其中催化燃烧技术发展前景较好,目前已应用于多个领域,其催化剂的热稳定性和寿命问题是限制其工业上广泛应用的核心问题。     

Numerical simulation of complex particle-fluid flows

This paper presents a numerical study of particle-fluid flow in complex three-dimensional (3D) systems by means of Combined Continuum and Discrete Method (CCDM). In the CCDM, the motion of discrete particles phase is obtained by Discrete Element Method (DEM) which applies Newton's laws of motion to every particle and the flow of continuum fluid is described by the local averaged Navier-Stokes equations that can be solved by the traditional Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD). This method has been increasingly used worldwide, but so far its application is limited to relatively simple flow systems. In this work, the simulation is achieved by incorporating a DEM code into the commercial CFD software package Fluent that can be readily used for complex CFD problems. The applicability of this development is demonstrated in the study of the particle-fluid flow in various 3D systems including pneumatic conveying bend, cyclone separator and circulating fluidized bed. It is shown that the numerical results are, either qualitatively or quantitatively depending on the availability of experimental data for comparison, in good agreement with those measured, and can generate information leading to better understanding of the internal flow structure of these systems.     

大涡模拟研究两相燃烧的进展(Ⅱ)复杂气固流动和煤燃烧的大涡模拟(英文)

Large-eddy simulation(LES) is under its rapid development and is recognized as a possible second generation of CFD methods used in engineering.Large-eddy simulation of two-phase flows and combustion is particularly important for engineering applications.Some investigators,including the present authors,give their review on LES of spray combustion in gas-turbine combustors and internal combustion engines.However,up to now only a few papers are related to the state-of-the-art on LES of gas-particle flows and combustion.In this paper a review of the advances in LES of complex gas-particle flows and coal combustion is presented.Different sub-grid scale(SGS) stress models and combustion models are described,some of the main results are summarized,and some research needs are discussed.     

Numerical Analysis of the Catalytic Combustion of Premixed Methane/Air Mixtures in Microtubes

The combustion characteristics and extinction limits for the catalytic combustion of a methane/air mixture in a microtube are investigated computationally using the commercial CFD code FLUENT coupled to an external subroutine DETCHEM. The effects of the microtube dimensions, conductivities of wall materials, external heat losses and flow velocity on the combustion stability, are also studied. The numerical model is set as either adiabatic or non‐adiabatic with a fixed exterior heat transfer coefficient. Numerical results indicate that thermal conductivity and wall thickness are vital to preheat the methane/air mixture through the conducting wall. Two types of extinction occur, i.e., thermal quenching and blow out. These extinction limits are characterized by wall surface temperature in the microtube and the ratio of Pt(s)/O(s).     

Status and Promise of Fuel Cell Technology

The niche or early entry market penetration by ONSI and its phosphoric acid fuel cell technology has proven that fuel cells are reliable and suitable for premium power and other opportunity fuel niche market applications. Now, new fuel cell technologies – solid oxide fuel cells, molten carbonate fuel cells, and polymer electrolyte fuel cells – are being developed for near‐term distributed generation shortly after 2003. Some of the evolving fuel cell systems are incorporating gas turbines in hybrid configurations. The combination of the gas turbine with the fuel cell promises to lower system costs and increase efficiency to enhance market penetration. Market estimates indicate that significant early entry markets exist to sustain the initially high cost of some distributed generation technologies. However, distributed generation technologies must have low introductory first cost, low installation cost, and high system reliability to be viable options in competitive commercial and industrial markets. In the long‐term, solid state fuel cell technology with stack costs under $100/kilowatt (kW) promises deeper and wider market penetration in a range of applications including a residential, auxillary power, and the mature distributed generation markets. The Solid State Energy Conversion Alliance (SECA) with its vision for fuel cells in 2010 was recently formed to commercialize solid state fuel cells and realize the full potential of the fuel cell technology. Ultimately, the SECA concept could lead to megawatt‐size fuel‐cell systems for commercial and industrial applications and Vision 21 fuel cell turbine hybrid energy plants in 2015.     

3-D modelling of kerosene-fuelled HVOF thermal spray gun

Liquid-fuelled high-velocity oxy-fuel (HVOF) thermal spraying systems are capable of generating more momentum output to powder particles in comparison with gas-fuelled systems. The use of low-cost fuel such as kerosene makes this technology particular attractive. High-quality coating requires thermal spraying systems delivering consistent performance as a result of the combustion during HVOF spraying. The combustion of kerosene is very complicated due to the variation of fuel composition and subsequently makes it extremely challenging for process control. This paper describes a 3-D simulation using mathematical models available in a commercial finite volume CFD code. The combustion and discrete particle models within the numerical code are applied to solve the combustion of kerosene and couple the motion of fuel droplets with the gas flow dynamics in a Lagrangian fashion. The effects of liquid fuel droplets on the thermodynamics of the combusting gas flow are examined thoroughly.     

Chemistry and radiation in oxy-fuel combustion: A computational fluid dynamics modeling study

In order to investigate the role of combustion chemistry and radiation heat transfer in oxy-fuel combustion modeling, a computational fluid dynamics (CFD) modeling study has been performed for two different oxy-fuel furnaces. One is a lab-scale 0.8 MW oxy-natural gas flame furnace whose detailed in-flame measurement data are available; the other is a conventional 609 MW utility boiler which is assumed to be operating under oxy-fuel combustion condition with dry flue gas recycle. A new model for gaseous radiative properties is developed, validated, and then implemented in the CFD simulations. The CFD results are compared to those based on the widely used model in literature, as well as the in-flame measurement data. The importance and advantage of the new model for gaseous radiative properties have been well demonstrated. Different combustion mechanisms are also implemented and compared in the CFD simulations, from which significant difference in the predicted flame temperature and species is observed. This difference is consistent with those expected from the equilibrium calculation results. As a conclusion, the appropriate combustion mechanisms applicable to oxy-fuel combustion modeling are identified. Among the key issues in combustion modeling, e.g., mixing, radiation and chemistry, this paper derives useful guidelines on radiation and chemistry implementation for reliable CFD analyses of oxy-fuel combustion, particularly for industrial applications.     

Combustion modelling opportunities and challenges for oxy-coal carbon capture technology

Oxy-coal combustion is one of the leading technologies for carbon capture and storage. This paper presents a review of the opportunities and challenges surrounding the development of oxy-coal combustion models and discusses historical and recent advances in specific areas related to computational fluid dynamics (CFD), including char oxidation, radiation, pollutant formation and removal (Hg, NO_x and SO_x), and the impact of turbulence. CFD can be used to assess and optimise full-scale retrofit designs and to provide data on matching air-fired heat duties. In addition, CFD can also be used to improve combustion efficiency and identify potential reductions in corrosion, slagging, fouling and trace pollutant emissions. Transient simulations are becoming more computationally affordable for coal combustion, providing opportunities for model development. High concentrations of CO₂ and H₂O in oxy-coal can influence chemical kinetic rates, burnout and ash properties. The modelling can be improved by incorporating detailed kinetic mechanisms of gasification reactions. In addition, pollutant formation and removal mechanisms must be understood during oxy-coal firing to aid the selection of flue-gas cleaning strategies. Radiative heat transfer using spectral models for gaseous properties may be necessary in oxy-coal modelling because CO₂ and H₂O molecules have strong emission bands. Finally this review provides a coherent near-term and long-term oxy-coal specific CFD sub-models development strategy to simulate the complex oxy-coal combustion processes, heat transfer and pollutant emissions in power generation systems.     

空气自然对流式质子交换膜燃料电池的三维建模和实验分析

在空气自然对流式燃料电池内部,速度、温度、组分浓度及电流分布特性有着极强的耦合作用.氧气质量传输限制引起的浓度过电位是这种燃料电池的主要性能损失.从自然对流、传热传质的角度,建立了三维数学模型.利用三维流体动力学软件和用户建立的子程序,对自然对流下Navier-Stokes 方程,能量方程,电化学动力学方程以及组分、水的传输方程进行了数值求解.通过分析数值计算的结果,结合自然对流的特性,设计了实验系统.对温度分布和电池性能进行了测试.对空气湿度对电池性能的影响进行了分析.数值计算结果与实验结果很好地吻合.模型的建立,对于认识空气自然对流式质子交换膜燃料电池内部的耦合传输现象有极大的意义,可以作为质子交换膜燃料电池的计算机辅助优化设计工具.